Secrets for finding a quiet campground?

[Riwright]

We've been having a lot of fun with our TM. *(In no small part due to the excellent advice I get from the board) We've taken it out six times so far. We've had mostly hits but a few misses. I was wondering if I could get some advice on how to better select a campground from the more experienced campers here.*

The problems we had were at two beach campground and both had to do with noise. At one campground (Hobson Beach in Ventura) we had partiers across the way (no music but a lot of loud laughing) until the wee hours. During the day people loved to have music playing. Sites were quite close together and at one point we had music coming in from both sides.*

At another campground (Carpinteria State Beach) we had no music problem, but there were a lot of dogs. Early in the morning (and I am not an early morning person) it seems everyone would come outside and sit with their dogs. In a ritual we called "the parade" other owners would walk their dogs around the loop causing a constant uproar of early morning barking.*

Both of these sites were beach front and "parking lot style" with just enough room to put the trailer, the pickup and a picnic table.*

And this is not to say that the people involved were actually trying to bother anyone. In fact I think they would have made less noise had I asked. But I do hate to the one telling the kids to "turn that darn music down."*

One that thing I have figured out is that space between me and the next guy is very important. From the campsites I have seen I know that dry camping spots get a lot more space than the hookup sites. Getting set up for dry camping is very high on our list.*

In reading the review sites I am beginning to see that the idea of what constitues a good camping experience varies widely. Some people's idea of paradise is good friends, a case of beer and their favorite tunes blasting from the boom box. For others it is great day with Rover playing on the beach.*

On the same campground you can read one review about how jack-booted policing of a little enjoyment amongst friends ruined a wonderful time for everyone and then read unbounded praise of how quiet the place was.*

Personally, I would like it dead quiet with the only noise coming from nature. *

Are there any secrets for picking out quiet campgrounds? Are certain campgrounds "party hearty" places while others draw the quiet type? I know that the luck of the draw will always be involved, but I would like to be able to stack the deck.*

[hillbillyhotel]

Same here ,
kinda like the quiet camp sites also, we have found the closer to a big city, the more noise in campground, look for the ones off the main roads, sometimes harder to get to, but can be worth the trip, also weekday camping while school is in can help. Ones without lakes, this sounds funny, look at what it does not have,
we also keep a book with campground maps, we may not get the primo spot the first , but we mark it on the map for the next time , also in travels we may not stay somewhere, but will do drive throughs and get a map and mark spots and put in book so if we are back in area, we got a clue, i know we live in diff part of country and sometimes it is just luck that you find a nice place, but just some ideas.

[scrubjaysnest]

hillbillyhotel pretty much hit the nail on the head. We look at USFS, forest service and BLM first, the more remote the better. ACOE then NPS with State Parks almost last on the list. We find the standard review sites are geared towards private CG which we almost never stay at.

We just spent a vary quiet weekend at Potrero County Park. (San Diego County) I don't know just how far you are willing to travel for a weekend. I think at the most there was only 5 rigs there. And by noon on Sunday only 3 rigs. Last month we were at another SD County park (Guajome) near Oceanside CA. This park was full to the brim. But vary quiet. It not far from a large shopping center but vary quiet and nice.

www.sdparks.org

[B_and_D]

If I had a solution to your quandry we would be much happier campers. We've actually tended toward going to full hookup campgrounds with older campers lately; no contractor-style generators, no blaring music. But there is always the exception. There may be the guy next to us who is hard of hearing and has his TV turned up so loud that we can hear every word, or people with diesel trucks who want to get up at 5AM to go somewhere and insist on warming up their motors for 5 - 10 minutes right next to our trailer. Or the guy who is working on something on his trailer and has power tools going all day long.

We've had quiet times in dry camping sites too....but have had to listen to Led Zeppelin blasting at 2AM in those kinds of sites too. Last summer in a dry camping site we had to ask the campground host to call the sheriff at 1AM because the people across from us just wouldn't shut up. Other summers we've had no problem.

I think a lot of it depends on the management of the park. Some are way less tolerant of noise than others, and some do nothing. We know a couple who used to do a lot of campground hosting and they told us that the Southern CA beach campgrounds were absolutely the worst for them. When it got really out of control, they had to call the sheriff.

