When camping goes wrong...

[swimmermom3]

Dh and I have camped for over 30 years and have experienced maybe two bad experiences with other campers in all of that time. Unfortunately, last night was one of those experiences. I have been running through the scenario in my head, wondering what we should have done differently, if we are too picky, etc.

 

Our favorite campground was full, so ds found another one in the same general area. It did not have a camp host and the services were port-a-potties and garbage. We car camp and are comfortable walking gear in.

 

There was a group next to us that occupied two sites. The guys had voices that carried beautifully and we decided that if we took a drink of wine for every time the gentleman we termed "Motherf-----" said the same, we would deplete our wine supplies in an hour.  "Gunter's Owner" spent much of his time bellowing for the dog who was not on a leash and was visiting other camp sites. We got to hear about the time "Potty Boy" messed his pants out camping and left the bag of clothes in his car for two days. I'll leave out the more graphic details, but I believe a flashlight was involved in messing his pants.

 

The party ramped up and we slept through the first of it.  I don't ask for quiet even after quiet hours if a group is managing to keep it somewhat in check. I get wanting to go out with your friends and have fun. Many campers manage to do it just fine. The clincher was pulling out the stereo or whatever at midnight and blaring Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and 15 or so people drunkenly trying to sing along with Freddy Mercury. <<<shudder>>>

 

It just kept escalating.  A couple of years ago, we were at another of our favorite campgrounds when a group came in late at night and began playing a game. They would hoot like owls and then run through all of the campsites trying to find each other. They also had a loud party going. This went on all night and culminated with a woman screaming somewhere in the woods above us.  It is the one and only time I have been terrified while camping. At least around here, there is an unspoken rule that it is best not to mess with large groups of super drunk people in remote campgrounds.

 

We just packed up and left. I've never done that before. If it's loud, I read a book until it dies down. The previous bad experience has colored our perception.

 

I did call the ranger station this morning. The young woman there seemed baffled that I had an issue, but suggested that next time we contact the camp host at the campground that was up the road from us and then they could contact the appropriate officials. Oh duh, although I thought camp hosts were specific to a particular camp ground.

 

Anyone had similar experiences? I am truly not the campground gestapo. I want you to have a good experience and I want to have a good experience and I am willing to compromise - to a point.

 

 

 

 

[Kerileanne99]

We were once camping out in the middle of nowhere, at City of Rocks in Idaho. There was nobody else camping anywhere we could see. Incredibly beautiful and peaceful...until midnight when a huge loud truck came barreling up and a booming voice shouted "Hey!!! You in the tent. Ya got any weed?!"

We opted to ignore for awhile but they just kept at it, driving in circles and 'mud-bogging' for a bit before circling back to us to shout for weed.

Finally my father-in-law shouted back "No! Do you?"

They even asked if they could come sleep in our tentðŸ˜

 

They finally left after a couple of hours. The next morning we ended up cleaning up after them and their beer, chip, and burger gorge. The landscape was a disaster, so torn up. I think that infuriated me the most.

I THINK it was college kids out for a laugh, but it terrifies me to be in that situation in the middle of nowhere.

[Hwin]

When I read the reviews about the place we decided to go camping, this is the review that sold me on the place: 

The facilities were good and all the bathrooms were clean. The only problem was that the owners patrolled the camp ground like police and treated us (27 year olds) like children.

 

 

And it was everything we dreamed it would be. :)

[Tess in the Burbs]

we were camping this summer and had noise issues on both trips.  First one I slept for a bit, but they were still up at 2 am so I mentioned it to the host that day, and he must have said something b/c they were looking at us meanly and super quiet the next 2 nights lol.  I don't mind people being up later if they can keep it to a low noise level.  Shouting/singing/outburts of loud laughter hours after quiet time isn't cool.   The second experience was not so good.  All from another country, we were surrounded by this group of Rvers and we were tent camping.  Fire ban, so we were in the tent at quiet hours.  They came in late and stayed for HOURS talking right next to our tent, laughing loudly.  I was too tired to get out to ask nicely to quiet down.  Luckily they rotated their social hours every night so only the first night was super bad.  The kid toys in the roadway all weekend sucked.  We had to get out to move bikes/scooters/ramps, etc just to drive to our site.  I didn't complain about them though.....I hate confrontation. 

