What a bummer—you get to your campsite and admire the views, then look into the campfire pit just to see someone’s empty Coke can. Or their dirty tin foil. Or the worst of the worst… a cigarette butt! Ugh. Why don’t people clean up after themselves???
We’ve been noticing this more and more, especially since out here in the West, campfires are no longer allowed during the summer months. Just because a campfire is not allowed does not mean the pit turns into a trash can, people!
How often has this happened to you? Where you find unburned garbage in a campsite’s campfire pit? Do you see it often? Once in a while? Have you been extremely fortunate and never seen such a thing?
Feel free to tell us about your experiences in the comments below after you vote. As always, we appreciate your input. Thank you!
Camp hosted at a state park this past summer – 51 campsites, approx 30% would use the fire pit as a garbage can. Would love to have seen a “excessive cleaning fee” imposed on the miscreants.
We are Workamper’s this summer in New Hampshire. I am their Ranger/Courtesy Patrol person so whenever I find a campfire ring loaded with trash, which is often, I photograph it, then send it to the park manager. She then adds a site cleaning charge to their CC. Hopefully, the charge is large enough to cause the inconsiderate imbecile to think twice the next time before checking out of their campsite.
I LOVE the idea of a site cleaning charge! Too bad the NPS can’t impose a fine for trash filled firepits. I do a lot of boon docking in a local wildlife management area, and I always come out of there with several bags of trash that I take to the dump on the way home. I will never understand how people can be so stupid!
Not hard to see stupid people, just look how they are raised by their parents. You can see it in the up coming children now. When you see a well behaved kid, compliment them and their parents.
Most of the children in the park we are hosting and maintaining this summer I believe to be feral. The parents have no control. If I talked to my parents the way I hear them talking I may not have survived.
“ I will never understand how people can be so stupid!” Because they haven’t
produced an anti-stupid pill yet.
It just happened to us this weekend. We got to our site in a lovely county park and there was a red solo cup, another plastic cup and egg shells in the fire pit. Some people don’t know any better and some don’t care.
I think the “some don’t care” statement covers 90% of the problem. Beer cans, plastic water bottles, egg shells etc. are not going to burn, so I don’t understand the thinking in tossing this stuff in a fire pit. And if they could burn, why didn’t the previous camper burn it?
I suspect many here know the rules but maybe it’s time for placards at fee stations, campsites and restrooms that say “Only wood in the fire pit” for the less intelligent?
There’s a whole new generation emerging that required “Do not eat” to be put on Tide pod packaging….
And they walk among us.
They also breed and vote.
Over the past few years we have often travelled in areas with active fire bans. So there are no campfires. And no fires, no garbage in the fire rings.
Unfortunately, I see it a lot more now than I used to. Today’s campers and rvers are different. I like the idea of a site cleaning charge or a fine being assessed. But then I have to admit that I have seen people throw trash in an unoccupied site’s fire ring.
I see it often. Seems everything has changed since Covid. We just pulled into a KOA today. Reserved a Premium Site with Patio. Site is touted as beautifully appointed and landscaped. What we got was a VERY SMALL site, EMPTY Gas Grill, Dirty Site, Garbage left in our fire pit. Seems all PRE-Arrival cleaning has disappeared!. Additionally, the black tank hook up is not convenient to the site! This is NO PLACE to stay. PSA: KOA, Mt. Rushmore. Save your money and go elsewhere.
We volunteer Host at Oregon State Parks .. as such we clean campsites every morning. We also are full timers so spend our “off ” time at all manner of campsites throughout the year. As an educated estimate I’d say about 60% have unburned trash, many including partially burned bottles, cans, aluminum foil and melted plastics. All of the above should never be in a firepit on the 1st place.
One year at Quartszite we found house hold type trash in the fire ring, unburned
It’s very common for us to find cigarette butts in and around the campfire ring at many state and corp parks. We don’t smoke so find it a disgusting thing to clean up!
I am a smoker and DO NOT use the fire pit for the butts. I carry a heavy metal ashtray. Also, if taking a walk around the campground, I carry a plastic bag for the butts and dispose of it in a trash receptacle.
One of the worst things in the fire pit are plastic plates, cups and water bottles.
I hope that heavy plastic bags is fire proof!!
It is a sad commentary that we appear to have all seen certain amounts of garbage left in fire pits, yet no one says, “yeah, I am the one who does this.”
Sad commentary #2: Why are they not cleaned before someone new checks in? Personally I am so tired of hearing excuses from campgrounds, resorts, State, Provincial or National Parks as to why they have not been cleaned out before I check in.
Don’t hotels clean the rooms before someone checks in?
I will honestly say that we find it a lot, but will also say that it is far more common in “public” campgrounds than private ones. We had friends who camp hosted at COE parks and said it has gotten worse. The wife says she has found dirty diapers and female hygiene products in the fire pits in addition to the usual cans, bottle, and plastic containers.
This gets me because there are usually plenty of trash receptacles nearby or dumpsters.
Thank you, RV Travel! 🙂 Once in a while in general. However, I frequently find this in campsites we reserve at a metro-DC campground we usually vist twice each year. 🙁 Thanks again, have a great week, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂
Pigs should never be allowed outside their pen.
In the Pa State parks I don’t remember seeing any garbage in fire pits. Normally the camp host cleans them out before the new campers come.
I rarely camp where individual sites have fire pits. I don’t care for the smoke. The last one I did camp at had a fire pit within 3 feet of each camper! And the sites were about 6 feet apart. I would not have been happy if the people next to me had started a fire.
I’ve never seen trash in a fire pit but then I’ve never looked either. I couldn’t tell if the campsite I’m in right now has a fire pit or not but then again even if there was no fires are allowed not even charcoal. Plus the wind is really rocking my rig.
As workampers in state parks (in various states), we see this more working than in any we stayed in during traveling from one state to another. Even if it is a campground, it should still be pack it in, pack it out (to dumpster).