I know a couple of young guys who just completed a 1600+ mile trip that took them through some of the eastern US states. They mentioned that they'd gotten in the habit of staying for free at state campgrounds since most are now reservation-only and have no entrance gates or night-time staff. They would simply ride in late in the day, set up wherever was vacant, get up early and ride out. No one ever questioned them and other campers treated them like royalty. This wouldn't have worked just a few years ago when most campgrounds had staffed entrances because not everyone had a smart phone.

Now I'm not condoning what they did and I busted their chops about it, but it got me thinking. Given that most of these campgrounds would charge 25-40 bucks just to set up a tent and use none of the campground amenities except the bathroom, and given it's the off season and most of the campgrounds are practically empty...maybe I should cut them a break.

According to the guys, they got the idea on-line from Blogs, Vlogs and other posts. Apparently, "everybody is doing it".