Anyone else about to call it quits?

[Canonman]

Gotta say that is quite a mess. The state park campgrounds we visit must be monitored more closely by the hosts and park rangers because I've never run into a mess like those you've pictured. I'd be disgusted too! if I pulled into our campsite or dump station and found something like that.
I'll differ with you about the sidewalk chalk believing that's pretty creative play. But, NOT spray paint or anything that's even close to permanent.
Have you ever seen anything like this when boondocking or dry camping?

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

Hi, me again.

We are currently camped at Brookville State Recreation area (Indiana). This is a great park, which actually consists of 3 locations. Whitewater State Park, Quakertown Recreation area, and Brookville (Mounds) Recreation area, all located on Brookville Lake between Liberty, Indiana and Brookville, Indiana.

The photos below show only 1 small example of what Brookville looked like on the morning of July 5, 2022. This shelter house is located in pristine, nicely wooded, and natural setting as possible ... and then this:





And if you say, ... Oh, that was just a bunch of picnickers who were there for the only the day .... well ....

A few years ago I was shocked at the Whitewater State Park location ... This is what azz-hole RVers were doing at the dump station. l.... So yea! ...l YOU do not want to handle your own rubber gloves and discard them properly so YOU simply throw them on the ground so someone else has to handle YOUR SH**!! (literally).





And oh .... don't get me started on cigarette butts thrown on the ground at campsites, left in fire pits, and how about those damn water balloons that yuppie parents think are so cool for their kids to throw around and then NEVER pick up when their precious little monsters are having so much fun ...

In 2019 we were at General Butler State Park (Kentucky). They day we were preparing to leave, the people at a campsite a couple sites down from us left this mess. I flagged down DNR and they went nuts! That is NOT sidewalk chalk and it will not simply wash away with the first rain!





And oh ... don't get me started on the many, many, many times the precious little monsters do leave side walk chalk graphite all over the roads, the campsite pads, and on sidewalks. YOU or THEY may think it's really cute to let the little monsters do it, but it's totally a horrible and unsightly mess for the people following after you leave!

Think about it ... if YOU are one of those who think this type of behavior is acceptable ... what do you expect when YOU arrive at a new campsite? How would YOU react if you arrived and found side walk chalk all over everything, cigarrette butts all over the ground, trash and cigarette butts left in the fire pit where you were planning on cooking over for tonights supper and Smores? What would you think if you found broken bottles, glass, and defaced tree where people scalped them for fire wood? What would you think? You'd be so mad, you'd raise Hell at campground management! So..... why do you LEAVE it that way!

Yes, ... I'm addressing you. What you do is nothing but vandalism! This topic just popped a blood vessel in my head!

I echo your sentiments. Stuff like you picture happens far too often and those that do it should be banned from using any park anywhere. We spend 1/2 our time, no matter where we go it seems, picking up trash and carrying it off. We can't however repair the carved/cut up trees, destroyed shrubbery/plants/flowers and I don't sift through the fire pits for the countless cigarette butts; I do however try to get the cans and bottles out of them. I can only imagine what these kinds of thoughtless, uncaring and destructive people do to their surroundings and others on a daily basis.

[flybouy]

It's a shame for sure. I will say that I don't see any trash cans in the 2 pics. Could never understand why some dump stations. Not making excuses for the unexcusable, just an observation. Last year we took our grand daughters to Cheerystone cg in Eastern VA. It was like being in an inner city. Kids as young as 4 and 5 running loose, kids on bikes running out infront of vehichles, teens zooming around on golf carts drinking beer, etc. It was chaos. The cg obviously didn't care or were overwhelmed as calls went unresponsive. Results? We'll never go back.

Unfortunatly, like so many things these days there are rules/laws aplenty that go uninforced. The public no longer wants to get involved. I can understand why, fear of retribution, or having to go back perhaps hundreds of miles from home to testify. And for what, just to see them walk away laughing? The result is the disrespectful actions often by bullies that degrade society. I believe this will change, the pendulum has to reach its apex before it starts swining back. JMHO

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by flybouy

It's a shame for sure. I will say that I don't see any trash cans in the 2 pics. Could never understand why some dump stations. Not making excuses for the unexcusable, just an observation. Last year we took our grand daughters to Cheerystone cg in Eastern VA. It was like being in an inner city. Kids as young as 4 and 5 running loose, kids on bikes running out infront of vehichles, teens zooming around on golf carts drinking beer, etc. It was chaos. The cg obviously didn't care or were overwhelmed as calls went unresponsive. Results? We'll never go back.

