tandempower

I have this idea that it should be possible to go on a one or two night weekend tour to a forest destination somewhere outside a city where you could camp in a lean-to or other covered shelter bringing no tent, just a sleeping pad/bag and maybe a mosquito net. Does anyone have the experience of having local public camping areas like this or does camping always require carrying a tent/tarp/etc. as well? Lean-to's are such a great concept used on long hiking trails so you'd think they'd be available in some place for bike touring, though I've never heard of any.

StephenH

Do you mean using a pre-built shelter? If you have local national/state forests, check with them and see what's available. My guess is, that would relate to hiking and not biking and you'd be out of luck if you're riding on roads.
I remember seeing something like that on the Ouachita Trail up in Arkansas onetime. I think it was first-come-first served.
I know they had a few "yurts" in Colorado, but you had to rent them- sort of like a pricey motel room reachable by skis or snowshoes. If you had a group, it'd be okay, not so good for a single person, though.
On the road, you're probably more likely to find a KOA campground or a state park that rents cabins or something like that.

juggleaddict

I had a wonderful experience on the greenbrier trail in WV using the adirondack shelters on the trail. They are free, but shelters like it are few and far between even on trails, not to mention roads. I'm trying to make it out that way again this year. Definitely my favorite rails to trails, but it's all (smooth) gravel.

From what I saw on the pacific coast, sleeping with a sleeping bag wrapped in a thin tarp or tyvek is pretty common, or even just in a group on a blanket. . . clearly they were more confident than I that it wouldn't rain.

For little weekend trips I'm not beyond springing for a cheap hotel for a night or two just to simplify things : P but I really like tent camping, and I'll even make a fire on shorter tours simply for the experience of it. . . . and the smores.

GITride

It is certainly possible.

But it's nice to have a tent just for the bugs....

I have a bug bivy that I have never used since the tent is almost the same size and it does two things the bug bivy can't:
Keep out dew.
Keep out rain.
It might not rain, but unless you find something to get under you will be soaked with dew.

stevepusser

The only thing close to that in California are dugouts in baseball or softball fields.

I've never done it myself, but have seen people sleep in the campground restrooms if they didn't have the shelter appropriate for rainy or very cold weather. I usually just carry a hammock and an emergency tarp, since it's dead dry in SoCal for most of the year. I do take note of some other types of shelters, too. For example, the hike and bike site at Lake Perris is located next to some horseshoe pits, and there's a big sort of gazebo on the other side of the pits called the "Nature Den" where they teach kids nature stuff, I guess. It would make a great emergency rain shelter.

There are a few cabins off the beaten track in remote areas, such as this one: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...alifornia.html

MassiveD

I thought he was talking about making a lean to as with boy scout instructions up through the 70s. One could do it, but it would be illegal many places and a violation of the prime directive of taking only pictures and leaving only tracks.

There really isn't any practical value to it since a tarp weighs less than the tools that are required to make a shelter.

It is possible to find natural trees that that are essentially waterproof if one camp near the trunk.

MichaelW

In Denmark there is a very good network of such campsites. The shelters are wooden log constructions, raised off the ground, with sitting height, not standing height inside the shelter, and a covered platform outside.
Each campsite has a water supply, a drop toilet and a place for open fires. They are mostly free to use. Some have a nominal charge of 3Euro. You can of course use your own tent if you want the extra bug protection.

People in Denmark respect these facilities and I never saw any graffiti, damage or abuse of the sites. In the UK, these would end up being hangouts for drunken youth parties, permanent homes for tramps or become bonfires.

Tarp shelters are the usual solution to ultralight camping. There is a new trend in the UK for mini-adventures, either weekend or midweek . The problem is that camping is illegal almost everywhere (except Scotland) so you have to be very stealthy.

Juha

In Finland you have a network of lean-tos as well. All I've visited have a designated open fire pit, and all except maybe the ones closest to towns/villages have supply of firewood available. Many are situated in national parks, small islets etc and are therefore inaccessible by bike. Around here, you'll definitely need some protection against mosquitoes if you're planning on staying overnight. They're big enough for 3 persons, maybe up to 5 in a pinch. Some of them are privately owned / maintained but still open for the casual camper (if they're not in anyone's front yard that is). The private ones may not show up on any maps.

They're good for winter camping as well.