 

However, I agree with you about drunks.  Long ago my mom, my sister, and myself camped in a state park.  We were assigned a spot.  While setting up a person kept walking between our site and the one on the other side.  Finally mom asked him to walk around.  At this point the people should have said they were together and asked to move their sites side by side.  We could have moved at this point.  But no, they started screaming how he's mentally retarded(their words) and he won't walk around, deal with it.  We should have gone on our own, but mom didn't want to load up the car and move.  About 2am I still hear these people outside.  Drunk, being loud.  Mom asked them to kindly keep the noise down since it's after hours.  It got worse.  They were tickling this kid...about age 2...and she was screaming  every time they touched her.  Mom finally got out of the tent and walked over asking them to stop bothering the kid so she would stop screaming.  The man jumped up and screamed in mom's face.  My sister had to go get mom b/c now they are both screaming at each other.  Man is threatening to kill us in our sleep.  OMG, it was awful.  I have never seen my mom so upset.  We didn't sleep at all that night.  We left next day.  

 

I have found that while you can ask nicely, most people will not change behavior.  I have also found in the last year that campers are no longer respectful to the quiet hour rules.  I like camping.  But I get so upset when people clearly have no intention of being quiet at all overnight.  I hear every conversation.  We are often the only ones quiet in campgrounds.  You can walk through hours after quiet time and most are still up talking or being loud.  And yes, when you ask drunk people to be quiet, you are risking your safety.  

 

Sorry you had a bad experience as well.  I have no answers how to handle people like that.  I found most camp hosts are older adults, who are in bed at quiet time.  No help really.  

[dirty ethel rackham]

Yeah, this is my nightmare about camping.  The part I like about camping is getting away from it all.  And, by "it all" I mean loud, obnoxious people.  We have had good luck at certain state parks, but others were RV sites, but not marked as such.  Nothing like hearing air conditioning units, loud TVs and lots of drunk people up at all hours of the night.  I think that was the last time we camped as a family. 

[momacacia]

Yes, but generally in my mind I wonder if there is a way for camping to really go right.

 

But, yes, there's a state campground we'll never go back to because it's mostly just a bunch of RVers and partiers, lots of drinking, etc. I'm actually always amazed at how people at on campgrounds out in nature and treat nature. I have more privacy in my backyard, and I don't really understand WHY we're camping with all these other people around us, looking at us, etc. Now, sometimes we do camp in a more private area and that's nice, but most..."Hello, neighbor!" Only, we came out here to get away???

 

We've encountered the partiers, the kids bike riding loudly through the campground after dark, and the people pulling in past check-in time (as in 2am in the morning) opening and closing car doors loudly and waking up my baby. Yeah, we left the next morning on that one. I was peeved. I don't camp well anyway, do you have the give me some good reason to be out there, getting a light nights sleep. Some mountains, streams, beach, something amazing to lure me out there.

 

I've mostly camped in the Midwest, which I do not recommend. The few times we've been camping out West, it's been a very different scenario. More respect for nature, other campers, etc.

[Ravin]

we were camping this summer and had noise issues on both trips. First one I slept for a bit, but they were still up at 2 am so I mentioned it to the host that day, and he must have said something b/c they were looking at us meanly and super quiet the next 2 nights lol. I don't mind people being up later if they can keep it to a low noise level. Shouting/singing/outburts of loud laughter hours after quiet time isn't cool. The second experience was not so good. All from another country, we were surrounded by this group of Rvers and we were tent camping. Fire ban, so we were in the tent at quiet hours. They came in late and stayed for HOURS talking right next to our tent, laughing loudly. I was too tired to get out to ask nicely to quiet down. Luckily they rotated their social hours every night so only the first night was super bad. The kid toys in the roadway all weekend sucked. We had to get out to move bikes/scooters/ramps, etc just to drive to our site. I didn't complain about them though.....I hate confrontation.

