Looking to start backpacking just wondering if I have to reserve a site anywhere I go, for instance Afton, or wild river. In which case if i am backpacking would it be better to just disperse camp?
They also are not meant to be used as a base camp setup.
I believe the parks went to 100% reserved sites a few years ago. Dispersed camping is valid but not in state parks, just state forests.
Some sites in the superior national forest do not require a reservation.
If you’re looking to start backpacking your best bet is the superior hiking trail. All sites are first come first serve but it’s the best backpacking in the state.
No, sites are not first come first serve. Sites are to be shared.
Since you have some down votes for this accurate statement:
https://superiorhiking.org/know-before-you-go/
All campsites and campsite infrastructure must be shared. Please be courteous and make room for fellow campers.
https://superiorhiking.org/shared-campsites/
One will notice that, at the trail heads, a sign denotes that “Campsite must be shared if required.”
If a sites full its full….
The rules are written to suggest that even if a campsite is "full", if more hikers show up and can't reasonably make it to the next available site until the following day, room should be made for them.
https://superiorhiking.org/know-before-you-go/
All campsites and campsite infrastructure must be shared. Please be courteous and make room for fellow campers.
https://superiorhiking.org/shared-campsites/
One will notice that, at the trail heads, a sign denotes that “Campsite must be shared if required.”
I have had to hammock in some tight spaces at crowded SHT campsites (Bear Lake anyone?), the campers already at the site were very welcoming in my experiences.
If you can’t fit more backpackers you can’t fit more backpackers. Not that hard of a concept to grasp. It’s first come first serve to those the spot will accommodate.
You can always fit more.
Please stay off the SHT or other trails if you feel otherwise. Hiker culture is real.
There’s a finite amount of space at backcountry camp grounds unless you expand into vegetation which kind of violates the whole, leave no trace part of your “culture”.
This is true, but as a backpacker you make room as much as possible to accommodate other backpackers while out on the trail. Not a complicated subject. If you're going to be out there, you have to be alright with someone setting up next to you for the night.
Nope, it's not. You do not turn away a tired section or through hiker and tell them to go another 5 miles to maybe find a spot.
The trail has etiquette.
All state parks sites must be reserved. Dispersed camping is not allowed in any State Park. You can only disperse camp in state and national forests and there are still rules you must follow. The Superior Hiking Trail sites aren't reservable, but they must be shared with other hikers that want to use it.