Has this ever happened to you???

Luv2camp64 · 08-21-2018, 10:53 AM

In all our years of camping we have never experienced this. We recently went to a state campground in the Adirondacks (NY). You must be off the site by 11:00 am on your last day and the check in time for new arrivals is Noon. We arrived at 12:15 ...We traveled over 4 hours to get there early enough that we could enjoy the great weather and go kayaking. We filled out water tank and headed off to our site. We got there about 12:30 and our site was still occupied with a tent and screen tent but nobody was around!! Back to the gate we went. Only one person was there and he had to leave the office to go check it out. He went to the beach and the weren't there so when he came back he tried calling their phone....which was disconnected!!! He didn't know what else to do as they aren't allowed to touch their stuff and remove it from the site. He finally found a site we could move to which wasn't anywhere as nice as the site I had reserved! Or we could sit and wait for them to return. After over 2 hours of sitting on the roadside we decided we had better move to other site they offered as it was now 3:40 pm. We didn't put out our slide and only the minimum of camp equipment to get us through the night. A park employee came around and told us that there is a process they need to go through to remove the people and it first included contacting the Forest Ranger who then would contact the state police so would be a long process. The next morning around 10:00 we drove by the site and it was empty....So they must have come back in the middle of the night and packed up and left!!! We know nobody was around yet around 11 pm because we met a couple who was camped close by to our site and said no one was around on their last trip to the restrooms which were close by our original site. So we eventually got our site and the only thing that may have happened to the people who stayed late was they may be charged an extra night...a whole $22!!! It seems that people are breaking all the camp rules more and more as there are no repercussions. Some people run generators whenever they want regardless of the allowed time frames...party and play loud music past quiet time of 10 pm and leave their dogs unattended to bark all day while they're gone. Also I had to sign a paper when I arrived stating the rules for the known bear activity. One of the rules is to keep coolers out of sight. LOTS of sites had coolers left out with nobody around and vehicles gone. The park employee said they used to be able to remove coolers and the people would have to come retrieve them...but park employees are no longer allowed to do that either!!! So sad that a hobby we LOVE is slowly being ruined by so many inconsiderate people.

A32Deuce · 08-21-2018, 11:00 AM

Everyone is entitled now to do what they want when they want to. At least that's what they think. No more respecting rules. Rules are for others not them!

Cowracer · 08-21-2018, 11:02 AM

While the rangers may have rules preventing them from touching their stuff, I don't. I would have carefully removed the offending items to an area by the road where they could retrieve them easily and set up my camper in the spot I reserved. An hour and a half past checkout time is really pushing it. This technique may not be for everyone. Some people do not do 'conflict' well. I do.

It may very well be that they ran into some sort of issue preventing them from getting back in time to break down their camp. It happens. In that case, treating their items gently when moving them (not just tossing them off the site) would be appropriate, and probably appreciated. If they were just selfish jerks and want to get mouthy, then tell them to take it up with the ranger.

Tim

wrvond · 08-21-2018, 11:16 AM

Yes, I had to sit 2.5 hours past my check in time in the parking lot in the middle of summer at Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina because of knuckleheads like that. The park attendant told me there were no other sites for me to switch to, and no compensation or apology was offered by anyone for my inconvenience. BTW, it's a minimum ten hour drive for me to get there.

wabakami · 08-21-2018, 11:55 AM

Here in Ontario at the Provincial Parks they will ticket the offender, here is the actual wording of said charge;
Fail to vacate and remove property from campsite on permit expiry
Cost of fine is $75Cdn.
Geoff

Luv2camp64 · 08-21-2018, 12:15 PM

We asked the ranger what would happen if we moved their stuff and he said they would probably have us arrested !!!(not the rangers...the people who were on the site) I have to agree that there are a lot of people who feel entitled now. And I like the idea of fines!! New York loves to tax people and rake in the money...this would be a real moneymaker for them if they had to enforce any of the said broken rules!!!

TheWolfPaq82 · 08-21-2018, 12:26 PM

Seeing this happen more and more, I'm so glad we found our acreage and cabin this summer. The trailer will go up there for friends and relatives that wish to visit while we're there. Peace...quite...just us and relaxation.

todtc318 · 08-21-2018, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luv2camp64

We asked the ranger what would happen if we moved their stuff and he said they would probably have us arrested !!!(not the rangers...the people who were on the site) I have to agree that there are a lot of people who feel entitled now. And I like the idea of fines!! New York loves to tax people and rake in the money...this would be a real moneymaker for them if they had to enforce any of the said broken rules!!!

As a newly retired Police Officer (31 years) I'd really like to know what they'd have you arrested for. No theft, vandalism, burglary, trespassing, etc. It's the overdue campers that are subject to arrest, if anything. Once your time is up, you're trespassing if you don't move. Do you simply get to keep a rental car after the rental period...stay in your motel room without paying...??

awc4562 · 08-21-2018, 01:10 PM

At Elkmont campground in the Smoky Mountain National Park once my cooler was taken and I had to pay a $75 fine to get it back. So some parks are still on the guard.

Dave Lyon · 08-21-2018, 01:35 PM

I understand people could have an issue for not being off their site(what that might be - I don't know, as I'm packing up to leave the last day in the morning).