 

However, I agree with you about drunks. Long ago my mom, my sister, and myself camped in a state park. We were assigned a spot. While setting up a person kept walking between our site and the one on the other side. Finally mom asked him to walk around. At this point the people should have said they were together and asked to move their sites side by side. We could have moved at this point. But no, they started screaming how he's mentally retarded(their words) and he won't walk around, deal with it. We should have gone on our own, but mom didn't want to load up the car and move. About 2am I still hear these people outside. Drunk, being loud. Mom asked them to kindly keep the noise down since it's after hours. It got worse. They were tickling this kid...about age 2...and she was screaming every time they touched her. Mom finally got out of the tent and walked over asking them to stop bothering the kid so she would stop screaming. The man jumped up and screamed in mom's face. My sister had to go get mom b/c now they are both screaming at each other. Man is threatening to kill us in our sleep. OMG, it was awful. I have never seen my mom so upset. We didn't sleep at all that night. We left next day.

 

I have found that while you can ask nicely, most people will not change behavior. I have also found in the last year that campers are no longer respectful to the quiet hour rules. I like camping. But I get so upset when people clearly have no intention of being quiet at all overnight. I hear every conversation. We are often the only ones quiet in campgrounds. You can walk through hours after quiet time and most are still up talking or being loud. And yes, when you ask drunk people to be quiet, you are risking your safety.

 

Sorry you had a bad experience as well. I have no answers how to handle people like that. I found most camp hosts are older adults, who are in bed at quiet time. No help really.

I have been camping outside of SCA events exactly once. It was a BLM campground in the middle of New Mexico and was very clean and quiet.

 

I like the sound of the late parties at SCA events because they tend to involve drums, not stereos, and I find the sound of drumming comforting when going to sleep or waking in the night.

 

The worst experience we had involved a rainstorm and some fool in a neighboring whose ineptitude inspired a friend to write an article for entitled "How to Stake Your Tent and Not Your Friends."

[NorthwestMom]

I would not approach strangers behaving badly while camping, ever. If there was no camp host I would leave. It's just too much to risk an ongoing confrontation.

 

Last year we went camping with a few families, and there was a squatter with a tent on one site doing meth.  :scared:  We know this because when my friend complained to the host that someone was on her reserved site, he knew exactly who it was, and went over there and reamed her out and threatened to call the cops if she and her druggie friends didn't leave immediately. He was a champ! And we were so shocked!

[swimmermom3]

We were once camping out in the middle of nowhere, at City of Rocks in Idaho. There was nobody else camping anywhere we could see. Incredibly beautiful and peaceful...until midnight when a huge loud truck came barreling up and a booming voice shouted "Hey!!! You in the tent. Ya got any weed?!"

We opted to ignore for awhile but they just kept at it, driving in circles and 'mud-bogging' for a bit before circling back to us to shout for weed.

Finally my father-in-law shouted back "No! Do you?"

They even asked if they could come sleep in our tentðŸ˜

 

They finally left after a couple of hours. The next morning we ended up cleaning up after them and their beer, chip, and burger gorge. The landscape was a disaster, so torn up. I think that infuriated me the most.

I THINK it was college kids out for a laugh, but it terrifies me to be in that situation in the middle of nowhere.

 

:svengo: So you've met the "Mountain Trolls" too? 

 

I chuckled at your story, but a bit grimly. Maybe the trolls were harmless and just out for a laugh, but you don't know for sure and that had to have been a really uncomfortable situation. I do love your FIL's response. Cleaning up their trash would have made me really crabby, but ugh! Who wants to leave that mess for the next person or the critters?

 

I am fairly sure the trolls in our first encounter weren't harmless. Last night's trolls were probably harmless, but pretty thoughtless.  I hate to overreact and contact law enforcement, but I also hate to have the partiers' rights outweigh ours. I love camping and always feel way too confined at home when we first get back.

