Today's online resources can help you pick the best campsite within a particular campground
One of the popular posts here on CampingBlogger is Find Great Campsites Online, where I talk about using online resources like Reserve America and Recreation.Gov for locating campgrounds in a particular area. Finding that perfect campground is only half the battle, though. It is just as important to locate the best campsites within the campground, too.
What makes a good campsite?
Your particular camping situation will dictate what makes one campsite better than another. If you are tent camping for longer than a weekend, you will probably want to be located in close proximity to a drinking water source. If you are camping in an RV, however, you probably have plenty of drinking water and even your own bathroom, so the location of these facilities is not nearly as important.
Another consideration, particularly for family camping, is a campsites location on the road system within the campground. Popular campgrounds, particularly those that are located around major tourist areas like national parks, offroad recreational areas and beach communities, can have a great deal of traffic in and out of the campground.
Fortunately, the major reservation sites provide basic maps of the campgrounds that show the locations of the various facilities, greatly increasing your odds of choosing a good one. For non-reserveable campgrounds, the USFS and BLM sites usually offer similar information, but not nearly the level of detail that the two reservation sites offer.
Finding a good campsite
Zoom-out to get an overall feel for where the major traffic-patterns are located
This is a screenshot of the Whitney Portal campground in California’s Inyo National Forest on the east side of the Sierra Mountains. It’s pretty much in the middle of nowhere, which is the first thing that I look for in a campground! Since I have three small children, I like to look at the probable traffic patterns within the campground so that I can narrow my search to campsites that are off of any major thoroughfares.
Zoom-in to individual campsites that meet your criteria
Once I have established where the major traffic patterns are likely to be, I’ll zoom-in on the map and try to weigh the pros and cons of the various campsite areas within the campground. In this campground, I would immediately throw-out area #2, as those sites back-up to the major road. I’d probably discount area #3 also, since two of the sites are close to the bathroom, and a bathroom symbol with no drinking water probably means a pit toilet – even worse. The sites in area #3 further away from the bathroom sit across from other campsites, which is also not ideal.
Area #’s 1 and 4 look pretty attractive. If I were tent camping and thought that I’d be needing to replenish my water supply during our stay, I’d certainly be interested in reserving one of campsites in area #4 along the creek, due to their closer proximity to the drinking water. Packing 40 pounds of water back to area #1 could get old really fast! If I was in an RV, however, or if water was not a concern, area #1 would probably be my first choice. It is well away from the rest of the campsites, tucked into its own small loop, and backs-up to the creek.
Spending a little extra time choosing the best campsite can help make a great camping trip even better. Fortunately, today’s online resources make finding the best campground an easier task than it has been in the past. What are the things that you look for in choosing a particular campsite?
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent post combining how to use the Internet with practical advice on choosing a great campsite.
My prime considerations are quiet, privacy, and beauty. Distances to water, restrooms, and attractions are less important. However, I don’t have small kids (or any kids, for that matter) that I have to take into consideration.
Thanks John, I agree; quiet, privacy and beauty are essential. I prefer the campsites that have the camping area (picnic table, fire ring, etc.) located behind the parking pad, instead of beside it - they are a lot more private.
I have a couple factors that lead to my desire to be as far away from the comotion as possible:
1. I tent camp. A thin ply of nylon doesn’t keep much noise out.
2. I have small kids that “sleep” in that tent. Even after a day of outdoor activities, they still are light sleepers.
I wouldn’t want one of those sites on the loop in area #1 where all the headlights would beam right into my tent when people drove that loop. I try to avoid sites that are straight out from sharp bends in the road to avoid headlights.
I also avoid the sites that are right next to the playground to avoid noise. I love the laughter of children, but not at 5:30 in the morning!
I don’t like to be the campsite next to the pet walking area, or the trail to the wash house either.
I guess I am a campsite snoot!
Hmmm - true about the loop, I hate that. I was thinking there wouldn’t be much traffic on it, though, with just 3 sites. Worst site has to be that one down there by the restroom and the drinking water. I bet everybody (and their dog) walks through that site!
Yeah… even if there are only three other sites on the loop… it only takes one of them to come back from a night time catfishing excursion at midnight and shine their headlights in my tent to wake my kids up!!!!
I actually tend to only camp in campgrounds where I can drive through and pick a site before I stay. I usually look for a few key things:
1. Shade! Nothing is worse than tent camping in the blazing sun all day!
2. No power boxes or large stationary objects that bees/hornet can have a nest in.
3. A couple trees close together for a hammock, and a couple of other trees far enough apart for a clothes line for beach towels.
4. The location items formerly mentioned. (away from trails, headlights, and pet walking areas)
I suppose it is a product of having young kids. As they grow, we can stray further from home and closer to the commotion.
I love to be secluded from the world so generally the furthest away from everything makes me happy. Water-side is even better. However, I have a family to think about so being close to the bathroom is important though I’m encouraging my boys to pee behind trees. My wife too would think being next to the restrooms is very important..
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