Rethinking this whole "camping" thing...

[UrsulasShadow]

Just bought a tent, after 15 years of not camping. Took it to our local State Forest to give it a whirl. Everything was wonderful...weather, campsite, tent and equipment....all went without a hitch.

Then night fell...and it all fell apart. Neighbors shouting at each other. Loud music playing. People talking on cellphones. Car alarms. Felt I was camping in a city parking lot. Of course, made worse by the little nylon walls betwixt them and us. So, 3 sleepless nights later, I've determined that tent camping just doesn't work for a light sleeper like me.

Here's the question...are TTs quieter? If I have a layer of metal between me and the rest of the world, does it make a big difference in the noise level? Is there insulation in most campers to dampen the sound? I don't want to pursue my dream of living outta a Winnebago if I go stark raving mad from sleeplessness within a week of ownership.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

There has definitely been a decline in the level of consideration among campers, and I don't think it will get any better. The walls of my trailer are fiberglass, with a very thin layer of foam insulation between. In and of themselves, they offer a little more sound insulation, but not all that much. However, when the AC unit is running, I hear NOTHING. Even in cooler weather, we run the fan on the unit just to eliminate any noise from inconsiderate neighbors.

 

[kmccain]

Our TT is a Sunnybrook and it must have good insulation because we do not hear a thing! It doesn't have the fiberglass exterior the entire outside is aluminum. We don’t hear anything without the air conditioner running but that helps too! The only time we might hear something is if I have a window open or if it rains hard.

That is too bad that that people are the inconsiderate. What every happened to quiet time?

 

[YellowXterra]

Fort Wilderness is not your run of the mill campground. I have never had any problems with other campers there.

 

[juligrl]

In defense of tent camping, State Forest Camping can be the pitts at night for just the very reasons expressed in the original post. I have found that most non state forest campgrounds, although somewhat pricier, also draw a less boisterous crowd. Nothing against the State Forests (especially in PA -- I think they're beautiful)!

 

[westjones]

We found that Fri-Sun campers make more noise than during the week. We had a wonderful trip to an Ohio state park last year Tues, Wed, and Thurs. Then when Friday night came the whole feeling of the campgrounds changed.

If you went on a weekend, try going during the week. It is much nicer during the week.

Oh, and FW is wonderful! We tent camped there and really enjoyed it.

DJ

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Thanks for the midweek advice...unfortunately, this was a Wed & Thur. night, not a weekend. And, it was a MA state forest park, which, although beautiful and great for day use, does seem to attract an inordinate amount of city people (who, I must assume, think this level of noise and inconsideration acceptable). I KNOW Ft. Wilderness is better than your run of the mill campground (I stayed in the cabins before, and that was a wonderful experience). But I also know life has changed, and electronics are a part of our lives, like it or not. The number of people who thought it okay to talk on their cellphones at 3 a.m. amazed me. The number of car alarms that went off on a normal night amazed me. The number of folks who let their children run amok, both after and before quiet hours started and ended, amazed me. Maybe I'm getting old and my tolerance level is much lower than it was, but when I used to camp 15-20 years ago, even in state parks (Maine, mostly), there was much more consideration for your fellow camper, and much more enforcement of quiet hours. I still love to be out-of-doors, but there has to be a more peaceful way of doing this!

 

[Melwood23]

I started using ear plugs a couple years ago. I use them every night, because some nights every little noise will wake me. When camping, it was't the neighbors, usually they calmed down after 10pm, after out boating, fishing, swimming all day . It was NATURE! that would keep me up. All the night insects chirping, whirring, whizzing, buzzing...and the peeper frogs, and the raccoons yelling at each other...

So when I go on any vacation. I use ear plugs and I sleep like a baby.

If I can now sleep thru severe thunderstorms at night, then I know the ear plugs work!

 

[toytowner]

i would say someone wasn't doing their job.i live near lake dennison sp in north central mass and never hear anything except on the 4th of july. when they say quiet they mean quiet and no booze.

 

[MMLong3996]

I hear absolutely nothing when I'm in our TT. The AC runs VERY loudly and I can barely hear the kids holler for me from up in the front during the night. I am thankful when I say that I've honestly not heard anything from fellow campers "after hours" and this holds especially true at FW.

