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Selecting a good campsite is the equivalent of choosing the best suite in a vacation resort. This is your place to relax, tune out real life, and recharge. Being seasoned family campers, we know choosing the right campsite can make or break your trip. We've had the misfortune of being flooded off our site, being too close to loud roads, and next door to people who view the campground as their frat party at 2 a.m. Campers usually know what they want out of their experience. Keeping those requirements at the forefront of your mind when making your reservation is imperative.

Know how big your site will be. If you can't visualize this, go outside with a measuring tape, and actually find out. Picture your tent, possibly a picnic table, a firepit, coolers, bikes, and chairs on the site and determine if there will be any room left to move. Point being, you don't want everything crammed in a very small area.

Is your site too close to the bathroom? While being close to facilities is always a plus, listening to everyone walking by your site at night when you are trying to sleep, or seeing people walk by repeatedly when you are sitting with your family around the fire kind of defeats the purpose of "getting away from it all".

Plan how much time you are going to be at your campsite. We've had vacations where we were really using the campsite strictly as sleeping quarters because were there to see the sites of that area. In that regard, sleep is your only real concern. Other times, we've planned to spend our time almost exclusively at the campground, hiking trails, finding waterfalls, fishing, swimming, etc. When planning to spend a good deal of time at your campsite, your view is a serious consideration. We desire to see trees, mountains, or water. We don't desire to be staring directly at another campsite.

Basic geography. Ask ahead of time if your site is on a slope. Is the water nearby drinkable? Will we be camping on rock and gravel or soft earth? We have endured camping near loads of poison ivy. Our poor dog has had only bumpy rocks to rest on. Our entire campsite has been flooded with water and mud. We've also been so incredibly close to the edge of a river that I was afraid one of us would fall in just walking out of the tent in the morning. Websites of private and public camping facilities almost always provide maps of their sites. Look these over and ask questions. If all your diligence and preparation still leave you dissatisfied when you arrive to your site, don't hesitate to ask if there is anything else available.

Take your time, and make your "home away from home" reservation with care.

Learn more about this author, Diana Young.
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