First thing I look for is the shade. I prefer no hookups, so don't want it hot enough that I wish that I could run the A/C
My wife likes to be close to the bathhouse, but I prefer to be a bit farther away. So that's a trade off.
We want to bring the dogs, so want pet sites.
One thing that's not on there is we usually prefer outside the loop sites. These tend to be farther apart. They also don't have people walking through to get to the bathhouse.
We have a whole list of wants/needs in a spot. If it is for a rally we like to be close to the action because if the kids want to go to bed we don't have to go with them if I can see the pup from the group site. I am handicapped so level is really helpful, it makes it easier to get around with my walker or in my wheelchair. As noted we have kids (3 to be exact) so near the playground / pool is always a plus. At the moment we are still putting in our new electric panel so Elec is not do~able right now... water on the other hand... we have no tank installed (PO tore it out along with half of the electrics... ??? ) Since my injury I don't do heat well so we love shaded sites. We have AC but I think we have only run it once and then it was in the pouring rain. (It was getting like a sauna in there!)
I really agree with the loop site idea... the one time we took the pup to the races at Winchester VA we stayed in a mom and pop camp ground... NEVER AGAIN. The sites were so small you could touch the edge of our awning and the side or the neighbor's RV at the same time with one hand. (Read here about 5 inches apart) I mean the guy in the hybrid next to us talked in his sleep and I heard every word. 😮 They also had a million weird rules about everything. You could only have a camp fire for two hours and it had to be cold out before 6pm. (we cook on that! ???)
Curious to see what everyone else looks for!
As much as I like to think I research a campsite and pretend I am picking it for this reason or that reason, it ends up being a guessing game.....but it makes me feel good.
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
[quote author=EileanT link=topic=1509.msg12261#msg12261 date=1333432738]
I really agree with the loop site idea... the one time we took the pup to the races at Winchester VA we stayed in a mom and pop camp ground... NEVER AGAIN. The sites were so small you could touch the edge of our awning and the side or the neighbor's RV at the same time with one hand. (Read here about 5 inches apart) I mean the guy in the hybrid next to us talked in his sleep and I heard every word. 😮 They also had a million weird rules about everything. You could only have a camp fire for two hours and it had to be cold out before 6pm. (we cook on that! ???)
Curious to see what everyone else looks for!
Oh my, could you share the name of that CG? I would like to avoid it like the plague!
[quote author=kitphantom link=topic=1509.msg12263#msg12263 date=1333459214]
When we reserve sites at a new campground to us, it is mostly a guessing game, though we tend to get outside of the loop, etc. Once we have stayed at a campground, we usually have notes -if we think we will return to the area, we walk the campground and make notes on suitability for pup, tent, table canopy, etc. While we don't have a favorite local campground, we have areas in UT, CO, and AZ that we return to on a semi-regular basis, and the notes can be helpful.
We also do this. But we walk the loop and keep track of good and bad sites even if we have no idea if we will return.
But yes, for a new campground it is mostly a guess as far as shade, but distance to the bathhouse, inside/outside loop, etc can mostly be found on the camp map.
The more I read this post the more I realize how lucky I was at the first campground I went to, which was chosen because my sister liked the campfire gif on the website 😉
The first time I went there I didn't like it, because we were put in a field (along a tree line, but I still hated the lack of privacy. We were so far from the bathroom we had to drive, otherwise we'd probably have to start walking the moment we felt the urge :omg:
The next time we went back and asked for something closer to the bathroom, and got what I now consider to be my favorite site of any campground... so far. I'm not sure if there was supposed to be electric or if it just happened to be there, as I was a tent camper at the time. (I don't want to review the CG just yet, I haven't been there for a few years and want a realistic review, not one from romanticized memories)
I usually study the campground map to see how far from the bathroom we are, and I try to stay away from playgrounds. I always specify when booking that I'm looking for something more private and primitive.
I guess now that I'm camper-camping and will be looking for electric I'm going to have to take into consideration the levelness of the sites and location to lighting.
:thumbup: Thank you! Great post topic!!
The biggest peeve I have..finding a campground online, going to the website and finding a ton of pics of the kids riding the wagon or bikes, the fishing area, but never pics of actual sites. I can't drive 200 miles to the campground to find that there are no shady spots, no room to move. We make notes after staying at a campground. We always know which sites work and which don't.
You can check out Campsite Photos dot com. They have pictures of every site at each of the campgrounds they list. They don't have all that many campgrounds listed right now, but the site is growing.
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