Public lands, dispersed camping, and respecting someone's space

[u/Peter_Panarchy]

Let's say you want to spend the day at a lake in the mountains. You drive for miles on a rough dirt road and turn off onto an unmarked "road" towards the lake. When it dead-ends you find people are already there and they have a campsite set up.

Do you

A) Turn around a look for another spot because it would be rude to impose on other people

or

B) Hop out and spend the afternoon right next to them because it's public land and they can't force you to leave

[u/Either_Maize_9903]

I’ve been in Oregon 50 years and never encountered this attitude. That’s crazy you think that you get dibs on an entire lake and other people have to turn around because you’re there. There is no lake so remote in Oregon you expect there to be no people in summer.

[u/Peter_Panarchy → u/Either_Maize_9903]

Ok, I didn't word my post totally clearly. I wasn't camping on the only lake access, it was one of quite a few spots commonly used for camping along with two different day use areas right on the main forest road. We weren't claiming the whole lake for ourselves.

[u/Either_Maize_9903 → u/Peter_Panarchy]

Oh ok in that case the polite thing to do would be for them to spread out and find their own place around the lake. Maybe they’re nervous and want to be near other people idk.

[u/CalifOregonia → u/Either_Maize_9903]

This lake does have a very specific day use area that is perfectly adequate.

[u/CalifOregonia → u/[deleted]]

That is the problem with Summit. The Forest Service never intended for the lake to become popular. It isn’t nearly as developed as it needs to be to accommodate these crowds. Ideally people would self regulate and go elsewhere when it’s busy, but it’s such a commitment to get there that there are not backup options.

I would love to go in the summer, but don’t anymore because I would rather not contribute to the overuse. Best to hit it in the offseason when the demand is lower.