Campground Light Pollution

[Warrenjo]

I am asking for other RV's opinion on this subject. We like to camp to see the stars at night. Recently at some campgrounds we have noticed rigs with LED lights on the exterior that stay on all night. I understand the need to be outside at night during evening hours and exterior lights are nice but I am talking about colored lights that stay on all night and dominate the view.


What do the rest of you think?

[SteveJ.]

Perhaps you should consider dispersed boondock camping.

[mrboyer]

If the campground has quiet hours, they should be off at that time. If not, probably need to find another campground.

[arcaguy]

Originally Posted by Warrenjo

I am asking for other RV's opinion on this subject. We like to camp to see the stars at night. Recently at some campgrounds we have noticed rigs with LED lights on the exterior that stay on all night. I understand the need to be outside at night during evening hours and exterior lights are nice but I am talking about colored lights that stay on all night and dominate the view.


What do the rest of you think?

Personally I think they should be against the rules. I agree it is light pollution and it really does affect some wildlife. But, it seems like it's a thing right now so I think you're going to have an uphill battle. I would suggest a little stealth wire cutting but that would be illegal and possibly dangerous. Like boom boxes this too will probably pass.

[doc]

wilderness camping is the only way I know to lose it. On my 40th birthday we had paddled close to the center of the Okeefenokee Swamp. There is no external light there. We did see airliners out of Jacksonville Center crossing the sky to north even there .

[DirtRider]

Originally Posted by Warrenjo

I am asking for other RV's opinion on this subject. We like to camp to see the stars at night. Recently at some campgrounds we have noticed rigs with LED lights on the exterior that stay on all night. I understand the need to be outside at night during evening hours and exterior lights are nice but I am talking about colored lights that stay on all night and dominate the view.


What do the rest of you think?

This topic has been beaten to death, and nothing will be resolved in this thread. We like to camp for the stars, too. It only ever happens when dry camping, unfortunately.

[Alpine36]

Not a big fan of the LED lightshows some people display, nor the latest generation of LED porch lights that put Area51 to shame. We prefer a campfire and a couple candles, but, to each their own.
I've been known to string up a big camo tarp to block out offending light sources before.....

[NITEHAWK]

So many of the "new" campers worry about the high amount of theft and vandalism they encounter at their home base and think folks at the CG have the same problem.
So they leave lights on like at home, for security.
I think this is a lot better than having them come bursting out of their RV and throwing high speed lead pellets all over the place.

[RVPioneer]

Here’s an opinion. The lights identify those who are starved for attention or otherwise harbor feelings of inadequacy.

What can you do? Seek out a Dark Sky Community. There are about 2 dozen in the US and Canada. Or boondock.

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by NITEHAWK

So many of the "new" campers worry about the high amount of theft and vandalism they encounter at their home base and think folks at the CG have the same problem.
So they leave lights on like at home, for security.
I think this is a lot better than having them come bursting out of their RV and throwing high speed lead pellets all over the place.

Many 'seasoned' campers do this, also.... young and old. I think it's a competition thing.... I have more lights than you!

I agree.... at the end of quiet time the lights should go off. Enjoy your fire and s'mores while viewing the stars.

[garmp]

If we have a light on at night, it's while we are outside and then off when we go inside. It also is a kerosene lantern that provides enough light to see our way around and plenty of ambience.

[NITEHAWK]

I not only turn off our outside lights, I also turn off our propane fired water heater.
Dark and quiet is good.

[astrnmrtom]

Unfortunately, many RV campers are now bringing the city with them. I'm an amateur astronomer who is now fill timing, and has camped my way through four states so far. I've seen bright lights camping where every I've been. I was excited about the ability to leave city lights behind, but have found many campgrounds are like residential neighborhoods where people leave light on all night. LED lighting has made it much worse because of all the additional lumens those lights can offer for less power.

RVs used to have a small light over the entry door, but many of the new ones have decorative lighting too, and full length LED awning lights are much more common. I've camped where people bring those tripod mounted work lights to illuminate their campsites. Many of these lights will cast a distinct shadow in my camp even though the light may be 500 feet away or more.

Unfortunately, even dispersed camping, unless you find a space faaaaar away from others, can have this problem too. If I'm going to set up my scope to observe, I rarely do it before dark on the first night, so I can evaluate the best spot to set-up where my RV can block these lights - if it's even possible. Sometimes it isn't.

People often mention safety, and I'm sure that's one reason, but the main reason is this most people come from urban and suburban where lights are everywhere, and it simply never crosses their minds that bright lights are a problem. Another reason is, this is a trickle down of the trend in architectural lighting that started in upscale developments as a way to "showcase" your home. These trends then trickle down to regular neighborhoods, and now to the RV world. Attached is an example of how one brand of high end RV "showcases" their coach. These lights ringed the whole motorhome and were left on all night. When I went for a walk that night and saw how this thing was lit up I was stunned. It was not just lights on the front and back, it had full length LED strips along the top of the coach on both sides at the top. I hoped their next door neighbor had thick curtains.

This is a subject that has it's own forum on the astronomy website I frequent. There people are lamenting how people are losing touch with the night sky. I replied in one thread that you need a connection in the first place, before you can lose it. A vast majority of the population has grown up without stars at night.

Pretty much the way I deal with it is to understand I'm a member of a very miniscule group of people who enjoys the night sky without lights. Most other people who camp, are there to camp, not to stargaze, so I take what I can get, which is still a whole lot better skies than I had when I lived in a town. Am I sorry and frustrated by all the light? Sure, but that's life, and all I can do is work around it. People on the astronomy forum talk about the need to educate the public, and how "we" as amateurs must FIGHT light pollution. I think you might as well just sit won and bang your head on the table, for all the good this "fighting" will do. The average person has a whole lot more things to worry about in their every day lives, to spend two seconds thinking about light pollution. If asked they may agree it's a bad thing, but that's about as much thought as they'll give it.

So, there's my 2 cents on the subject.

[Jayco19]

Here's my thinking on this camping stuff. As long as I can remember going camping in public campgrounds there's always something people complain about. If it's not lights it's pets - young children making noise -music to loud etc etc. So if you want no light and nothing to bother a person your going to have to boondock or find some private place to camp. I don't let the little thing bother me and a lot of the complaints is little things and enjoy everyone of my camping trips with friends and family.