Sure you have to work, don’t we all, but if you can get away during the week, do it. Change your schedule so you work weekends, take vacation time, or call in sick if your boss will buy it because weekday camping is where it’s at.
Traffic
I-70 west of Denver, CO is packed every weekend during the year now. It used to be just in ski season, but since the ski resorts have learned ways to attract visitors all summer, the traffic never ends. Whether you’re driving in the Alps, the Rockies or the Sierra Nevada’s traffic is now year round. Leaving the big cities on Friday and returning on Sunday causes massive tie-ups that can and will ruin you weekend. Monday thru Thursday: no problem.
Crowds
No traffic should translate to no crowds. If you are staying in an established campground, it can get as crowded as your own neighborhood street. Kids riding bikes, crying and screaming, along with idiots blasting their music (which is never the kind you want to hear), and folks walking back and forth in front of and sometimes through your campsite. Heck, I can get that at home. During the week, with hardly anyone there you’ll get the peace and quiet you were searching for even in that popular spot.
Pick Your Spot
Campsites are way more abundant on weekdays with you getting your choice. Leaving town on a Sunday puts you at your spot not long after everyone else has just left to return home. It doesn’t matter if you’re camping in an established campground or out in the National Forest or Wilderness area, you get the pick of the litter.
The Noise Factor
The weekend warriors bring their toys along with them. That means that quiet mountain lake will be buzzing with jet-skis and power boats. That lonely mountain trail will be full of motorcycles and ATVs. Sure, you may have any or all of these as well, but that doesn’t mean you want a dirt bike whining past your campsite at 7 AM.
Firewood for the Taking
Lots of campsites whether in established campgrounds or out in the Forest have been picked clean of desirable firewood. We usually have to drop off all our stuff and while one person sets up camp, the rest take off in search of wood. I’ve found the glory hole to be established campgrounds. If you arrive right after most folks leave you get to snag all the wood they left. Most people overstock firewood on a campout and most peoples’ cars and trucks are too full of gear to take the wood home. Not only are you not supposed to transport firewood from one region to another, but this affords us weekday campers an already chopped up supply of wood. Thanks by the way.
Howl at the Moon
Not only is there no one to bug you, you aren’t going to bother anyone else. Howl at the moon, dance naked around the campfire, and stay up all night if you like. Or as usually happens on our campouts, do all three.