 

The gear is all still in the cars so dh took the two hour drive this morning to try and secure a place at our favorite campground. Should hear from him soon.  I hope last night's trolls have pounding headaches this morning. I was actually looking forward to being really loud while I made breakfast, and maybe playing some really awful music, but I couldn't punish the other campers that way. :D

 

[Tess in the Burbs]

ok I admit, if people keep me up really late past quiet hours, I have no problem being loud at breakfast.  Especially if it's no longer quiet hours.  

[Wheres Toto]

ok I admit, if people keep me up really late past quiet hours, I have no problem being loud at breakfast.  Especially if it's no longer quiet hours.  

 

This.  We've gone camping at a county run campground in South Jersey every Memorial Day weekend for the past few years.  They do have hosts on site and they are usually pretty good about taking care of people who are too loud but usually they don't deal with it the same night, they say something the next day and you hope the noisy campers listen.  We had a large party next to us last year - two sites, about 5 tents, large group drinking and staying up very late being noisy.  So, we didn't worry about keeping our children quiet when they got up bright and early in the morning as usual.  What bugged me most was that group had quite a few young children and babies that were not getting proper supervision.

 

When we camped at state campgrounds that were more rustic, we haven't had any problems.   Quite a few of them don't allow alcohol, which seems to cut down on the problems.

[Rachel]

We were the nightmare family on our last camping trip about 2 years ago. We were primitive camping near a marina and our then 18 month old pretty much screamed most of the night, something he never did. My husband and I kept thinking he would surely fall asleep permanently soon. Our dog also spent the entire night barking.

 

We thought we were the only people at campground but when we gave up sleeping around 5, we discovered a couple camping out of eye sight, but not ear shot. We apologized profusely and promised we weren't staying a second night.

[Miss Tick]

Bummer. I've run into that, too. Another example of how a few people can ruin things for so many others.

 

I think the last time I dealt with that someone eventually called the authorities, it must have been a national park because the response was serious and involved armed authorities.

[Wabi Sabi]

Our worst camping experience: 

Spring break trip to Mammoth Cave. As we arrived our newly potty trained child began to have explosive diarrhea. It was obviously uncontrollable, she refused a diaper, and her little bottom was so red and blistered from the acidic poo that she screamed every time another round hit her. 

The forecast had called for mild weather, but it grew unexpectedly cold and rainy. We had brought an extra down comforter in additional to our regular bedding but we were all so cold and wet that we couldn't sleep. 

Finally, the poor kiddo with the diarrhea broke out in head to toe hives. There was no Benadryl to be found anywhere in the Mammoth Cave Nat'l Park, even in the lodge, so we had to drive over 1.5 hours in the middle of the rainy night to find a store that was open and had children's Benadryl.

 

In the morning we decided to give up. We threw our sopping wet tent and other gear into the car and just went home. 

[PrincessMommy]

oh my goodness.  I have never had such a bad experience.  Granted we don't camp all that much... and we prefer primative camping to state parks and such.  We like to go to the places that RV's can't get to.

 

The last place we camped at all the sites are probably 1/4mile apart.  It  is wonderful.

 

I have a friend who had a nightmare experience.....although the guy ran through their site at night - naked and wielding a knife!  It was a Nat.'l park, and fortunately the authorites showed up very quickly.  Guy was high on drugs... but no one slept that night.    I thought my friend's experience was an outlier... you guys are making me scared.

[Nart]

When I read the reviews about the place we decided to go camping, this is the review that sold me on the place:

 

And it was everything we dreamed it would be. :)

Please tell us what campground? We will gladly go there. We went to Sequoia National Park this summer and the first night there was a big extended group of family and/or friends who played loud music, drank, and were loud until after 11 pm. Then they started shouting about seeing a shooting star at the top of their lungs. We were so happy when they left the next morning and it was really quiet. I asked a family camping if it was always so loud when they camped because it was our first time camping as a family. They said it was usually quieter in National Park campgrounds. So they thought it was unusual. Two nights later a bear walked by our tent and then we started joking that maybe it was better when it was loud to scare off the bears!

