Camping comparison 2020 vs past years

[klinner28]

We've been consistent. Four years of the RV and annually it has been: 29, 27, 28, and 26.

2021 will likely be less since I just canceled our Disney trip which has been 10 of those days every year. I'm forecasting about 20 for 2021.

[kayakterp]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

We were out our usual number of trips, but no long distance family get together. We did have one reservation get cancelled by the state early in the year, until they figured out what was going to be open, and what wasn't.

I was similar to JFlightRisk. Ohio State Parks cancelled my early reservation
but I was able to reschedule.
Like others I noticed more crowded in general and especially on the weekends.
I work for the school system so during the summer I have more weekdays off and was able to take advantage of the OH state parks for that.

I am now trying to get placed year round at a private campground along a clean pristine river that I can kayak frequently. I feel I would be able to get much more use out of my Jayco by doing this and it would also be just as cost efficient as traveling during the year (paying storage and fuel) as the site is only 25-30 minutes from home. I would also have the option to pickup and go somewhere even if I do secure a permanent site.
I'll know this Spring if the waiting list opens up or not!

[TMTEX]

Camped much less mainly due to closed parks over the summer and camp grounds that are full. 2021 I have planned ahead and have several booked already

[kyleebrock]

I've never seen such clean camp bathrooms due to the multiple daily cleanings!

[Mr&MrsSmith]

We didn't camp at all for the majority of 2020. We typically get a good long trip in around June/July and again in December as we go from AZ>TX>TN and back. Maybe a few local camping places in the state of AZ. Our first trip in 2020 was the middle of December when we made that trek. A little different travel plans as we didn't want to stop anywhere except for fuel. When we stopped, the wife and kids would run into the trailer for bathroom breaks, let the kids run around for a little bit and grab the next meal or snack from the trailer and we will load up and go again. Drove straight through for about 16 hours. Stayed at families house with full hookups for 4 weeks. We then drove from Central TX to outside of Memphis straight through with the same attack plan. We will be here in a mostly empty state park for 2 weeks then back to TX and then home...eventually. Homeschooling and working from home has allowed us to not have to rush back home. I had to pick-up a few additional pieces of communications equipment for cell/wifi, but it has been a great experience.

[Jagiven]

Our numbers were way down. We did not have any plans for any long distance trips this year. We usually do around 40 nights each year. This year we did 15 nights, all close to home.

[JDug66]

Originally Posted by TMTEX

Camped much less mainly due to closed parks over the summer and camp grounds that are full. 2021 I have planned ahead and have several booked already

Got cancelled out of our 2020 first 3 bookings at Ohio State Park system. Finally were able to get out in May at a private campground in Loudonville, OH for camping & canoeing. Rest of the summer was filled with 8 trips until our last in late October. This year I started booking in December 2020 (6 months out seems to be OH State parks window opening) We have 7 trips booked up to Aug 2, 2021 and plan on adding 7 more after that date. Planning ahead seems to be the only way to assure a site in Ohio. Pay now, enjoy later, hope changes can be avoided.

[gypsmjim]

We don't tow, we drive to our country escape. 4 RVs permanently set up on the property. We had cruises to Alaska and the Caribbean canceled, so if we weren't at camp we were out in the boat. 2020 was a banner year for both activities.

[End of the road]

2019: 93 nights and 8600 miles. 2020: 0 nights and 0 miles. I had just de-winterized my 5th wheel for a trip through Arizona and up the west coast when all the lock downs started. Most of the places we wanted to stay were either closed or wouldn't guarantee they would be open when we got there. All the usual short trip places we like to stay at in southern Utah were plugged up with California and Nevada escapees. Not a happy camper in 2020!

[jimmoore13]

On the premise that this is a poll of sorts:
We camped more (our rig was new for the 2020 season), and places to camp were more crowded.

[videoarizona]

Best year for camping for us. 2020 This year may turn out to be a bear to get reservations. Already all the state parks we usually go to in winter and spring are fully booked! Arizona.

[JudyB]

We camped most ever in 2020....4 months: mooch docked, boondocked, no issues with campgrounds from May thru early September. Worst was in Nov and Dec nearby with campers scouting our site at 7 am on day of departure trying to get into our non reservable site. Never experienced this before.....difference....more rude inexperienced campers coming out.

[Quantum]

We were down for 2020, but not terribly much. We had 15 nights in March when the world fell apart. We left Florida on March 21 and I have never been allowed back across the border to the USA. For this reason, our numbers were down. We live 10 minutes from the border and 99% of our camping is done in the USA. We squeaked in a trip to Quebec City in the summer for 9 nights, so that was nice, but other than that, the RV just sat in in my shop.

