RV Camping in Your Own Backyard The 3-3-3 Rule of Camping
By Debbie Black
Have you ever heard of the “3-3-3 Rule of Camping?” Wait. Garth and I thought camping was supposed to be about getting away from everything and relaxing in Nature not fretting about some ominous rule? Reference to this mysterious 3-3-3 Rule kept popping up in blogs and forums, so I figured I’d better investigate. I would have bet you a bundle of firewood and a marshmallow stick that we had already unwittingly broken this rule, whatever it is. Well, you guessed it. I would have won that bet!
It turns out that the 3-3-3 Rule is actually simple and wise. Hopefully, you’re already abiding by it. During our first years of camping, we had no choice but to disobey the 3-3-3 Rule. But boy, not anymore! Have I piqued your curiosity? Let’s see where you stand on the 3-3-3 Rule of Camping.
Here’s how it goes. It simply states that you should drive no farther than 300 miles, arrive by 3 p.m., and stay for a minimum of 3 days. What a lovely concept. But not always feasible.
When Garth and I worked fulltime in our architectural and landscape-architectural practices, we had no choice but to break this rule. We could only slip away for a few days at a time. We’d drive hard, get into camp late, set up in the dark, stay for a couple nights, then break camp, drive home, unpack, clean the RV, do laundry, and go back to work. Effortful, but worth it. Now that we’ve retired, we’re grateful to be able to stretch out our camping trips for as long as we choose. We alternate between sticking close to home, savoring a super relaxing stay-vacation at one of our favorite local campgrounds or heading out at a leisurely pace for a month-long exploration of the western states.
As I write this, we’re enjoying the .012-3-7-1 Rule. Yesterday, we drove 12 miles to El Chorro Park, checked in at 3 p.m., and set up for a 7-night stay, all in less than 1 hour. This is RV Camping in Your Own Backyard at its finest! We do similar short hops for easy stays at San Simeon, Morro Bay, and El Capitan State Parks, as well as Santa Margarita Lake — El Chorro’s sister campground. When we go farther afield on month-long trips, we’ve learned the hard way to pace ourselves to avoid burn out. We know now that we can’t see and do everything in one trip. We pare down our itinerary and are cautious not to overschedule. We drive a daily maximum of 250 miles between stays of at least two days,preferably four. I guess you could say we’ve evolved into our own variation of the 3-3-3 Rule.
For the past four years, I’ve written “RV Camping in Your Own Backyard” in the Estero Bay News to highlight and bring to your attention our fabulous, beautiful local campgrounds. People drive for hours or days to enjoy what we have in our own backyard. Merriam-Webster defines vacation as: “A period spent away from home…in recreation.” Nowhere does it say you have to go far!
Certainly, we who live on the Central Coast are fortunate. We don’t have to drive through LA or across the Central Valley or the length of the I-5 corridor to get to scenic campgrounds that check all the boxes. The 3-3-3 Rule doesn’t apply when you can be in your favorite campsite in less than an hour, making the most of your precious free time. Camping locally has a host of advantages. You may get raised eyebrows from folks asking where you’re going camping, expecting you to say “Yellowstone,” but instead you answer, “Morro Bay State Park.” You can see the wheels turning as their disbelief turns to understanding, then often to envy. Likely, they’ll join the swelling ranks of locals who are enjoying our local campgrounds. How about you?
Wishing you a summer filled with good camping memories, whether you’re traveling 12 miles or 1200. May you slow down and savor the moment. It’s not a rule, it’s a blessing.
For my campground reviews and campsite ratings, please visit RV Camping in Your Own Backyard at www.debbienobleblack.com/rv-camping-in-your-own-backyard.
