Resort or Rustic?

[leslie]

Which sort of camping do you prefer? Do you insist on full hookups, an all - out resort where they deliver food and firewood to your campsite, or do you prefer a more rustic campsite?

Hubby likes full hookups. I like more rustic, where I can get up in the morning and not have to find campers as far as the eye can see.

[funpilot]

Full hookups

[tinkeringtechie]

I like both depending on the circumstances. If I'm covering distance (a string of one night stays) then I like hookups. But once I'm at my destination I like rustic.

[david]

[p]I like rustic. In order of rusticity:[/p][p]
National Forest boondocking: I have only done this a few times, but in the National Forests, you can pull off anywhere as long as you don't block the road. I have stayed at some pristine places, next to a creek with no one for miles around. Rare though and you have to work to find places like that.
National Forest Campsites, particularly those with no  running water, just hand pumps.
National Parks, mostly because they have beautiful scenery nearby. Campsites are a little tightly packed.
State Parks: some as good as NFS, some like commercial RV parks.

When going cross country, I stay at WalMarts. No check in and can pull in any time. Easy in and easy out in the morning.

In more than 150 nights of RV camping over the last ten years, I stayed in a full hook up RV park three times. Once in Montana to change the oil on my TV, do laundry, etc. Once in Las Vegas to get to the Strip easily and once in Newport Beach, Ca as a destination- the most expensive by far.

David[/p]

[aznighthiker]

We generally stay in designated campgrounds and they usually do not offer full hookups though Canyon Point campground does have electric sites. We have stayed in several state parks but we have selected mostly unimproved sites but several times we have dropped stabilizer's with the "fleet" as they call full hookups (utilities) shore power.

[ktnm8135]

Boondocking  seems to be in our future. We like the solitude of nature, although we play well with others and generally learn from people we meet. I love to listen to a fascinating story about someone's life or adventures. We should have a winter rally.

[vmcmn]

Cosby Campground in the GSMNP is an example of a park that is a boondocking park but is a great park to camp at in a national park.
http://www.recreation.gov/tn/cosby/campground/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70960

[mitch]

Rustic, no hookups necessary.

[subaruwx]

Rustic - I tend to camp in state parks and national forest campgrounds. I stayed for the first time in an RV park this past May near Charleston, and while it was nice enough, it was clearly not our style. You hear generators all day and night, not crickets or any nature. Coming from tent camping, the QS10 is like a palatial tent on wheels but we still go camping to get away from civilization and closer to nature.

 I do, however, appreciate a bath house and clean water nearby.

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/3129/thread" timestamp="1409522777" author="@subaruwx"]I stayed for the first time in an RV park this past May near Charleston, and while it was nice enough, it was clearly not our style. You hear generators all day and night, not crickets or any nature. [/quote]Why would someone run their generator at an RV park? Did the RV park not have electrical hookups?

Also, every single campground I've stayed at has quiet hours where generator usage isn't allowed. Typically that starts a 7-8pm and goes until 8 or so the next morning.

[subaruwx]

I think this campground had full hookups at almost every site, but we still heard RV engines and generators all day and night.  And I remember seeing something about quiet hours, but I guess that didn't include power generation.   That said, the kids really enjoyed the swimming pool at this campground - not something found at more rustic sites.

[tinkeringtechie]

I think this campground had full hookups at almost every site, but we still heard RV engines and generators all day and night.  And I remember seeing something about quiet hours, but I guess that didn't include power generation.   That said, the kids really enjoyed the swimming pool at this campground - not something found at more rustic sites.

I've never seen that at any other RV park. We stay at them when we're on the go because they're usually quiet and convenient for a quick one night stop (near major roads, level pads, easy to maneuver in, playgrounds for the kids to get out all their saved up energy). Can you share the park name so the rest of us can avoid it?

[subaruwx]

Oak Plantation campground SW of Charleston. It had trees, it had grass, and the sites didn't seem on top of each other. I think if I had been in a TT, 5th wheel, or Class A like everyone else, I might not have noticed the noise. But in tent on wheels, you hear everything.

[djsamuel]

Some of the more "rustic" sites in the state parks here in Florida have a limited number of full hookups and a lot with electric and water with a nearby dump station.  I don't really consider those resort RV parks, since there are no pools, games, other things to do, etc.  You have to love the outdoors to enjoy them.  That said, we do enjoy going to Fort Wilderness at Disney (we go a lot since my wife works there). It would definitely be considered a resort, and is NICE.  Even at that, Fort Wilderness has a very rustic feel, and seems like it is miles away from the madness in the theme parks.  In 10 days, we are heading to the Grand Canyon and will be staying at Trailer Village, another campground I would consider rustic and not a resort.  

I guess what I am trying to say is a rustic setting and full hookups are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

[pinstriper]

Somewhere in between. Food and firewood deliveries ?

We've been to two resorts - one had water and electric but nothing else at the site. The other had sewer and TV.

The rest of our camping has been state parks, all of which so far have been level, paved pads, electricity and water. Three had sewer and one even had TV !

We are happy enough with water and electricity. We very much want a little space around our site, but also enjoy meeting other campers.

What I dislike about resorts is the ones that are basically a parking lot, you could walk from roof to roof.

I think we may play with some boondocking next year, given the right weather conditions and trip duration.