Boondocking or campgrounds?

[smiley87]

Alaska has some of the best areas for boondocking. Even the campgrounds up here feel more boondockish (is that a word?) than the majority of campgrounds I went to with my family in other parts of the country.

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by jimbo16720

I live in Pa which is in the eastern third and there are tons of places to boondock around here. Potter county Pa is called Gods Country and it's 13 miles in each direction to the 3 towns around me and none of the towns have more than 5000 people in it. You just have to get out of the city is why you have problems. A mile past my house the pavement ends and it's dirt road the next 6 miles to the next paved road. I can find hundreds of places I can boondock within an hours drive and already have it planned to camp along a stream this summer for a week and fish every day.

Who one earth would look to boondock in a city?

We *live* outside the city. We're out in the country in TN. Almost all the land outside the cities and towns is owned and fenced and Posted. Or has No Trespassing signs. It's all either subdivisions or fenced farms outside the cities. Virtually every dirt road leads to someone's home or farm. Been there - done that.

I don't live in PA. Have you ever boondocked in TN? If so, where?

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by cargovan

Boondocking if at all possible. It means best views and best locations.

Van.

Where is boondocking allowed in FL?

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by TheBeachHous

Thems is fight'n words!!! HAHAHAAH!!!
I have a saying - There are two types of people in this world... Those who ride ATVs, enjoy the outdoors and the great land that this country has to offer.... And then there are those who like campgrounds, plugged in on a concrete pad 7 feet from the neighbors sewer hose with quiet hours at 9pm...
I've "turned" my fare share of people into ATV lovers, my motto is... It Only Takes 1 Ride!!!

The forgot the third kind who couldn't care less about ATVs. Who enjoy the type of campground you've obviously never been in. Those are the ones with large wooded sites offering privacy and hookups. No concrete pads to park on.

Those parks where the RVs are packed together are utilized for a purpose or they wouldn't exist. On long trips we've utilized them for no other reason than to dump out tanks, take on fresh water and have electricity for the night spent there. Who cares if the RVs are close together since no one there is looking to sit around a fire or commune with nature.

Your motto is wrong. Myself and several friends were taken for rides in ATVs and still have no interest in them. Better to walk quietly along the shore or in the woods or desert to observe wildlife.

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by chaunclm

We will never be very good boondockers as we have an asthmatic cat and have to run a clean air machine all the time with the windows all closed, but with our generator we can manage OK. Here is a wonderful RV park near Shenandoah National Park.

Cove Mountain RV park, Sevierville, Tennessee

Have you been to Fall Creek Falls CG in east TN? Nice wooded shady sites, fantastic views and a few small stores. Land Between The Lakes CGs have some really nice wooded sites also, as does Seven Points near Nashville. Pool Knobs in LaVergne is an old crude CG with a lot of wooded shady sites and is right on the lake.

I don't know how anyone, and some people do, think most or all CGs are like parking lots with everyone packed in like sardines.

So far our three cats are doing well. We take them everywhere with us since day one. They're real travelers. Right now we're snowbirding in FL, under the shade of a huge old live oak covered in Spanish Moss.

[TheBeachHous]

Originally Posted by RanCarr

The forgot the third kind who couldn't care less about ATVs. Who enjoy the type of campground you've obviously never been in. Those are the ones with large wooded sites offering privacy and hookups. No concrete pads to park on.

Those parks where the RVs are packed together are utilized for a purpose or they wouldn't exist. On long trips we've utilized them for no other reason than to dump out tanks, take on fresh water and have electricity for the night spent there. Who cares if the RVs are close together since no one there is looking to sit around a fire or commune with nature.

Your motto is wrong. Myself and several friends were taken for rides in ATVs and still have no interest in them. Better to walk quietly along the shore or in the woods or desert to observe wildlife.

Nope - no third type... just two types!!! I won't get into an argument neither of us can win... The simple fact is, ATVs rule and if you don't see things my way you must have something wrong with you... HAHAHAHAHA (ohh no he didn't just say that!!)
I'm joking of course, but it makes me laugh to hear people who are so polar oposite about this issue, its like an ATV killed their baby robbed their mother and wounded their father... And those of us that enjoy that activity are all blacklisted to the back country (which may be on purpose or by design) Simple fact of the matter is, the trails in our Rocky Mountains that you so enjoy hiking on are utilized by 1/20th the amount of people who utilize OHV/ATV trails, and that in this state (Colorado) its a billion dollar industry when you talk about the added economic boost of those of us who are gassing up our MHs/FWs/TTs/etc. etc. grocery shopping, touring, visiting, paying our trail fee taxes, etc. etc.
Anyway, like i said, its not a winning argument, never will be, its like which is better a MH or a FW... We all konw its a MH but there will always be the FW people out ther!!