Unfortunatly, like so many things these days there are rules/laws aplenty that go uninforced. The public no longer wants to get involved. I can understand why, fear of retribution, or having to go back perhaps hundreds of miles from home to testify. And for what, just to see them walk away laughing? The result is the disrespectful actions often by bullies that degrade society. I believe this will change, the pendulum has to reach its apex before it starts swining back. JMHO

wife wanted to go there and i read some reviews about people just walking right by their camper door to cut thru sites and got abusive when they were asked not to…general mayhem and anarchy in other reviews ..mostly problems with tent campers who seem to be against rules…i passed on it lol…i did see it was just sold to SUN RV RESORTS recently

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by jasin1

wife wanted to go there and i read some reviews about people just walking right by their camper door to cut thru sites and got abusive when they were asked not to…general mayhem and anarchy in other reviews ..mostly problems with tent campers who seem to be against rules…i passed on it lol…i did see it was just sold to SUN RV RESORTS recently

There's a line of tent sites and cabins behind the pool and dog park. Seemed like every site had at least six or more people to a site. Many had very loud boom boxes ore car stereos turned up. Yes, it was camp run amok and we'll never go back.

[Badbart56]

All this above is why I love living in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by hundreds of acres of corn fields, closest neighbors a half mile away.

I'd much rather pay a premium price for an RV resort that polices the grounds and keeps everyone in line (or invites them to leave) if they get rowdy.

The rural county that I lived in had state and city parks that we sheriff's deputies rode herd on when we had time and we enforced the no alcohol and noise rules. Some of the boat ramps along the rivers down there occasionally attracted some of the undesirables that seemed to want to spoil everybody else's fun with alcohol, drugs, loud music and causing fights. The privately owned RV resorts weren't ever a problem as I recall.

Some folks just can't behave it seems.

[Ellen]

Just sold our Cougar trailer. Bought a Thor ACE 30.3. And an ancient (2006) Jeep Liberty to tow. All we have done so far is 9 days of essentially dry camping. Except for the 12 v fridge, it went very well. Most have the propane/electric combo fridges. For some reason this one doesn’t. Most of the time it doesn’t matter much. I love driving the ACE. So much easier than the truck and trailer.

[steamboatscott]

I'll throw a solution idea out there: the USFS, state parks, etc need to increase the responsibilities of a camp host, even if that means paying them and increasing fees. If a camp host was more proactive in checking sites, reporting incidents to law enforcement, or even enforcing quiet hours rather than going to bed early...it might help. I fully realize that this doesn't align to the current camp host compensation model, but I'm suggesting that the model needs to change.

[wiredgeorge]

Some of the lack of supervision for the Fed campgrounds is that many of the Fed personnel who worked in these parks have been sent down to the border, or so i read somewhere to augment Border Patrol and other Fed services.

[travelin texans]

The 1st couple pics with trash all around, it appears there's a black trash bag on the far left, so it very well could've been critters responsible for that mess. But I have a lot of campsites that looked very similar left by the campers.
Several years ago when Texas Motor Speedway 1st opened they had 2 weekends back to back with concerts, one weekend was country artist the other was rock n roll/hard rock. After the RnR concert the trash situation was so bad they brought in front end loaders & about 10 bus loads of folks to pick up after what looked like a landfill location. There were still drunks, or whatever they were doing, still passed out the next afternoon.

[WDPatterson]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

The last time DW's family came north (from the Detroit area) there were about 7 or 8 trailers (plus ours) and we all "took over" the state forest campground on Big Bear Lake, about half a mile from our house. It's primitave camping with "14 marked spaces that have a fire ring and most have a picnic table". Otherwise, it's a quiet place on the lake except for the weekends. We were there for the week, so come Friday about noon, the four spaces that were open began to fill. By 7 or 8 PM, the campground was full. First came the screaming moms, yelling at their 3 year olds, followed by the screaming kids because mom was yelling, followed by the mini-bikes (which are not allowed in the campground), then the drunks around the campfire, tossing firecrackers into the pit, loud radios, moms still screaming, kids still crying, drunks getting louder and about 40 us us, all around a single campfire, chatting casually, trying to ignore the "near riots" a few spaces away.

