My 2 cents. Worth probably half that.
I've stayed at all the camp grounds. I agree with you on the baseball fields in general. Not really a "Nature" setting, and the bright sun in the morning can give the soberest of people a hangover.
So it comes down to the outta town sites vs. Town Park. For scenery, the outta town camps are just gorgeous, especially if you can get close to the river. TP also has some beautiful sites, but it's pretty crowded so you have to walk away to really appreciate them. The people are great EVERYWHERE. I've been to many, many festivals (even Hardly Strictly in your town) and this is the one with the most community spirit.
So with so much being equal, why do I and nearly everyone on this forum pray so hard to find TP tickets? A couple of reasons. First, T-Ride gets really hot during the day and really cold at night. So in order to not miss out on any of the great music, the outlying campers need to take everything they own on the school buses each day. Yes, you CAN go back and forth on the bus as the sun goes down, but a quick walk to TP takes 5 minutes - the bus (if there's one waiting for you and ready to pull out each way) might take 45. The buses can also get really full after the last set of the night, with everyone wanting to leave at the same time with all their clothing, tarps and chairs, so leave a little early.
Secondly, there's the break factor. If you need a nap, outlying campers can head over to the little park at the entrance for a nice snooze. TP'ers get to hunker down in their nearby tents.
And finally, there are the "Camps". These are friends who meet up year after year in the same place. There are traditional events (rumballs, bacon fetish day, etc.) where the entire population of TP comes together to meet. The outlying camps ALSO do this, but the scale is much bigger in TP.
My 2 cents aside, it comes down to this: you're gonna have fun, and meet some of the greatest people in the world, people who will become true friends of yours, no matter WHERE you camp. And you'll be back, and you'll b bringing more and more people with you to this wonderful place in the future.
Listening to:
Steep Canyon Rangers - Deep in the Shade - great new album!
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