How to Choose the Best Campsite
To choose the best campsite you will want to find a good balance between the site’s features (size, flatness, and parking) and its access (or distance) to the the basic amenities offered in the campground (usually potable water, restrooms, and trash dumpsters). You can usually get a good feel for these features by going to the campground’s website and looking at the map. Campsites are commonly about 50 feet deep and 30 feet wide so you should be able to get a good idea of how things are laid out.
Remember that all the sites in a given area will be using the same facilities, so your closeness to specific facilities will be a trade off between convenience, smalls, and noice. If you are researching ahead, consider each characteristic that is important you and write down the site numbers of the sites that match your preferences. Then you will be ready to make your reservation (if possible) when the reservation window opens. If you are at a first come, first serve establishment, just keep the following ideas in mind and take a look around for the best site.
Flatness
When choosing a campsite, flatness is everything. It is particularly critical wherever you are planning to pitch your tent. While there are several other characteristics that make for a good campsite, flatness is a deal breaker. Spend one sleepless night constantly trying to hold yourself from rolling in your sleep and in the morning you will want to relocate.
If you are forced to pitch your tent on sloped ground, do not make the mistake of orienting your head down below your feet. You may wake up with a headache that feels like the Grand Canyon splitting between your eyeballs. The only acceptable alternative is to sleep what is called “head high” meaning your head is above your feet or up slope. But any slope above minimal will still leave the sleeper fighting not to slide off the end of their pad or cot at night. Best advice, start with a flat campsite and make it easy.
Size
Yes, sometimes size matters. Most campgrounds have a general formula when they plan and parcel out a campground into individual sites. They know each site will need an area for parking, a picnic table, a fire pit, and an area to pitch at least one tent. However campgrounds are also designed to blend with the natural environment so not all sites end up exactly the same. Most of the time this is not a big issue but if you plan to use an extremely large tent, or pitch multiple tents, a smaller site may not give you sufficient room. Additionally, some sites will have shorter parking areas that could make it difficult to fit into if you are towing a trailer. If you plan to use multiple tents (especially large tents), or if you are towing a trailer, you may need to look for the bigger sites.
Bathrooms
The balance of choosing a site near the bathrooms but not too close is a tricky one. While it is convenient when they are close, you don’t want to be so close that you have to smell them all day either. Additionally, if you are right next to the facilities, everyone else in the campground will be parading in front of your campsite each morning with some interesting faces and sometimes a few uncomfortable “good mornings”.
As a guide, I like to look for sites that are at least 2 spaces away (say 100 feet) from the bathrooms up to about 8. Much more than that and an unplanned walk to the bathroom in the middle of a cold night starts to be a bit of a bummer. A site up-wind is also a plus if you have an idea about local wind direction. The trash bins are also usually located near the bathrooms, another reason to avoid being right next to them. The only catch, commonly the fresh water supply is also in this same area leading us to our next consideration…
Water
In the absence of your kitchen sink back home, reasonable access to water is going to be an important consideration when choosing your campsite. Water will be needed for things such as washing hands, cleaning pots, and dousing fire pits. Unless you plan to bring all your water with you (both drinking and utility), you will want a fresh water supply near by to use as your “utility water”. Water is heavy however and depending on your container, can be difficult to carry around in any great quantities. This means you are likely to make a couple trips each day to refill your water jug as you use it. A campsite within 50 yards or so can make this much less of a chore.
For drinking water I prefer to bring bottled water for personal consumption and have found that the free standing square 2.5 gal. Arrowhead jugs (or similar brand) work very well for this. However the water from the taps should meet all current standards of safe drinking water (unless marked “non potable”) and can be used for this without hesitation.
Check the Map
Most campgrounds will have some simple maps available online that will show the general layout of the campground, where the roads and bathrooms are, and usually where the fresh water spigots are. While they are commonly located near the restroom facilities, sometimes they are located independently throughout the campground and are worth looking for. Like the bathrooms, I usually prefer not to be right next to a water spigot only for the reason as I prefer a quite campsite that does not encourage the entire campground to come over to say “hi”. This however is a personal choice and may be of no concern to others.
One final comment on the water spigots; it is usually against campground rules, and at a minimum, is considered bad form to wash your dishes right at the spigot. This process inevitably leaved food waste in the drainage area and will make the entire area pretty disgusting in short order. Best practice is to fill a bucket and wash your dishes at your site. When your done, try to find some nearby bushes to hydrate with the leftover waste water.
Bugs
Considerations for bugs are usually more of a seasonal issue (there are times of the year where there are virtually no bugs while other times you cant get away from them) than a particular campsite issue however there are a few specific pitfalls to avoid. The first is being too close to any natural or standing water. While a lakeside view or a creekside campsite maybe some of the most picturesque images you can imagine while camping, unless you are confident about the season you are camping, if there are bugs, they will be the most concentrated near the water. A general rule of thumb would be to choose a campsite at least 100 feet away from any natural water source to limit the effect the water has on the bug concentrations.
Another natural attractor of the local insect life will be the smells that originate from the the trash collection bins (usually next to the bathroom facilities). Another reason to not be too close to these buildings.
