Campsite Information
A campsite (also known as a camping pitch in British English) is a place used for overnight stay in the outdoors. The term campsite generally means an area where an individual, family, group, or military unit might camp. There are two types of campsites:
- an impromptu area (as one might decide to stop while backpacking or hiking)
- a dedicated area with improvements and various facilities (see below).
A campground is a group of dedicated campsites with common amenities.
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Description
The term camp comes from the Latin word campus, meaning "field". Therefore, a campsite consists typically of open pieces of ground where a camper can pitch a tent or park a camper. More specifically a campsite is a dedicated area set aside for camping and for which often a user fee is charged. Campsites typically feature a few (but sometimes no) improvements.
Dedicated campsites usually have some amenities. Common amenities include, listed roughly in order from most to least common:
- Fireplaces or fire pits in which to build campfires (this can be a circle of rocks, a metal enclosure, a metal grate, a concrete spot, or even just a hole).
- Road access for vehicles
- A gravel or concrete pad on which to park a vehicle
- Picnic tables
- Marked spaces indicating a boundary for one camper or a group of campers
- Reservations to ensure there will be available space to camp
- Utility hookups, such as gas, propane, water, electricity and sewer, primarily for the use of Travel trailers, Recreational vehicles, or similar
- Raised platforms on which to set up tents
- Piped potable water
Campgrounds may include further amenities:
- Pit toilets (outhouses)
- Flush toilets and showers
- Sinks and mirrors in the bathrooms
- A small convenience store
- Shower facilities (with or without hot water)
- Wood for free or for sale for use in cooking or for a campfire
- Garbage cans or large rubbish bins in which to place refuse
Camping outside a designated campsite may be forbidden by law. It is thought to be a nuisance, harmful to the environment, and is often associated with vagrancy. However some countries have specific laws and/or regulations allowing camping on public lands (see Freedom to roam). In the United States, many national and state parks have dedicated campsites and sometimes also allow impromptu backcountry camping by visitors. U.S. National Forests often have established campsites, but generally allow camping anywhere, except within a certain distance of water sources.
RV parks/caravan parks
In North America many campgrounds have facilities for Recreational Vehicles and are also known as RV parks [1]. Similar facilities in the UK are known as Caravan Parks. The Kampgrounds of America (KOA) is a large chain of commercial campgrounds located throughout the United States and Canada. Many travellers prefer to use KOA, or similar campsites, as an alternative to hotels or motels.
Both commercial and governmental campgrounds typically charge a nominal fee for the privilege of camping there, to cover expenses, and in the case of an independent campground, to make a profit. Some RV parks provide year-round spaces.
Trailer parks
Frequently confused with campsites, campgrounds and RV parks, trailer parks are made up of long term or semi-permanent residents occupying mobile homes, park trailers or RVs.
Holiday park
At Beer, in South DevonThe holiday park is a United Kingdom version of the North American trailer park. Created to allow coastal resorts to enable temporary and high-income accommodation to be easily created, under UK planning laws, no residents are permanent, and the park must be wholly shut to all for at least two months each year. All of the mobile homes are either available for rent from the land owner, or pitches are leased on a long-term basis from the land owner and the lease's own mobile home placed on the pitch. Permanent sites owners lease includes the provision by the land owner of water, sewerage and general site and grounds maintenance. Some holiday parks includes a small campsite for those touring the area, where they can pay to pitch tents or site touring caravans and motorhomes. Touring campsites have full access to the Holiday parks facilities, including clothes washing and showering. Most holiday parks include a central entertainments block, which can include a shop, restaurants, and a multi-purpose theatre used for both stage and activity-based entertainment.
Backcountry camping
Backcountry camping in ScotlandIn the U.S., backcountry camping is common in large undeveloped protected areas. These areas can only be reached on foot, canoe or on horseback. The camping areas are usually established campsites or "zones", which have a predetermined maximum number of persons that are allowed to stay in the section per night. Strict regulations are imposed regarding food storage and resource protection. In most cases, open fires are not permitted and all cooking must be done with small portable stoves. Usually in organized parks or wilderness areas, backcountry campsites require a free permit obtainable at visitor centers and ranger stations. Dispersed camping in other areas may not require a permit.
See also
| Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Backpack camping and woodland survival |
| Look up campsite in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- Bear-resistant food storage container
- Camping
- Cantonment
- List of human habitation forms
- Military camp
- National Park Service
- Paraje
- RV park
Movies and documentaries on a campsite
- Mon été au camping (2003)
- The Forest Primeval (1983)
- Carry On Camping (1969)
- Camping Cosmos (1996)
- Camping Sauvage (2004)
- Camping del Terrore (1987)
References
External links
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Campsites |
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Categories: Camping | Backpacking | Property law
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Noun
Campsite Wikipedia campsite (plural campsites)- A place where a tent may be or is pitched.