[EricGT]

I prefer only to boondock.
I tell my wife every time that we pass one, that I will never ever stay in an RV campground. I am blown away that people will pay to stay somewhere in which they have to stare at another RV 25 feet (or less) away from them.
It's like staying at a hotel, yet choosing to sleep in the parking lot.
My opinion may be skewed because we live in the woods and my next closest neighbor is 1/4 mile away.
We love our privacy.

[EricGT]

Originally Posted by TheBeachHous

Nope - no third type... just two types!!! I won't get into an argument neither of us can win... The simple fact is, ATVs rule and if you don't see things my way you must have something wrong with you... HAHAHAHAHA

I am part of this group. Obviously to each their own, and everyone is built a bit differently.
But I have always gotten a lot more of a rush/thrill burning up a rocky trail with 4WD on as opposed to merely taking 30 minutes to hike up it.

[Tileman]

I've met some nice people at camp grounds, but I bought a self contained RV to boondock. Why have a self contained uniy if you're not going to use it?

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by TheBeachHous

Nope - no third type... just two types!!! I won't get into an argument neither of us can win... The simple fact is, ATVs rule and if you don't see things my way you must have something wrong with you... HAHAHAHAHA (ohh no he didn't just say that!!)

I understand. Hey, we have nothing against ATVs, we simply have no interest in them. To each his or her own.

I'm joking of course, but it makes me laugh to hear people who are so polar oposite about this issue, its like an ATV killed their baby robbed their mother and wounded their father... And those of us that enjoy that activity are all blacklisted to the back country (which may be on purpose or by design)

We don't have to put up with the noise and smell of ATVs because where we camp there aren't any. We camp in the southeast mainly.

Simple fact of the matter is, the trails in our Rocky Mountains that you so enjoy hiking on are utilized by 1/20th the amount of people who utilize OHV/ATV trails, and that in this state (Colorado) its a billion dollar industry when you talk about the added economic boost of those of us who are gassing up our MHs/FWs/TTs/etc. etc. grocery shopping, touring, visiting, paying our trail fee taxes, etc. etc.
Anyway, like i said, its not a winning argument, never will be, its like which is better a MH or a FW... We all konw its a MH but there will always be the FW people out ther!!

We don't live in the Rocky Mountains so it's nothing to me.....

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by EricGT

I prefer only to boondock.
I tell my wife every time that we pass one, that I will never ever stay in an RV campground. I am blown away that people will pay to stay somewhere in which they have to stare at another RV 25 feet (or less) away from them.
It's like staying at a hotel, yet choosing to sleep in the parking lot.
My opinion may be skewed because we live in the woods and my next closest neighbor is 1/4 mile away.
We love our privacy.

Nope,... you've just been to the wrong campgrounds. See my post above. Those that are packed together are almost never "campers." They're overnighters on the way to somewhere else. Or they're there to visit relatives who own homes near the place, or for a funeral or wedding. They couldn't care less what the place looks like as long as it's safe and has full hookups. Why generalize if you don't know any better?

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by Tileman

I've met some nice people at camp grounds, but I bought a self contained RV to boondock. Why have a self contained uniy if you're not going to use it?

Not everyone who has an RV is into boondocking. And you don't seem to realize that not all areas of the country have places people can boondock. Or that some boondocking places are so crowded they're worse than fancy RV resorts. Did you know that? We have a self contained unit because it takes us thee days and 2 nights to migrate to FL in the winter. Longer on our trips to NYS. We boondock at WalMarts and Flying-Js along the way. And because that's how RV come these days. Are you aware of that? How many new RVs have you seen that only contain beds?

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by EricGT

I am part of this group. Obviously to each their own, and everyone is built a bit differently.
But I have always gotten a lot more of a rush/thrill burning up a rocky trail with 4WD on as opposed to merely taking 30 minutes to hike up it.

Do you get any exercise at all? At the gym maybe? We're an obese, diabetic and sickly society because, in part, people would rather ride than walk.

[JimM68]

Wallmart and flying j parking lots don't qualify as boondocking. Or camping. Strictly freeloading there.