[Hwin]

Please tell us what campground? We will gladly go there. We went to Sequoia National Park this summer and the first night there was a big extended group of family and/or friends who played loud music, drank, and were loud until after 11 pm. Then they started shouting about seeing a shooting star at the top of their lungs. We were so happy when they left the next morning and it was really quiet. I asked a family camping if it was always so loud when they camped because it was our first time camping as a family. They said it was usually quieter in National Park campgrounds. So they thought it was unusual. Two nights later a bear walked by our tent and then we started joking that maybe it was better when it was loud to scare off the bears!

It was called Shel Al and we just went there for somewhere cheap to stay while we took the kids to the ocean in NH. It's not a camping in nature experience...

[Anne in CA]

We live by several campgrounds and while those obnoxious large group scenarios do happen, they are usually dealt with. If you want to have privacy, you need to be able to camp outside campgrounds in places that partiers won't work hard to get to.

[rose]

We do ALOT of camping as a family. Every time we travel we camp rather than rent a hotel room. Here's our worst experience:

 

When our oldest two were about 5 we went camping with another family that had 2 children. We choice a campgrounds that we had camped at before that didn't have a ranger. The first time we were there it was lovely. In BC there are hundreds of campgrounds created by the ministry of forests that are usually about 10 -20 sites with a picnic table and firepit at each site and pit toilets. They're usually free.

 

I think that we choice the last weekend in May. This was a BIG mistake. Our first clue should have been the road block we went through on the way in where the police were confiscating liquor from underage minors. They had a pile by the side of the road of what they had accumulated that amounted to probably 3 garbage cans full of liquor. We also had to pay $20 there which was a surprise.

 

When we got to the campgrounds every site was full of teenagers. Apparently it was grad weekend. The next clue that there was going to be issues was the kids with the beer funnel. I don't know why but we decided to stay anyways. We set up our tents on the beach of a lake a little ways away. Things kept going poorly. My ds vomited hotdog all over his pillow. Next, our friends dd dislocated her elbow while having a tantrum. They had to take her in to have it set. Then a bunch of the teens decided to go skinny dipping in the lake right next to us  :eek: . The noise all night was incredible. The next morning the kids cleared out and we though that things were going to get better. Then the weather changed to rain. We tried to set up our friends canopy. The wind blew it over and nearly knocked out my friend. We just gave up at that point and went home.

 

In all our experiences camping this was definitely the worst. One time we went camping in WA along the Columbia river in a free camp grounds. We had another night of partying to deal with. I think that a number of the people there were living their whole summer there. We've learned to take ear plugs camping because you just never know what kind of folks you're going to have to face.

 

My favourite way to camp in the US is to boondock on BLM land or in national forests. You get to be all by yourself with nature. Just make sure you bring enough water and a shovel.   ;)

[scubamama]

I shudder to read these - bc I'm packing to go camping tomorrow!!!!

Worst trip: 3 of my mom friends and I took our kids camping in a very nice area of CA - Malibu.  At a state park by the ocean. Beautiful! 4 moms and 12 kids.  Things are great until about 9pm. Kids are in the tents winding down after a day in the ocean, moms sitting by the campfire. Suddenly, a man on a bike veers into our site and crashes into the firepit - which was lit btw!!! He laid on the ground, talking to us and denying injury but saying he was "tired, man, really tired. just gonna relax"  We were all stunned, but then we realized he was ok, just high on something. But he wouldn't leave - he laid there for about 10 minutes. Then we noticed another man had wandered back to where our tents were - with the kids! We told the guy on the ground to get up and leave immediately (since we'd already been doing this for the last 10 min we seriously hoped he'd go) and some of us went to the check in kiosk to report the whole crazy scenario. The college kid in the kiosk was completely unimpressed and we had to request the police come. They did and searched around but couldn't find either man.  It was a very uneasy night.