 

[jenny2]

i would say someone wasn't doing their job.i live near lake dennison sp in north central mass and never hear anything except on the 4th of july. when they say quiet they mean quiet and no booze.

Hey... we camp there every year! We live in Royalston. It is a pretty quiet campground. And only 10 minutes from home, lol.

 

[T. Lynn]

I hear nothing in our TT also. Our bed is also so comfortable that I'm asleep very quickly. I love it better than tent camping. I just have too much stuff for a tent...tent camping is not for me anymore. Guess I'm just getting too old for that

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Well now, I'm going to have to try Lake Dennison sometime, aren't I? Sounds peaceful.

 

[susancl]

Hmmmm. Could it have been Miles Standish State Park?? I've been there and it is very much a "get out of the city, but not too far" kind of campground. I think you'll find, that the farther from the city you are, the quieter it will be. Most campgrounds have quiet hours that are enforced. Don't quit just yet.

 

[LegoMom3]

We have experienced similar things in recent years, too. We just upgraded to a pop-up, but as far as the noise factor, it won't help much (I just wanted to finally get up off the ground! ).

We are in NH and camp mostly in NH - something I've started doing is getting a copy of the NH Campground guide, which lists just about every campground in the state. I've looked for the ads of places that claim to be very family-oriented and that stress their quiet hours and that they are enforced. Doesn't mean it'll happen, but chances are certainly better.

Also, as another poster mentioned, the farther away you get from a city and/or highway, the quieter it tends to be, in general. We have found that the easily-accessible campgrounds (state- or privately-owned) up in the Whites have become over-crowded party joints and we won't go near them anymore.

Anyway, don't give up just yet! And if you ARE thinking of camping at FW, it is definitely a world apart from "regular" campgrounds and I wouldn't hesitate for a second to tent-camp there.

 

[minkydog]

I have twice camped in noisy campgrounds--both were in state parks, one on a holiday. I won't give up on state parks, but i'm more choosy now. I would suggest,before you give up, trying a more out-of-the-way park and see if it draws a different clientele.
Of course, it always takes me a night to get used to the normal outdoor sounds. I take Benedryl the first night to help me stay asleep. We now have a pop-up and the humming of the a/c pretty much drowns out any noise but really loud music or yelling. You could try running a fan for some ambient noise.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

I should have known better...Myles Standish SF is notorious for this sort of camper. It was just so close to home (within 5 miles), and I have lately been using the bike trails and such, so figured the campgrounds themselves would be as peaceful as the rest of the park...silly me. I'll be more selective in the future, I think. At least it was a good trial run of a "worst case" scenario...

So, next I'll be posting a question on how one manages to get all his camping gear down to WDW from New England...

 

[leprechaun]

Although Myles Standish is a beautiful park the State does not have much, if any, security. If the rangers have a problem they call the Sate Police and MSSP is deep off the hiways so it can take awhile for the SP's to get there.
Have you tried http://pinewoodlodge.com/index.php on rt. 44? I think you can ride around the cranberry bog out back and maybe the winery too. I know they have visitors

 

[tkd lisa]

I tent camped at Ft. Wilderness over Memorial Day weekend (report on the TR board if you want details), and it was very quiet at night even though it was full. I will say that when we came "home" Friday evening, there was a group at the loop entrance that seemed a bit noisy. But I'm sure a call to security would have stopped it.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Although Myles Standish is a beautiful park the State does not have much, if any, security. If the rangers have a problem they call the Sate Police and MSSP is deep off the hiways so it can take awhile for the SP's to get there.
Have you tried http://pinewoodlodge.com/index.php on rt. 44? I think you can ride around the cranberry bog out back and maybe the winery too. I know they have visitors

I've camped at Pinewood Lodge before...that's even closer to my house (less than 2 miles). Maybe I'll give it another shot...I don't remember the pond as being an inviting place to swim, but maybe I was mistaken. And I can always carry the bikes to MSSF for a bikeride and swim if I want to.
You're entirely right about the lack of security at the state forest, though. There was an incident which I thought required official intervention one of the nights I was there. I called the ranger station, the recording said to call 911, which sent me to Plymouth Police, who gave me the SP number, who said they'd try to contact a ranger to come in and check it out. Nobody ever showed up. Very sad.