We try to find sites in the back of the campground, next to families who have young children (if you don't want to sleep in, lol), an older solo couple in an RV, or just a young solo couple in a tent. The further away you are from the road or your neighbors, generally the quieter the site will be. I would imagine that if you could camp next to the campground host that it would also be pretty quiet.

Big Sur is a pretty mellow, quiet campground. Some campgrounds just attract a different kind of camper.

We enjoy going to Sam's Family Spa in Desert Hot Springs, we always sleep really well there; it's just too bad that it's an all day trip for us and we hate to spend 3-4 days traveling when we only have a week off in the winter. Pismo Sands RV Park is also really quiet too, even though you're really close to your neighbors (except for this last time we went there and had to move our trailer to a different spot because the people next to us were in a tent trailer and were awake until 1 - 2 am every night talking loudly right next to us). Once we moved it was really quiet and we enjoyed the rest of our stay there.

It just depends on who you run into, I guess.

I don't have much trouble finding solitude. But I drive 185 miles each way to find it.

If there is any type of hookup, it will be too noisy for me.

If the pads are paved it will be too noisy for me.

If there are pull through sites it will be two noisy for me.

Several years ago I did a presentation at the West Coast TM rally. The topic was Boondocking, Disconnecting the Umbilical cord. It was pretty well received.

At a subsequent rally I offered to organize a campout for first time boon dockers. Out of a group of 20+ TMs at the rally, only 3 were interested. I gave up.

My brother has a 35 foot fifth wheel trailer. We never go camping together. He can not go where I can go. I do not like to go where he can go.

Anywhere he can go is noisy.

If the price for a camp site is more than $15 per night, then it will be too noisy.

Some, but not all, NFS campgrounds are pretty quiet.

Ocatello wells. I think this is all BLM land. It is about 90 miles from San Diego. But, depending on the season, it will have a lot o off-road vehicles, which will be noisy. Perhaps Anza-Borega park. But in the dessert there is not a lot to do, in my opinion.

Originally Posted by Riwright

Personally, I would like it dead quiet with the only noise coming from nature. *

This has always been my outlook, after all, camping it about getting "away from it all". I bring a radio mainly for weather forecasts, that's it. Once I hear the weather, the radio gets put away. My kids were raised that nothing electronic comes camping, except for maybe walkie-talkies for hiking.
Unfortunately these days people think they have to "bring it all with them" when they go camping. Radios, cd players, and even outdoor tvs are everywhere... what's the point? Stay home and build a fire in the ashtray on the coffee table.

We've been hit and miss with noise. My wife and I figured out along ago that if you want it to be quiet, take a random week off of work and go camping in the middle of the week. You'll usually have the place to yourself.
Going camping on Memorial Day weekend, etc, pretty much guarantees tons of kids and "Dancing with the Stars" resonating from all directions.

[jimair1548]

In reference to quiet campgrounds, we have camped for the past 12 years and could count the number of times we have camped in privately owned campgrounds on one hand. The sites are waaay to close together, for the most part, and they are not always managed too well. We are sold on the state parks in our part of the country (Florida to Maine).They tend to have much more space between sites. Also, unless we are on a long trip, we try to avoid any camping over a weekend. Longer trips make that impossible, but by and large, we've been lucky when it comes to noisy neighbors. The rangers generally shut down the offenders pretty quick. Works for us....jim

[kempert]

I've hosted for the last 6 years and haven't had many noisy neighbors. I've discovered the noisy folk try to get as far from the hosts as possible. The closer you get to the hosts, the quieter it will probably be.

I've also learned that campgrounds that don't allow wood fires are quieter. When it starts to get cooler, they go to bed. Lots of people who gather around a wood fire consume alcohol. On cool nights, they stay up later and consume more alcohol which lowers their ability to hear and raises the volume of their voices.

[mjlaupp]

Originally Posted by kempert

....Lots of people who gather around a wood fire consume alcohol. On cool nights, they stay up later and consume more alcohol which lowers their ability to hear and raises the volume of their voices.

I resent this remark!!!!!!