Great thread!

1) RV hookups belong in an RV park / Campground, not in a national Forest Campground.

2) The so called quiet generators are quiet until a load is applied and then the noise level goes up to a level that is obnoxious. Not contractor obnoxious, but, annoying none the less.

3) Adding Electricity to these campgrounds will take away from the intimacy at these campgrounds. There are plenty of campgrounds around that have these facilities.

4) Having a place to fill my water tank, and a dump station? Helpful, but there is always a way around that obstacle.

The affordability, quiet, solitude and intimacy of the NF campgrounds. We love the large sites, out of the way locations. Adding all these amenities will do nothing but increase costs. Maintenance, upkeep and management costs will all increase and of course be passed on to us campers.

Camperwest wrote:

"National Forest Campgrounds are a very small percentage of the campgrounds in this country."

That statement makes me even more glad to live in Oregon, where roughly 58% of its area is still in federal ownership (mostly NF and BLM), and National Forest campgrounds are heavily in the majority. I expect Washington has a similar ratio. National Forests run all the way down the spine of the Cascade Mountains, spilling out on either side, as well as in the Blue and Strawberry Mountains of east central and northeast Oregon and the Siskiyous of southwestern Oregon. There are a gazillion NF campsites hereabouts, and it's a Very Good Thing. I feel fortunate indeed to live here.

I am currently camped in a NFS campground in Oregon and I could not agree more. You are very lucky.

I could not agree more.

What I could never understand is that if you need your laptop, TV, oven, hair dryer, AC, heater, etc. when you go camping. Why go camping at all? You might as well stay in a lodge or a hotel room. This way you get all your amenities without the need to run unsightly power lines to wild areas or keep your neighbor up all night with your generator noise. And the best part is, the sewage goes right down the toilet. No need to worry about purging your tanks.

Agree. If the amenities are needed, go to where they are offered. Dry camping is not "broke" and does not need to be "fixed".

I agree with Camperwest about why go to NF cgs if you want all the trappings of a KOA (ew!), but some of us oldsters have a battery power issue: our CPAP machines. Mine draws 3 amps when operated on 12V, and as I understand it--and my understanding of things electrical is VERY limited--that would mean 24AH drawn per night just for that one appliance. Add to that my pup's electric water pump (slight draw) and roof winch (sorta slight), and I'll draw down a battery to the point of desperately needing a charge in about two days, and I like to dry camp for at least a week at a time.

I could spend a chunk on a good Honda or Yamaha generator--these are much the quietest available. In the alternative, I could load up my pup's roof with solar panels, but I prefer shady campsites, where solar panels avail nothing. So I may yet end up disturbing my fellow campers' peace in the late morning hours with the noise of a generator, for which I apologize in advance. I don't like the damn things any better than you do, but when ya gotta, ya gotta. I MUST use that CPAP machine.

One of our worst experiences at a NFCG involved a motor-home with a diesel generator camped on the site next to ours. We just sat down to dinner about 6:30pm and on came that generator. It stunk up the whole area with diesel exhaust, the noise level was worse than the Plant I work in. It stayed running until around 9:00pm all the while they were in watching TV.
The Host was complained to by several campers and nothing changed. The generator was on from about 7:30am till 2:00pm and 6:00pm till 9:00pm each day. We lasted 2 days and packed up for quieter places. This campground at one time had a generator rule that said 10:00am till 2:00pm a generator could be run. And they enforced it. This used to be one of our favorite campgrounds now we avoid it, which is too bad.

I have come across this type of situation also. I will nicely let the noisy neighbor know that he is ruining my experience. Then I wait and see if things change. If it doesn't, at least he knows the situation that he's created and I leave. I will later contact the specific forest supervisor and let him/her know what just happened and hopefully it won't happen again.

BTW. I actually stopped going to FSCG for some time because of this issue.