Car camping Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
This article is a travel topic.
Car camping, Caravaning, RV camping... it goes by names, and the experience varies widely, but this form of camping involves carrying your equipment in your motor vehicle, which you drive right to your campsite. Unlike more traditional camping, car camping allows you to carry quite a bit more equipment, and the focus is usually to enjoy the site, cook-outs, day hikes, and other outdoor activities. Some just use their vehicle for transportation, pitching a stand-alone tent to sleep in. Some use it to pull a pop-up trailer/tent or use their car or van as part of the tent or shade structure. Some drive large vans or recreational vehicles to sleep in, which may include many of the comforts of home (on a more compact scale).
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Understand
The character of car camping sites varies greatly. Some are rustic and remote, with bumpy two-track roads leading to sites consisting of nothing more than a partially-cleared patch of ground with a stone-circled fire pit. Others are conveniently located, with paved drives and carefully landscaped sites featuring charcoal grills, picnic tables, and electrical hook-ups, with a playground and swimming pool on the grounds. Either of those might be someone's ideal, but still others may be little more than a grassy field or a glorified parking lot, between a motel and a shopping center, a block from a major highway's exit ramp.
Eat
Many car campgrounds have small stores near or in the campground with at least ice, firewood, and a small selection of canned goods. The mobility of car camping means you can take advantage of local produce.
Drink
Many campgrounds will have drinking water at the site, but you will need to bring your own into primitive sites.
Some campsites have vending machines, perhaps selling soft drinks, snacks, coffee, etc.
Laws regarding alcohol consumption at campgrounds vary greatly; some ban alcohol altogether (either for legal-liability reasons or to placate other campers, such as families with children) while others might have a small bar on the premises. United States campsites can sometimes be strict enough to check your cooler for beer when you arrive.
Cope
You can expect restrooms (of some kind) at any campground, but facilities such as laundry, telephones, showers, etc, depend on the site; you'll want to find out about these before planning a long stay.
Stay safe
As much as you might like to believe that anyone who shares your love of the outdoors has good enough character to respect your belongings, you do have to take precautions against theft. Keep money and other such valuables with you whenever that's practical, and locked out of site in your car when it's not. Don't leave items (even inexpensive ones) sitting out in plain view when you leave the site.
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