Finally, look for sites that are not overgrown with tall grasses, particularly ones that are very green and look “almost wet”. While not a common problem in managed campgrounds, sometimes you will find sites that have been squeezed in or are overgrown and may host a few extra critters.
Shade
The amount of shade you will want is a personal choice. Some people prefer unshaded direct sunlight for the benefits of early morning light and nighttime star views. Others will seek complete coverage giving ultimate priority to cool afternoons and dark sleeping conditions. I have found that the sites which offer partial shade tend to give a nice balance.
On cool mornings the early sunshine helps shake the chill while afternoon shade can give needed relief from the beating sun. I personally prefer having shade where I set out our daytime seating, and sunshine where I set up my tent. You will find that you spend far less time in your tent during the day than you might initially expect and nighttime stars can be a welcome ambiance. For the most part, most campsites will offer some combination of shade and open sky and you do not need to give too much consideration to this dynamic unless you have a particular desire for more of one feature or the other.
Views, Views & The View
This is not a big concern with most campsites because your surroundings are the view and if you have never been to a particular campground before I wouldn’t worry about it. It is almost impossible to determine from home or online if an specific campsites have a particularly exceptional view and it is usually not that important anyway. You will find however that at some campgrounds there will be a few sites that have a truly spectacular view for one reason or another and they are worth reserving if you can.
My advice, when you find a campground you enjoy camping at and plan to return to, take a 30 minute walk around the campground and make some notes on campsite numbers you like the look of. Don’t forget the other considerations we have already talked about but you may find some sites that satisfy all of your priorities and have an amazing view to go with it.
Safety
When it comes to safety I don’t want to over-state or exaggerate any of the following risks that I consider. Camping is an incredibly safe activity and any safety concerns are more precautions than anything. I really didn’t give any of them a second thought until I started camping with my kids. That said, there are just a few things I look for when choosing a campsite.
Cars
One thing I always look at is the general orientation of the campsite as it relates to the road. For the most part, campground roads usually go along relatively strait with campsites peeling off both sides left and right; all good. However, when you get to the end of the road, an intersection, or just a sharp turn, sometimes there will be sites situated directly across from that intersection. These sites cause me to take pause because it is not uncommon for people to arrive into campgrounds late at night. They will commonly have driven several hundred miles and for many hours. Now these people are in a campground at night, that they are possibly unfamiliar with, tired, with no lighting, and driving around twisting their necks looking for their site. If there was ever an accident waiting to happen, it would be a car missing a turn and driving right through someone’s campsite while they slept. Unlikely, but no thank you.
I always consider the safest place to pitch the tent and will position my car to provide sufficient blockage from the road. Not a big deal and easily handled.
Bears
Another, and probably the most commonly “feared” hazard in camping is bears. Fortunately bears are far less of a hazard than most people build up in their minds and with a few simple steps become almost a non-issue. While they are present in many developed campgrounds these days, they rarely are involved in any incident with people unless good commonsense practices are not followed.
Bear Boxes
Most campgrounds that have persistent bear problems will provide bear boxes to be used by the campers. These bear boxes are large metal storage bins that are intended for campers to store their food and any other of their “smelly” items such as sun screen or products with added scent. The bears cannot get into these boxes (and they know it), and if no other food appears available in the campground they will just move on.
If each site is provided its own bear box, then there is little additional consideration to make regarding choosing a site. However some campgrounds group bear boxes together in clusters servicing 10 or more sites. In these cases, I prefer to choose a site that is at least four sites away as access to these boxes is very noisy (they are made out of iron) and the opening and closing late at night can be a real nuisance. Remember, you will really only have to get your food in and out of the box once in the morning and once at night, so a short walk to the boxes is not too high a price to pay for a more peaceful evening not to mention a quiet morning if you like to sleep in!
The rest of your bear concerns can usually be handled by keeping a tidy campsite free of trash and other food scraps. Don’t store anything that has added fragrance in your tent and follow any specific rules the campground has regarding bear management.
Theft
I personally have never experienced or witness any kind of theft while camping; neither deep in the woods or in the most densely filled national parks. Campers in general are an honest group, all looking to relax and enjoy the experiences the outdoors has to offer, not commits petty crimes. That being said, I still feel it is good practice to not draw unwanted attention to yourself by leaving expensive personal items strewn around your camp. Sites that are more secluded may have fewer eyes on them but even that is a stretch. Use your common sense, take basic steps secure your valuables, and then don’t worry about it anymore.
Conclusion
I personally prefer to choose campsites that are more secluded and a bit father away from the facilities than average. This encourages a quieter camping experience (something I enjoy) and I do not mind a short walk now and then to dump the trash or use the bathroom. I has also been my experience however that “bad” sites are pretty rare (except the ones right next to the toilets) and picking the exact site I think I want is not something to stress over. I suggest you take a look at what is available and make the best choice based on the features that are most important to you. This will almost always be a compromise but rarely ever be a deal breaker or regret.
If you have any campgrounds and special sites you would like to recommend to others, please share them below in the comment section!
I’ll start: El Capitan State Beach, California. Site #107 – Amazing cliff-side ocean views!