In the morning, one of the kids found the guy who laid on the ground's iphone. We took it to the Kiosk.  About 10 min later he shows up at our site! Still acting weird...he asks if we've seen his phone. We told him we just took it to the kiosk.  He left after asking what we were making for breakfast.  What a nut!

 

[City Mouse]

We've never had any experience asbad as these, but when we lived in Texas, we intentionally avoided the state parks with a water emphasis during warmer months. That is when the "amateur" campers come out to play on the lake/River and drink heavily.

[bettyandbob]

One time we were camping next to a drunken group. Just dh and I. There were only 3 people in the group. There were two empty sites between us. They got very drunk and loud. Eventually, there loudness was drowned out by a huge thunderstorm. I woke in the middle of the night while the storm was to still raging to see flashlight spot lighting our tent. Our site was closer to the bathroom so, if that's what they wanted they would have to walk by. However, the light circled the tent. I watched it shine on all sides of the tent. It was frightening. Then part of our tent caved in--just a bit one side, so it was ok the rest of the night. In the morning, we could tell that the line holding the tent on that side had been cut. I don't get it. We didn't say anything to them and they cut our line in the middle of the night for kicks. 

[Miss Tick]

We've never had any experience asbad as these, but when we lived in Texas, we intentionally avoided the state parks with a water emphasis during warmer months. That is when the "amateur" campers come out to play on the lake/River and drink heavily.

Yes! Avoid the places with water access, use as primitive a site as you can, the harder to get to the better. And earplugs are your friend, small, lightweight, but hard to carry just in case.

[Guest]

When I read the reviews about the place we decided to go camping, this is the review that sold me on the place:

 

And it was everything we dreamed it would be. :)

Our favorite campground up here is the same way. They are STRICT.

[Guest]

I have been camping outside of SCA events exactly once. It was a BLM campground in the middle of New Mexico and was very clean and quiet.

 

I like the sound of the late parties at SCA events because they tend to involve drums, not stereos, and I find the sound of drumming comforting when going to sleep or waking in the night.

 

The worst experience we had involved a rainstorm and some fool in a neighboring whose ineptitude inspired a friend to write an article for entitled "How to Stake Your Tent and Not Your Friends."

Yeah, I can sleep through a Hafla, if for some reason I'm not dancing, too. I can't sleep through bad death metal.

[Serenade]

Our favorite campground up here is the same way. They are STRICT.

 

 

We were just camping at a large, popular commercial campsite at the beach, and they are very strict, too.  Because it's the beach and warm and summer, a lot of people are walking around at night and the potential for things to escalate is huge.  This campsite has security out at 11 PM every night breaking up large gatherings.  Our family got questioned coming back with laundry at 11:15, and while it annoyed me slightly, I can understand why they do it.  People are allowed to gather at their own campsites after 11, but the public groups in public areas are broken up at 11 PM, and security patrols for a good long time after that, making sure that no new groups start.

[KrissiK]

I am so sorry! I hate camp grounds. It's like living in an apartment building but without walls. I hate being so close to people I don't know. Needless to say, we don't camp much.

[LucyStoner]

The car campgrounds we go to all have good camp hosts.

 

The hike in places tend to be quiet and the people you see are nice.

 

I did have a scary experience backpacking once with a friend. We were pretty young and kept seeing this one guy on the trail. He wasn't staying ahead or behind. He didn't seem too alarming but something was just odd. Well, we didn't see him for a long time. We pitched our tent but that night we heard footsteps. Definitely human. We just looked at each other and wordlessly packed everything up and decked it down the trail, back to her car and the hell out of there.

[wathe]

This happened to us just this week: loud music in the wee small hours, alcolhol. shouting and swearing.  With the adddition of animal(s) (likely a black bear) trashing their food strewn campsite afte they'd finaly passed out.  Parks staff supervised thier eviction first thin in the morning.