Through it all, I began to wonder why I'd leave the quiet rear deck at the house, overlooking the lake, relaxing in an environment I control through ownership. Granted, "camping is relaxing" but so is sitting on my deck, always full hookups, and a full freezer, oversize recliner, large screen TV, central air, no bugs and NO NOISE !!!!!

Yes, we plan to keep the trailer, will continue to travel, and use the trailer as "our personal apartment rather than renting a hotel room" more than as a respite from the noise and craziness of the city.... YMMV

Well said, indeed!!... My wife and I have settled in on our property, have all the amenities we need, running off of solar and Propane. We want for nothing. Fresh Rainwater, surrounded by trees and Wildlife, and no Neighbors.

[Rebshots1953]

We camped at a Midwest state park the week before 4th of July. Very peaceful until the 3rd 🤣 One thing I became more aware of is how many people are living in their trailers/RV’s and tents. Not by choice, but by the economy. We met two different guys who were living in their tents because they each got priced out of their rentals in the past few months. One told us that his rent went from $1000 to $1500 and it pushed him out of housing. The other had been in an $800 rental that is now $1600! Crazy! They both were moving from place to place trying to stay safe and in decent spots.
One told us that his wife and two kids were living with her parents out of state but his work was here. He was hoping to find a place before school starts but didn’t feel confident. So, I wonder how many people staying on BLM land are in the same boat? That doesn’t excuse their behavior but? It’s something that has been heavy on my mind this month.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Rebshots1953

We camped at a Midwest state park the week before 4th of July. Very peaceful until the 3rd �� One thing I became more aware of is how many people are living in their trailers/RV’s and tents. Not by choice, but by the economy. We met two different guys who were living in their tents because they each got priced out of their rentals in the past few months. One told us that his rent went from $1000 to $1500 and it pushed him out of housing. The other had been in an $800 rental that is now $1600! Crazy! They both were moving from place to place trying to stay safe and in decent spots.
One told us that his wife and two kids were living with her parents out of state but his work was here. He was hoping to find a place before school starts but didn’t feel confident. So, I wonder how many people staying on BLM land are in the same boat? That doesn’t excuse their behavior but? It’s something that has been heavy on my mind this month.

There are a large number (too damn many) people living in tents on federal and state forest property around here. Every year there's a "push" to get them out of tents and into "winter housing" for survival. It's always been like this, but in recent years, it seems with people losing their jobs due to Covid and now the downturn in the economy, seems that everywhere we look, there's another tent or in some places, a tent city.... I "cringe" to think what's going to happen in October/November when the temperature drops below freezing and stays there for weeks on end. It's going to be far more "reaching" than in past years with the few people who couldn't find housing. I'm guessing there'll be hundreds, maybe thousands this winter.....

[Rebshots1953]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

There are a large number (too damn many) people living in tents on federal and state forest property around here. Every year there's a "push" to get them out of tents and into "winter housing" for survival. It's always been like this, but in recent years, it seems with people losing their jobs due to Covid and now the downturn in the economy, seems that everywhere we look, there's another tent or in some places, a tent city.... I "cringe" to think what's going to happen in October/November when the temperature drops below freezing and stays there for weeks on end. It's going to be far more "reaching" than in past years with the few people who couldn't find housing. I'm guessing there'll be hundreds, maybe thousands this winter.....

Sadly, I agree. Rent prices skyrocketed this year and many just can’t make the numbers work. I think the homeless numbers are going to keep going up. The lucky ones will have a camper 🤷*♀️ I think we will continue to see more and more boondocking.

[Rebshots1953]

Whoa! Don’t know where those icons came from?!

