strange that someone would pop by to ask if its taken...that would bother me. the rangers keep a log. i've run into freeloaders in sites i've reserved though, and thats incredibly frustrating. made me so disappointed last time, decided i think they should ban folks for freeloading on sites.
I got up to green ridge last thursday night. Pretty late. It was fairly packed already. Approxiantely 80 out of 100 sites already taken. We grabbed site 38. A good sized site with privacy. As I said we arrived late (11pm). When we pulled up to our site 38 there was a tent there. We had to get out and calmly explain to the camper that we had already paid for this site and there wasnt any other place for us to go considering how packed it was. Plus it would have been a 40 minute round trip to go back to headquarters and look for a different spot. Since it was late we let them stay at the site for the night, but knidly ask them to vacate the next morning becuase we had other friends joining us. Thats the first time that has ever happen to me but it seems to be a reoccuring incident. Not sure how the forest service can control it though.
I dunno about the situation when you talked to them, but the same thing has happened to me on a few different trips down there, and it's usually the result of them signing up on the second page of the overflow sheet or something like that. Technically speaking, the forest states the sites are first come first serve, and whoever's there first is technically the ones that are allowed to occupy the site. That being said, if they didn't pay for the site, or have a permit for the site, then no, that isn't fair. But if they paid for it, and signed up on overflow or, elsewhere on the page, and their permit reflected that, they were there first, and the forest service would have asked you to leave, if that was the case. That being said, your situation seems like they didn't sign out the site, and that was verified by them complying with you asking them to vacate. Also being said, I wish there was a better system in place for changing your site. This past week on Tuesday I went out, and signed out 8 on the sheet, drove out to 8, a whole camper and tent and a couple other amenities set up, even though on the page 8 was free, they were already there so by the forest's set up, it was their site for that night, It's not my job to enforce the permit situation, if they're there it's only fair to assume they have the right to be there, and after going back to check, someone had signed up for the road that 8 is on, on the overflow. This isn't the first time I've had this happen, out of hundreds of trips down there this year. Having to make that drive back to the headquarters from some of the sites I really like after them being free on the paper, then occupied on arrival is angering, but it's how the system is, and the way the policy is written, you'd be in the wrong by trying to occupy the site as well, if someone was already there, unless you could prove they didn't have a permit to be there, and hadn't signed up as they were supposed to.
I was just there again and I did call HQ to clarify rules as so many people are over-running the system they can't keep up. As long as someone has a permit and occupy the site they have it. Apparently there have been people that will sign up for a site to reserve it for the future, but no one occupies the site until days later, but people are coming and going all days not just the weekends so that is unfair to say the least. Anyway, HQ did say, sign up on the numbered page first, when that is full sign up on the overflow with what road you think you will find a mini-site/pulloff/area. Meanwhile I screwed up and thought they were only doing the overflow site sign up sheet as they were recently and decided I would find a site first and then go to HQ and sign up with the correct road. I dilly dallied, set up camp and some woman drives in and says you are in my site! She then said she specifically signed up for that numbered site, so to my horror, I had to quick pack up and run to HQ and yuppers the old numbered sites page was up on top so I took a lesser known site I wouldn't usually pick. Made camp for the night and went back to HQ the next am while leaving my tent occupying the site. While at the clip board two other gents were trying to find sites and there were none so I called into the office and a lovely lady explained how they can't keep up. Some people were expected to leave that day, site 38 being one of them and when I said that she said a man came in an hour before at 8 am and immediately went to that site to see if they were leaving and to wait for them to vacate. That was a Friday morning. She said drive around and if a site is open, regardless of the clip board as long as you have a permit you can move into an empty site. Once you are in that site it is yours. But you must have a permit. I took the long way back to camp and saw a couple that weren't any better than what I had so decided to make it work. Quiet road, Twigg which is 4X4 only so cut down on traffic alot. The whole system was being overrun by hunters last weekend. Since its archery season I don't understand why there is so much gunfire but regardless I managed to have a lovely camp anyway. I'll put up a quick review soon. The place is just to popular and sites are so spread out. I'm sure they could put in some more sites without damaging the forest too much but they seem to want it no more so than what they have. It is managed as a forest and it is not a campground so I understand that. Its just rather unique in that aspect which why dispersed camping there is so lovely and private all at the same timed. Happy camping!
@@DeafDalmatian i remember when going to green ridge and getting a site was easy! Not like those other campgrounds that charge an arm and a leg to be right next to other campers...oh well. As fo rthe gun shots, theres other things to be hunted in greenridge. Maybe they were looking for squirrels or something.