I've been camping in Ontario Parks for more than 25 years and have only once had a person still on the site when I arrived and it was an elderly widow trying to hook up her trailer. delayed me 5 minutes - not a worry.

The ones that overstay their time and have no respect for others are a POS and should dragged off their site and fined.

BillyBass · 08-21-2018, 01:44 PM

I had went to my campsite and someone else was set up there .Went to the ranger and told them.What had happen they mistaken the site no. the way it was posted.Being it was right next to them i took theirs instead.

ard58 · 08-21-2018, 01:54 PM

[QUOTE=Cowracer;1906631]While the rangers may have rules preventing them from touching their stuff, I don't. I would have carefully removed the offending items to an area by the road where they could retrieve them easily and set up my camper in the spot I reserved.

This sounds like something ----I would have done back in my younger days. Now adays, you don't know what the people might do when they get back, be it the middle of the night or what ever. I value my property too much to risk them going postal. JMHO

Also this goes for private parks too. They have rules, such as what breed of dogs are not allowed. We stayed at a private park like this and one morning is was walking our 2 fur babies. Together they weigh 16 lbs. This one camper had a huge dog chained to a picnic table, he was washing his truck, and that dog went nuts. Drug that table 20 feet before he realized what was going on. I almost peed my pants. Some people just don't care about rules, and ruin things for those of us that were raised better.

Mountndream · 08-21-2018, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awc4562

At Elkmont campground in the Smoky Mountain National Park once my cooler was taken and I had to pay a $75 fine to get it back. So some parks are still on the guard.

I have a feeling your cooler was taken due to Bear precautions, not for overstaying your campsite.

Mountndream · 08-21-2018, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luv2camp64

We asked the ranger what would happen if we moved their stuff and he said they would probably have us arrested !!!(not the rangers...the people who were on the site) I have to agree that there are a lot of people who feel entitled now. And I like the idea of fines!! New York loves to tax people and rake in the money...this would be a real moneymaker for them if they had to enforce any of the said broken rules!!!

If you had already paid for the site, they were trespassing on your site. there is little to nothing the rangers could do to you. You were cleaning up trash left on your site by the previous renters

BobHanke · 08-21-2018, 02:08 PM

While it appears that the squatters had done wrong and bugged out when nobody was around to exact the extra day's charge. It might also be that they had an emergency and were not able to notify the park before finally rushing away in the middle of the night. We had to rush one of our dogs to the vet while staying at an RV park near Las Vegas. Fortunately all was well for him and we did not overstay our reservation.

hankpac · 08-21-2018, 02:12 PM

Has it happened? Yes. Do I get overwrought? No. I have been camping a long time. since I was a little boy. I have had one RV or another for the last 45 years. I have seen all sorts of idiots, but also have seen and met some wonderful people out there.
If the Ranger isn't there to deal with it, or the staff are incompetent, I cannot see getting in a lather over it. Life is too short to get frazzled over idiots.
If it is my site, and I have paid for it already, and being charged for the day, I'll ask for compensation. Since the age of service is long gone, I don't expect staff to offer me compensation, but I will ask for it. Last time I was told, "I really can't do anything" I chided the kid, and said, " You can do better than that." He did.
I also learned to mostly boondock. I have forgone dealing with incompetent staff, rude neighbors and inadequate campsites. I have alternative sites in most areas I camp, I'm in National Forest or BLM for the most part, so dealing with animals is a given, and enforcement is by Federal Enforcement Rangers, most of whom I have met, and know their names.

awc4562 · 08-21-2018, 02:32 PM

You are correct. It was for bear management. I should have stated that fact.

RobH063 · 08-21-2018, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by todtc318

As a newly retired Police Officer (31 years) I'd really like to know what they'd have you arrested for. No theft, vandalism, burglary, trespassing, etc. It's the overdue campers that are subject to arrest, if anything. Once your time is up, you're trespassing if you don't move. Do you simply get to keep a rental car after the rental period...stay in your motel room without paying...??

As a fellow recently retired Officer from New York State, I concur with Todtc. There is no charge. I suppose the property owners could lie and say they had a bazillion dollars with their belongings and it's now missing but even then there's problems placing a charge. Someone would have to witness that you removed their belongings and be willing to provide a statement to that effect in order to even have any kind of charge considered. "Believing" you did something wrong and being able to prove it are two completely different things.

wrvond · 08-21-2018, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awc4562

You are correct. It was for bear management. I should have stated that fact.

I was able to deduce that was the case and your point was that rules are rules.

Reverse_snowbird · 08-21-2018, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyBass

I had went to my camp site and someone else was set up there .Went to the ranger and told them.What had happen they mistaken the site no. the way it was posted.Being it was right next to them i took theirs instead.

I confess to being in the wrong site a couple of times. Not on purpose. Once I misread the number and the other time, the numbering was confusing because of where it was posted. Moved once, the other time we just changed sites. There wasn't much difference in the sites and we were both travelers that were departing in the morning.

Usually when someone overstays like that, there is always a good reason. Not always, of course.

Glad they found a temporary site and you were able to get some good camping in.

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