Originally Posted by
HobbesOnTour
Hi folks,
First off, I know we're talking a massive geographical area, so I'm just looking for some general information.
All my touring experience is in Europe, where wild camping can be tricky, at times, so campsites are my most common place to stay.
I never make reservations, preferring to pull in whenever the urge strikes me. I'll use local information or OSMand, or, in desperation, Google maps to locate a campsite if I haven't come across one.
But, from my understanding, the spontaneous stop may not work over there?
The post below mine is asking about campsites being fully booked (already!) for January!
Does this mean that if a cyclist rolls up looking to pitch a tent they will be refused?
I've never been refused here, no matter how full a campsite is. They will always find a place. Sometimes in creative places! I was once told to set up my camp in the playground!
I just need a few square feet to pitch my tent for one night - no electricity etc. A shower would be nice, but not essential. And drinking water.
And another question....
Over here it's common if you arrive out of hours to find a place, set up and pay the following morning. Is that the norm over there too?
Many thanks
Frank
I think one of the fundamental differences between the US and to a degree Canada, and everywhere else is in the meaning of camping. For you, me and just about everyone else from outside North America, camping still means, to some extent, pitching a tent. To Americans, it means setting up an RV. That means "campsites" are areas for motor vehicles to park, with hard ground, and are not places to make pitching a tent easy.
The proliferation of RVs in North America means that everything is geared towards accommodating them. And that means campsites are booked for them. Even though there might be grassed areas around the campground, they aren't capable of taking an RV... so they don't count in the minds of campground owners and managers.
I've even seen signage that specifically says no tenting for campgrounds.
Private campgrounds also can be tricky, even in Europe. We were refused at one German campground, despite it being listed as available for tenting. It was just one episode on several that turned us off Germany as a touring option. Often private campgrounds are the domain of long-term residents, and all the behavioural issues that carries. I've also found private campgrounds to be less well-maintained than their federal, state and town run counterparts.
So... long and short of it... be prepared, as a European, for some culture and sticker shock... and book ahead as advised elsewhere in this thread.