Campground Etiquette: Beyond the Please and Thank Yous

I’m sure that anyone who has ever brought their RV to a campground has experienced the awful “neighbor”. The guy who thinks that everyone wants to hear “Pour Some Sugar on Me” at 2:30 a.m., or who wants to loudly smash every beer can he has just finished as if to announce some sort of grand achievement. Then there’s the lady who lets her children run rampant through the campgrounds, speeding around on bikes, running in between all of the RV’s, clearly suffering from sugar overload and supervision underload.

And while I’m sure we have all had our moments here are some tips to assure that you never become a habitual bad manners camper. The first is clear and concise, if it’s late keep the noise down. I know everyone is out to have a great time and hang out around the campfire but remember you are not the only ones in the campground. Many people enjoy the peace and quiet of RVing and want to catch up on well needed sleep. The second tip to remember is to never leave anything behind. This includes any and all trash, ropes for hanging lights, or whiny children. It is also considered in very bad manners not to mention very unsafe to speed through the campground. Always make sure that you follow the posted speed limit when entering or leaving the grounds.

I’m sure Fido is the best dog ever and would never bite but not all people are “dog people.” It is important to keep your dogs on leashes and close by whenever you are at a campground. It is also expected that you clean up after your dog so that people like me playing catch with my son don’t “find” your dogs mess and spend the next half hour cleaning my shoes 🙂 While we are on that topic make sure that your sewer connection is secure and no torn hoses. This will help prevent that oh so unpleasant smell from wafting into other people’s area.

The bottom line is treat people how you want to be treated. If you think it’s nice when people leave wood by the fire then leave some for the next person. If you don’t like to be woken up then don’t wake up others. More often then not people return time and time again to the same campground and form a sense of community. Follow these rules and chances are that you will be welcomed back with open arms!