Holiday weekends teach me a lot about people. As camp hosts, we walk each site after checkout to be sure it is ready for the next guest. Some mornings the work is easy. This weekend a primitive tent site looked so clean I had to squint to tell anyone had been there at all. Then we reached a site with a camper, and my heart sank.
Before I describe it, here is the simple truth I wish everyone knew. It is disheartening to find a campsite in disarray when a little care would have kept it beautiful. A campground is a shared place. The rules are not there to nag you. They are there to help us live well together.
One thing that does not belong at most campsites is a full renovation project. If you need to replace sinks, rip out cabinets, or redo flooring, please do that somewhere designed for it and always with permission. Construction is noisy and messy, and the dumpsters here are meant for household trash, not building materials.
Back to the site we checked. The folks had been renovating. They also had several small dogs and set up a fence behind the rig. After they pulled out, we found leftover construction bits scattered across the gravel. Zip ties here and there. Condiment packets caught in the grass. Cigarette butts near the ring. Inside the fenced area, dog poop that had not been picked up. None of it was hard to avoid. All of it added up.
Cleaning that site will take an hour, maybe two. That is time the crew could spend mowing, trimming, or helping a newcomer settle in. It should not fall on the park to sort someone else’s mess. I try to imagine the same behavior inside a friend’s home. No one would dump trash on the living room floor and walk away. A campsite deserves the same respect.
The fix is simple and kind. Pack out what you brought in. Use the right bins. Ask before you do any work on your rig, even washing it, so you do not run afoul of park rules or local water restrictions. Pick up after your pets every time. Small courtesies keep the whole place welcoming.
That is the point of this little note from the host’s side of the clipboard. Get permission before projects. Leave your site better than you found it. Treat the ground under your awning like a neighbor’s porch. Leave no trace so the next camper steps into a clean, calm space and can exhale the moment they arrive.