@@cadensmusic yeah, its a tough situation. When I spoke to them, I asked them if they already had a permit. They said they didnt know they had to get a permit. Apparently they had been several times and never got one then either. So they never paid before.... Its a big place and pretty frustrating when you sign up for a spot and would have to go all the way back to the HQ to get a different one. I dont blame the Greenridge crew though. Its too big of a place to check all the campsites for legitimate campers. Its the campers who CHOOSE not to sign up or pay. They know what they are doing. Its pretty easy to google green ridge state forest and find that there is a fee and process to getting a site.
I love that you are still making these videos! Unfortunately I have moved out of Maryland and back to Michigan, so now Green Ridge is about 8 hours from me. I'm sure I will get back there again some day though!
I hope you have beautiful trails to hike and natural areas to camp and get into nature! Happy camping! I've heard the upper peninsula is to die for when it comes to remote camping and nature area!
I really liked 51. I love the view from both sides back towards the road, and the secluded nature of the site. I love seeing your reviews and videos of them! That being said, everytime I've tried to get it recently it's been taken haha.
Hello! I love your videos. We are camping at Green Ridge for the first time this weekend. We also have 2 dogs that will be coming. I was curious if you know anything about Site 84? I found a picture an it looks beautiful and private, but not sure about how safe it would be with the dogs since it looks to be on a ridgeline, hard to tell from the one picture I have. Thanks so much!
Hi! Site 84 is not private and not on a ridge line. It is at the bottom of Yonkers Bottom Rd at creek level. It stops at 15 mile creek. It has public access along the campsite for people to park and fish in the creek. Others won't stay the night unless they are on overflow camping. Happy Camping. My dogs and I will be way up in PA this weekend by Marsh Creek State Park in an RV.
@@DeafDalmatian Thank you so much, that is extremely helpful. I have no idea what picture I was looking at, they must have listed the incorrect site number. Thanks again and have a great weekend camping!
You have to start at headquarters, You fill in the info on the envelope you put your $10 per night fee and site # on and enter your name on the corresponding site number on the clip board with date in and date out. The clip board will show open site numbers. That is where you see what sites are taken or not. It is not free to just drive into a site and take it. There was a whole lot of pandemonium last fall about getting sites while the clip board system wasn't in play for a bit. But as far as I know it is back in place. Always best to go to HQ first then go to your site. If you have paid for a numbered site then if someone is there when you get to the site it is up to them to move. Its a beautiful area, regardless of the season and sites are far enough away from each other mostly to feel like you are in your own little world for a few days! You can go high, low, mid mountain, open site, heavily wooded site. There are almost 100 numbered sites, a few numbers are missing however and then they have non-numbered over flow sites for when they run out of numbered site such as hunting season last fall. Happy camping!
I always appreciate the videos! Thanks for posting. I've read recent reviews that people are just driving around looking for open sites. I know the office is closed, but are they still using the sign up sheet at the office?
Yes, You still need to get a permit and pay at the hut in front of HQ but the clip board only asks for you to say what road you are camped off of, instead of the specific site. Some people write their supposed site number but that weekend someone was in the site I wrote down so I had to take another so then others thought the site I took was open and drove right into my site. I finally put a note on the site number pole saying the site was taken so people would stop driving all the way into the site because it causes my deaf dog to run out to the road to see them. I'm protective of her. They can still drive by and site you for not having a permit or having signed up for a site or an area. They just aren't strictly enforcing the exact sites on the clip board due to the heavy workload to keep it accurate. And due to more campers than sites they allow the use of the pull offs used for hunting as alternate sites but you are still supposed to have a permit and have paid for the number of nights you are staying. I long for those days, just like others I've spoken to lately of the controlled clip board and site system. There is too little supervision of people abusing and trashing the forest and we will all pay one day when they close it down to camping if people don't start respecting the land and stop leaving trash and not carefully managing their camping practices. Anyway, Happy Camping! I'm back out there in about 8 days! Love fall camping!
@@DeafDalmatian that is pretty aggravating. It’s a huge forest and to pick a site and have someone already there would be very annoying. Hopefully I don’t run into that issue.
Yes, I finally got to stay at and review site 50! Very interesting difference. I never really saw 'critters' at site 51. At site 50 we had a critter highway going on! Never did find out what was at the picnic table the first night. Scared up a dear along the back trail one afternoon. And chased a bear off that was coming into camp while I sat at the fire one evening!
