cyccommute 

Shelters? What are those? Here in the west we consider ourselves lucky if we get a relatively flat spot to pitch a tent. “Flat” by the way is something with less than a 10% grade.

Honestly, I’ve pitched a tent under a structure once, maybe twice. It’s just not something I’ve run across very often. I’ve done a whole lot of touring and camping in the eastern US and haven’t seen tent shelters there either.

indyfabz

Shelter at a municipal campsite along the Allegheny River Trail in Franklin, PA. One of two at the site.

Typical Vermont state park shelter. (Ft. Dummer S.P. just outside of Brattleboro.) I’ve never stayed at a Vermont state park that does not have them. Usually lots of them.

Shelter at North Beach Campground in Burlington, VT.

There are four at the park campsite in Connellsville, PA, along the GAP. In W. Newton, also on the GAP, there is a private campground with a large, covered common area where you can pitch your tent in bad weather. (The grass is much nicer.)

Off the top head my I can think of a couple of other places in the east where I have been offered to pitch my tent under picnic shelters in the event of bad weather.

The neatest offer of shelter was in Waterton Village in AB. The woman who checked us in at the Towne Campsite suggested (unofficially) that we set up shop inside one of the camp kitchens due to the wind and cold. (There were whitecaps on the lake.) We entered one to find a nice couple taking a break from their RV. They had a fire going in the large stove. Before they went back to their RV, the husband drove me into the center of town so I could purchase more firewood.

Calsun

I take a combination ground cloth and tarp with a lenght of line and plastic tent stakes. I dislike riding in the rain and so avoid trips in areas where it is likely to rain unless I can find a motel or B&B. My primary concern is how long it takes to set up the tent and to take it down the next morning. A ground cloth is all I have needed 95% of the time and it takes no time to roll it out or roll it back up and lash it to the rear rack to head out in the morning. Mosquitos are a possible concern but mosquitoe netting that has been treated with permethrin is very effective.

After my first few long tours I would consider which items had been useful and which items constituted excess baggage. I took half as much on my second trip and half as much of that on my third trip. I does help a great deal to split the weight among two people. With my friend we only needed one set of tools and one cook stove and one fuel bottle. A two person tent would have been the choice if we needed a tent.

staehpj1

I may be an easterner, but most of my touring is in the west.

Most of the lean-tos I camped under were when backpacking in the east, but the picnic pavilions and so on I used when touring were almost all west of the Mississippi. I am pretty sure that includes a few in every state I rode in the west on the TransAmerica. Off the top of my head I don't recall using any in the east, but I am sure I must have here and there, just much less frequently. Additionally I used some in other western states on other tours.

Prowler 

BTDT and those shelters were a welcome sight. End of an 85 mile day but a perfect cool summer evening. Lovely and quiet too. I agree that one advantage of free standing is in pitching the tent under a roof when thunderstorms are expected. Floors could be grass or asphalt or wood or concrete. I’ve even set up in an old (cleaned out) chicken coop. Sketchy walls but a solid roof. Nice to pack a dry tent in the morning.

cyccommute 

Your experiences probably have more to do with the routes than what is usually found throughout the west. I don’t often travel on routes like those of Adventure Cycling. I also seldom end up in towns at the end of the day. Most of my camping in the west has been in USFS or BLM campgrounds, state park campgrounds, or commercial campgrounds. With the exception of commercial campgrounds, the amenities are minimal. Often you are lucky if you have a pit toilet.

And, to be honest, I’ve been to a single campground in the east that had a place to set up under shelter. I set up under a pavilion in Menominee, MI just last year after a long day in the rain and hoped that I could beg forgiveness in the morning. My assigned campsite was a pond. The next morning the camp host said that they had meant to tell me I could set up there.

stardognine

Ayup, out West here, I like it when I can find pine trees to camp under. Not only for rain protection, but especially for the cushy mattress, aka pine needles. 👍 Of course, pine cones are also part of the deal, so it's a good idea to stop, before it gets dark, so you can check your spot. 🙄😁😉

Tourist in MSN

I have done backpacking trips and also kayak trips on Isle Royale, an island in Lake Superior. Some of their campsites have shelters, some have just tent sites and some have both. Their shelters all have screen for the mosquitos.

But the wood floors are harder than ground, an air mattress that is a couple inches thick is much more comfortable on those floors than a half inch thick sleeping mat.

This was my first night on a a two week kayaking trip, thus several dry bags of food. The clothing in the screened wall is my dry suit trying to get drier.



Outside view.



There is no bicycling on Isle Royale, so don't start planning a tour there. You are either using your feet or one of these for your transport.



I have seen a few canoes up there, and paddle boards but those mostly are used in the sheltered area of Rock Harbor, or on interior lakes.

indyfabz

The first time I entered one (2103) there was a used condom in it. A trail monitor came by later and told me local folks sometimes use them to have sex in.

indyfabz

Had totally forgotten about my favorite shelter. A caboose from the early 1900s in Chester, MA. Those pads were quite comfortable. Didn’t bother with my mattress.

The nearby passenger station has been turned into an event venue. Rental of the caboose comes with a key to the station for bathroom privileges.