6 ms·

This was what "real" camping was considered in Western Canada when I was growing up. If you didn't have to hike a few hours in, if there were amenities you didn

This was what "real" camping was considered in Western Canada when I was growing up. If you didn't have to hike a few hours in, if there were amenities you didn't have to build yourself, if you weren't responsible for potable water, it wasn't real camping but rather a multi-day picnic. Closest I ever saw to that in modern times was Big Sur (they had cleared plots and a permanent latrine set up, which is probably better for the environment). But even we were considered soft by the previous generation. My father would go camping with friends during summer vacation like so: My grandfather would drive them deep into the bush along a logging road (to a high enough elevation that the trees thinned out a bit), drop them off, then come back to pick them up a week later.

Grustaf 5y ago
What you’re describing sounds like normal camping, you hike for a few hours and pitch your tent somewhere. Isn’t the drive in picnic variety just an American phenomenon?
- mellavora 5y ago
  Tent? isn't that taking the easy route? What's wrong with a tarp or just sleeping under the stars?
  - SiempreViernes 5y ago
    Obviously rain is the big problem with not even having a tarp, and as tents are generally heavier than a tarp I'm not sure why that would count as the easy route.
    - Grustaf 5y ago
      Tents feel more like a house, you're sort of indoors. Plus it holds itself up, so easier to set up than a tarp, unless you just use the tarp as a blanket. I tried that, in the rain, not recommended at all.
  - Grustaf 5y ago
    Bivouacs/shelters are indeed quite popular, there are lots of permanent ones made of wood out here. Basically just a slanted roof. https://vindskyddskartan.se https://vindskyddskartan.se
- dmurray 5y ago
  No. "Camp sites" where you drive in and stay in an allocated spot in your tent or vehicle are definitely common in Europe. They have washing facilities and often much more: playgrounds, restaurants, even water parks. Some people also hike and camp in the wilderness, but I'd bet it's a minority. I'd be fascinated to know where you live that "hike for a few hours and pitch your tent somewhere" is normalized and the very idea of a camp site sounds foreign.
  - Grustaf 5y ago
    I mean sure, here in Sweden there are big camp sites that are essentially grass parking lots where people squeeze in their camper vans or sometimes even tents like sardines. They have amenities, maybe even a mini golf course!, but that's a completely different thing. Nobody would compare that to actual camping, and most people think it's crazy and make fun of it. But what shocked me in the US was that there are "nature" camp sites where you more or less drive up to a designated, single tent spot where you pitch your tent. It's baffling and seems to entirely defeat the purpose of camping in nature.
    - dmurray 5y ago
      "Nobody goes there any more, it's too crowded".
      - Grustaf 5y ago
        Haha, yeah. Well they seem to enjoy the crowdedness, it's a weird subculture.
    - tauroid 5y ago
      In the UK at least (apart from Scotland), wild camping is only legal with permission from the landowner (even in national parks), so most people use campsites to avoid the possibility of being driven off by a ranger or angry farmer.
      - archi42 5y ago
- laputan_machine 5y ago
  You're using a tent? I only call it camping when you craft your own shelter from sticks and leaves, and only eat what you can find or hunt. What you're describing sounds like a modern 'soft' version.
  - stephen_g 5y ago
    You use sticks and leaves? Luxury!
  - dudul 5y ago
    Why do you need to eat you softy? Can't you just make it a week without eating?
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
snug 5y ago
I've always heard of camping = pull up somewhere and pitch the tent, you may be near a lake or some hiking, but you generally aren't going far with all of your gear, also call this car camping backpacking = putting all of your gear in a backpack and hiking to your destination, packing up and continuing on to the next spot or head back. There's no set milage or time you need to hike in order to call it backpacking, but I'd say it's where you start thinking about the things you don't need to bring with you because you don't have room in the one bag you have or it's too heavy

Grustaf 5y ago

What you’re describing sounds like normal camping, you hike for a few hours and pitch your tent somewhere. Isn’t the drive in picnic variety just an American phenomenon?

mellavora 5y ago
Tent? isn't that taking the easy route? What's wrong with a tarp or just sleeping under the stars?
- SiempreViernes 5y ago
  Obviously rain is the big problem with not even having a tarp, and as tents are generally heavier than a tarp I'm not sure why that would count as the easy route.
  - Grustaf 5y ago
    Tents feel more like a house, you're sort of indoors. Plus it holds itself up, so easier to set up than a tarp, unless you just use the tarp as a blanket. I tried that, in the rain, not recommended at all.
- Grustaf 5y ago
  Bivouacs/shelters are indeed quite popular, there are lots of permanent ones made of wood out here. Basically just a slanted roof. https://vindskyddskartan.se https://vindskyddskartan.se
dmurray 5y ago
No. "Camp sites" where you drive in and stay in an allocated spot in your tent or vehicle are definitely common in Europe. They have washing facilities and often much more: playgrounds, restaurants, even water parks. Some people also hike and camp in the wilderness, but I'd bet it's a minority. I'd be fascinated to know where you live that "hike for a few hours and pitch your tent somewhere" is normalized and the very idea of a camp site sounds foreign.
- Grustaf 5y ago
  I mean sure, here in Sweden there are big camp sites that are essentially grass parking lots where people squeeze in their camper vans or sometimes even tents like sardines. They have amenities, maybe even a mini golf course!, but that's a completely different thing. Nobody would compare that to actual camping, and most people think it's crazy and make fun of it. But what shocked me in the US was that there are "nature" camp sites where you more or less drive up to a designated, single tent spot where you pitch your tent. It's baffling and seems to entirely defeat the purpose of camping in nature.
  - dmurray 5y ago
    "Nobody goes there any more, it's too crowded".
    - Grustaf 5y ago
      Haha, yeah. Well they seem to enjoy the crowdedness, it's a weird subculture.
  - tauroid 5y ago
    In the UK at least (apart from Scotland), wild camping is only legal with permission from the landowner (even in national parks), so most people use campsites to avoid the possibility of being driven off by a ranger or angry farmer.
    - archi42 5y ago
laputan_machine 5y ago
You're using a tent? I only call it camping when you craft your own shelter from sticks and leaves, and only eat what you can find or hunt. What you're describing sounds like a modern 'soft' version.
- stephen_g 5y ago
  You use sticks and leaves? Luxury!
- dudul 5y ago
  Why do you need to eat you softy? Can't you just make it a week without eating?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

snug 5y ago

I've always heard of camping = pull up somewhere and pitch the tent, you may be near a lake or some hiking, but you generally aren't going far with all of your gear, also call this car camping backpacking = putting all of your gear in a backpack and hiking to your destination, packing up and continuing on to the next spot or head back. There's no set milage or time you need to hike in order to call it backpacking, but I'd say it's where you start thinking about the things you don't need to bring with you because you don't have room in the one bag you have or it's too heavy