--J

Altbark

Plenty of lean-tos in the Adirondack Park. Most lean-tos are off the roads and on trails. A lot of the trails are for hikers and not bikers. Lean-tos are mostly a first come first served proposition. Basically, that means that you still have to carry shelter of some sort with you in case the lean-to is full. Al

staehpj1

I have stayed under various cover on tour. Picnic pavilions are the primary type I have used, but I have never done a tour where there was one every night. That said I have not been using a tent on the last couple tours. I have used a bivy or a bug bivy paired with some kind of tarp. In some places the tarp was for just in case and in others it was pitched most nights. In any case the whole shelter package can be under a pound to a pound and a half depending on your choice if you choose carefully.

My preferred approach is to cowboy camp when possible and to have a tarp handy. In a light shower I just pull the tarp over me and my gear.

Juha

Interesting thing this lean-to and wilderness hut etiquette. Traditionally in Finland it used to be, first come means you also leave first in case the place becomes full. If you think of it, it makes perfect sense. Nowadays it's more like Al describes. Either way, own shelter is a must especially in trails that have a lot of traffic.

--J

indyfabz

Structures are available in some places. As suggested, check state and county parks. PA and NJ have things like yurts and even rustic cabins. I stayed in Howard Miller Steelhead Park (a county park) in Rockport, WA. The camping area has Adirondack shelters.

andrewclaus

One unfortunate aspect of lean-tos is the floor. It's usually hard packed or worse, planked. Or the very worst, concrete as in park pavilions. The thin foam pad I carry doesn't give me comfort on such floors. I prefer to carry my own simple shelter which only weighs 24 oz, less than many inflatable pads, and camp on the duff or grass. Rodents (and therefore snakes) are often an issue, and sometimes habituated bears. Ditto the post above about first-come, first-served--there might not be room. Or you may share the space with a dozen of your closest (snoring, farting) friends, half of whom stay up later than you and the other half get up earlier than you.

I tend to avoid them even on those hiking trails where they're ubiquitous. I just don't sleep well in them. But a sturdy lean-to in a heavy storm is sometimes a good place to be.

Steve B.

Lean-To's are very common on certain long distance hiking trails, the Appalachian Trail as example, as well as having been established on the hiking trail systems in the Adirondack Park, the Green Mt's of Vermont and the White Mt's of New Hampshire. In those places, either the state park agency built and maintains them (Adirondacks), or the volunteer groups build and maintain, such as Vermont, Maine (AT), as well the assorted volunteer groups along the AT thru it's entire length. The purpose is to allow long distance backpackers to not have to carry their own shelter, but the other long distance trails - I.E., Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, as well as pretty much all the hiking trails on US Nat'l Forest Service and Dept. of Interior land and trials, do not provide them.

As such, I have rarely seen them in campgrounds that would be accessible to a bike, with comment that shelters as described above, are on trails that do not allow cycling. I know that the NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation campgrounds in the ADK's and Catskills, as well as the NY State Parks campgrounds, do not have them as the norm. Nor have I seen them in assorted car-accessible campgrounds in any of the Northeast states, with the exception being one state park in Maine - Cobscook, that has a few.

So if you were planning a trip on paved or dirt/gravel roads hoping to use lean-to's, be prepared to not find any.

wahoonc

It would be nice to have a definite system of hard shelters to depend on. But in the US it probably will never happen for a variety of reasons.

I have hiked a fair bit of the AT (Appalachian Trail) the shelters were a crap shoot. I carried a light weight tarp that could be pitched in a variety of ways to provide nearly instant shelter. When cycle touring I carry a small tent and a Silnylon tarp. If the weather is decent I usually use the tarp, bad weather or bad bugs the tent. Current tent is a Coleman Inyo 2 (no longer made?), under 5#. The tarp I carry is 8x10 and weighs in under a pound. If I hit a run of foul weather I can use it to expand the living area of the tent.

Aaron

tandempower

Wow, thanks for all the great responses! The conclusion I'm drawing is that regardless of whether lean-to's are available or not, it's always necessary to carry an alternative just in case. I've read many people mention Tyvek, which I never thought about as anything besides house-wrap but I'll have to try it as a ground barrier. I usually carry a tarp along with a tent just because it wouldn't be nice to get caught unprepared the first night the tent decides to leak. I think I'm going to look into mosquito nets that are big enough to fold under you to provide a complete barrier. A tent is great but when trapping heat inside is not desirable, they don't ventilate as well as I'd like.

