Camping is a chance to get outside and away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Camping provides a quiet, more relaxed, and slower pace for you to be able to unwind. However, if you are headed out to a campsite, you will not be completely alone as there will be many other campers around you looking to do the same thing you have come for. The camping community is a great one full of friendly people, and if you are fairly new to camping, you may want to make yourself aware of some general camping etiquette procedures most avid campers know and live by that you might not find posted.

  1. Respect Quiet Hours- Almost every campground will have posted quiet hours to help protect the resting hours of the majority of guests at the site. Most quiet hours are from 10 pm to 6am. Voices carry more easily at night when people and creatures settle down for the day. Be a good neighbor and honor these hours mindfully so that everyone can enjoy their vacation.

2. Use Lowlights When Arriving After Dark- If you get to your destination and it is past dark, turn your headlights off and use your lowlights when driving in the campground and parking or unloading. Headlights are still very visible and bright even through curtains and can be disturbing to those relaxing inside their RVs or trying to sleep.

3. Keep Pets on a Leash Outside- The campsite rules about furry family members are different at each campsite, but when there are other pets, strangers dining outside, and small children it is best to have pets on a leash when walking through a campsite or on a hiking trail.

4. Clean Up After Pets– So this one may be posted, especially here in the state of Washington. We can all agree it is not fun to pull into a campsite with animal droppings or walk down a trail and accidentally step in a pile of smelly mess.

5. Try to Avoid Walking Through Neighboring Campsites- When you pay for a space in a campground it is kind of like a hotel room. The whole campsite is your area to spread out and relax in during your paid stay. You wouldn’t walk into someone else’s hotel room to get to the pool faster would you? The same courtesy should be used with campsites even though there are no fences or walls.

6. Be a Responsible Fire Builder- For the safety of yourself and every one in your traveling party and the woods around you, make sure to keep to the rules of fire safety. Build fires in designated pits/areas, don’t build the fire too large, and never leave a fire unattended or to burn out on its own. A good idea is to make sure the ashes are cold.

7. Wash Dishes in Your Campsite Instead of the Shared Bathroom- If your camping site has a public restroom, the space is probably limited in there and it is best to leave all of it to the washing and freshening up of people, not dishes.

8. Pack Out What You Pack In- Take care of the nature around you by making sure you have picked up all trash and belongings. Some camp grounds charge extra if they find a space has been left a mess. It is also not fun to arrive in a space you are paying for to find the last person’s trash.

9. Leave Your Extra Wood– If you have no use for wood that was not used up while camping, why not leave it for the next campers to use? This will lighten your packing load as well as pay it forward and spread a little kindness.

10. Put Everything Back Just the Way it Was Found– Maybe you rearranged the picnic table or other items to make your stay a bit easier/comfier. If you did, don’t forget to put it all back in the place it was when you arrived.

Go Above and Beyond in Being a Courteous Camper- There is a time honored tradition in both boy scouts and girls scouts of leaving a place better than you found it, and what better place to do this than when camping?

Some campsites may post some of these rules, but you will probably find many of them are just kind of commonly expected around the camping community. Generally, frequent campers are some of the most friendly you will meet, especially frequent RV campers. They have kind of an unofficial community of looking out for one another.

For more great camping tips and tricks please feel free to browse our website. For more information on renting a gorgeous, luxury RV from NW Adventure Rentals’ Seattle fleet, don’t hesitate to contact us at anytime.