[RK1978]

I guess we have been fortunate. I am typing this from Lake Ki CG north of Everett WA after driving about 2200 miles and staying in 6 different campgrounds on the way. Those ranged from small private to Sun Lake SP in central washington.We had no problems and saw no messes like those in the photos. My wife is in a wheelchair and is very limited in what she can do, so we fixed the trailer to accommodate her as much as possible and we travel, and will continue to do so until she can't. Some people are a-holes and always will be. I don't have any solutions, just try to cope as much as possible. If you want isolation, get the gear and put on a backpack and head for the back country. We did until it became impossible, now we just look at the pictures. Happy travels to all.
PR
2007 Dodge 3500
2008 Hideout

[kcamp99186]

More and more folks are getting into camping for the first time, and while I applaud this in general, far too many are bringing their "it's my party" attitude with them. The RV and camping websites I view are often inundated with requests for campgrounds with programs and things to do for their kids. These kids are far too often left to their own devices while the adults ignore them. Recently in a WV State Park we had several E-bikes ridden by kids around and around the campground at full throttle a clear danger to the smaller kids on their bikes. I had thought that E-bikes would prove a benefit to older or disabled folks by allowing them better access to places but should have known they would be abused by others. Already the have been deemed illegal in wilderness areas in our National Forest, a place where they could have helped older fishermen access walk/bike in streams. I don't mind most music, but I do find it rude to be played so loud I can hear it across the campground. And while I enjoy a beer or 2 when camping if you have to be falling down drunk to have a good time then you have serious issues. gone are the days of going camping to relax and enjoy mother nature. Seems like we've taught folks that they have rights but have certainly failed to teach them that they have responsibilities as well.

[dutchmensport]

Originally Posted by kcamp99186

...These kids are far too often left to their own devices while the adults ignore them. ...

Actually, this is not a new phenomena. I'm 67 years old. My parents purchased a 1963 Phoenix travel trailer and as a family, we traveled a lot. It did not matter where we landed, two things seemed to always happen. Parents sat around yacking with other adults drinking beer and whisky, and us kids were on our own without any kind of supervision, sometimes heading out early morning and not returning to the campsite until after dark. Parents didn't care as long as they could drink their beer.

My wife is 59 now and her family was raised camping from the very beginning. Theirs went from pop-ups, to travel trailers, to truck campers, to motor homes. My wife's story is the same, except her parents did not consume alcohol. They disappeared and went fishing, leaving the kids to run amock. And my wife said that's exactly what she and her 2 brothers did.

BUT! The difference between yesterday's generation and today's generation is the fact that the older generation of kids were not destructive, disrespectful, and we all worked very hard to stay ... out of site, out of mind! It seems todays generation of kids are quite different. They have an entitlement attitude that they can can do anything they want and should not be held accountable for anything. So, that's exactly what they do. The result is bad behavior, opposed to my generation which was sneeky behavior... let's see if we can get away with it! ... because if we don't, we'll get the sh** beat out of us!

[P & T]

Originally Posted by steamboatscott

I’ve been camping regularly since I was 12 in Boy Scouts (eventually became an Eagle). About 10 years ago I got a popup and then a hard sided trailer to make it easier for taking the kids. We camped 30 - 45 nights for several years. But, the past 3-4 years, the dispersed spots that I used to love discovering on BLM/MVUM maps or similar and then eagerly returning to each year have become so busy and full of disrespectful people that I regularly consider selling the RV. They keep making more and more RVs, generators, OHVs, and Bluetooth speakers with apps like Campendium to point the way and then dealers still don’t give any instruction on how to respectfully use this equipment. God ain’t making any more land while the USFS/BLM/etc isn’t making any more dispersed camping roads or pull offs…at least not nearly enough to keep up with the increase demand. Anyone else feel the same despair?

We had been boating for years on the CA Delta and got tired of the new generation of boaters. Loved the water but dreaded getting out there on rookie weekends (Mem Day, 4th of July, etc.). We now have been moochdocking at our road destinations with RV resorts in between. We try and search "resorts" and sometimes a decent KOA appears. Not sure how we'll feel after longer trips with less mooching.

[roadglide]

We have Sturgis rally coming up around end of the month about 2000 mile round-trip . I see us going to Illinois for a few weeks every year. I’m done traveling all over America back tracking and taking the back roads . Our travels will be interstate using the shortest and fastest routes. It’s not as much fun as it has been previously.