Speaking of hot summers, does anyone carry one of those shower bags with them. If so, do you treat the water before showering with it if it's from a natural source? Baby wipes are a blessing when there's nothing else but I think it would make bicycle camping a lot more pleasant to be able to shower before sleeping.

As for those of you who spring for cabins, yurts, and motel rooms, that's a nice option if you can really trust that they're clean and you have the budget for it. I find it very tricky, though, to try to find a balance between price and quality, especially with rooms that have carpet and furniture that can soak up all sorts of smoke and other vapor. A nice wooden or otherwise hard floor with good ventilation, such as a lean-to, sort of solves that problem. The fact that it reduces the cost to forego furniture and carpet is just a bonus. I found it pretty exciting when I started reading plans for multi-story. covered camping platforms in EU. Unfortunately, I also see Michael W's point that such shelters could "end up being hangouts for drunken youth parties, permanent homes for tramps or become bonfires," depending on how people decide to view them.

Carbonfiberboy 

The other problem with shelters is rodents. No fun at all. Oh, and the mosquitoes and black flies. I'd rather sleep in a tent. The problem with tents is that many public campgrounds are frequently noisy, much too well lit, no good way to lock up your stuff, and no restrictions on outdoor cigarette smoking. Which pretty much leaves wild camping, the problems with that being already well noted here. Most particularly for me, the lack of drinking water. Biking is a water-intensive sport, especially if you are really camping and want to cook your own meals, wash dishes, etc. We go through at least 2 gallons to cook, eat two meals, wash dishes, and refill our 4 water bottles. So really, the whole thing is a bummer. But then so is the cc bill if you go with B&Bs, motels, etc. Better to stay home and read about it.

stevepusser

The shower bags seem meant more for a permanent campsite, rather than one you pack up in the morning and set up each night. It would be nice if you stayed several nights at one spot, set the bag up in the morning, and had a hot shower waiting for you when you get back. However, it takes quite a while to heat up. If I can't get clean enough by swimming at a showerless campsite, I heat up a quart of water on my stove and pour some into the 2 1-quart water bottles I carry. One bottle to get wet and soap up, the second to rinse off.

wahoonc

For "shower" bags I use an MSR Dromedary bag with a shower attachment. You strap it on your rack in the sun and by then end of the day have a nice warm shower. I have several in different sizes and carry the one(s) that suit my needs for that particular trip. I have one that is over 15 years old and still going strong.

I use Tyvek for a ground cloth for my tent. FWIW my tent can be set up with out the fly to provide a screen cover. I do agree with the issues of campgrounds, I either look for a camping space way away from everyone else or stealth camp.

Aaron

indyfabz

Have you never taken a dip in an ocean, lake or stream without treating the water first?

nun

In Iceland there are quite a few shelter huts

https://icelandpictures.tumblr.com/po...hut-in-iceland

and Scotland, Wales and Northern England has bothies

www.mountainbothies.org.uk/

I've thought about doing a tour in the UK staying mostly in bothies.

Ridefreemc

If you are looking for simplicity, then a hammock is a good way to go. I have a Warbonnet Blackbird with the camo tarp (very light). I typically stealth camp and the hammock is not dependent on good flat ground. I have wide straps that complexly protect the trees. All you need are two trees 13-20 feet apart. Very light and no poles. I don't like tent poles because they don't store/transport easily (on the airplane, on my motorcycle, or on my bicycle). It packs to about the size of half to 3/4 loaf of bread.

They are great in temps above about 55 F (for me). Lower than that and you'll need something under you to keep you warm (I use a car windshield sunscreen made out of mylar and foam).

VT_Speed_TR

Many of the state campgrounds in Vermont have lean-tos. You can go to the Vermont State park web site, look up the parks you want to stay in along your route, view the campground map and see if there are lean-tos. You can even reserve them like any other campground site. Not wilderness, but you can have the leanto experience very easily.

stevel610 

Google "stealth camping" and you'll get a lot of info.

at_hiker59

I've done the Greenbrier several times. They built a 3rd lean-to now. Its nice to have the option on rainy days.