This year is looking worse, no trip to Florida in March, and I bet we'll still be locked in our province by the summer. I'm not a fan of Ontario parks, so we don't have many options.

[seastonemtn]

We didn't alter the number of days or trips at all.
But we did have to change the Canada part of our trip!
We just spent more time in the NE!

Was great fun!

Off again soon! Can't wait!

[joe w]

We traveled a total of 7000+ miles last year and camped close to 50 days. This year current plans are to do approximately the same, perhaps a bit less.

[gymracer]

Just checking miles other day. We got this Motorhome 2 years ago this month, have driven it 23,000 miles in 2 years. More this year than last. We actually traveled more this year than most.

[BigRedGrandPa]

We traveled to Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska on one of our trips 2020 Summer. Just short of 7,000 miles. In the fall we went to Texas (we live in Colorado) and traveled down to Brownsville, Huston, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Dallas, College Station, and other small towns. Just over 3,500 miles. Summer was three months and Texas was six weeks.


We've done long trips each of the past three years. 2020 was one of the shortest ones.

[Big1]

It was about the same for us since we can only get away a few times a year it was about the same as always but I hope that we can get out more this year.

[Flyrotor]

Camping this past year was a bit less than normal, however, most were personal reasons rather than COVID lockdowns, as an essential frontline EMS worker, the overtime at work was too lucrative to pass up, I broke away on several short vacations, but many were deterred due to my son moving back to Montana to go to high school with his friends, he also has entered the work field, so he took advantage of being hired at a hardware store.

This year looks more promising as my oldest son has returned to my local municipality as he has finished medical school and hired at the hospital in which I also work, I think camping with him, his family, my daughter and her family, and my younger sons will be a stellar year for camping.

[Brownie]

As some of you know, I volunteer as a Campground Host in a couple of Michigan State Parks during the spring, summer, and fall. This may give me a slightly different perspective than the "average camper".

2020 was a whole different animal for me. First, the governor shut down all state park campgrounds until June 22, and Hosts were not allowed in until July 1st. Then, we weren't allowed to do any group activities - which meant no weekend coffee hours, no children's craft workshops, no candy bar bingo, no July 4th bike parade. Basically, all the fun stuff was canceled! We were still expected to assist campers with finding their campsites, answering questions, and assisting with problems; plus picking up trash & cleaning out fire rings; but we had to wear masks anytime we came in contact with another person. That got really hot on 90-degree/90% humidity days in July & August. But we made the best of it!

Of course, virtually everything except camping was closed or prohibited. A few things that were different this year:

1. Campground bookings were up 30% over previous years. Campgrounds were booked full on weekends, and about 3/4 full during the week. (Normally we're booked full only on holiday weekends, and weekends in July and August; and only about 1/3 full during the week.)

2. There were a lot of "newbee's" who had either never been camping before, or had brand new (or new to them} rigs. They were unfamiliar with towing, backing, and setting up. And they hadn't the faintest idea of what "Campground Courtesy" meant. A lot more people cutting through occupied campsites, A lot more people not attending to noisy pets, or picking up after them. A lot more noisy drunks at 1-2:00 a.m.; a lot more family fights, and a lot more complaints from their neighbors.

3. More tents than ever before. And every weekend, there would be a couple left in the dumpsters when they left. ( "newbee's" that won't be coming back next year..) Judging by this, I believe there will be a flood of used RVs on the market in the next couple of years.

4. A lot less respect for others and their property. Bathrooms were often trashed and had to be cleaned several times a day. And we went through a lot more toilet paper!

5. Longer waits at the dump station on Sundays, often exacerbated by new arrivals wanting to check in (and fill their FW tanks) 2-4 hours before check-out time for the previous occupants. The combination of longer waits and "rudies" & arrivals wanting to cut in line often led to some heated "discussions".

6. "Seasoned" campers (who avoid camping during the busy summer months) seemed to make up for the late start by extending their camping through the end of October. We were booked full for the first three weekends and nearly full the last 2 weekends. We even had decent crowds (mostly retirees) during the week. Of course, Michigan's typically beautiful fall colors were at their peak in mid-October, which helped keep them coming.

And how about a little love for the Park Rangers! I think they had a tougher time than anyone! They had to deal with a greater than usual number of nasty, self absorbed, rude, "The rules don't apply to me!" visitors, and do it with a "Welcome to our park! It's so nice to see you!" attitude. They had to close the park (beach) to new visitors by 2:00 p.m. most weekends, simply because there were no more parking spaces. They had to maintain the park's electrical, plumbing, and waste systems under increased usage with reduced hours and staffs (caused by budget cuts due to Covid-19). All in all, I think they did a bang-up job!