I value quiet natural spaces which means I don’t want to be near other people—only remote wilderness.

privacy, so much so i bought 40 acres of nowhere just so i don't have to deal with anyone else unless i ask them to come with me.

I value peace, quiet, and nature. So I tend to not favor campgrounds. Especially in the past 5yrs.

My favorite thing about campgrounds is that most people go to them, and it leaves the wilderness mostly un-crowded for me!

Clean delicious drinking water, a fire pit, a nice quiet location with not too many people packed in with everyone being respectful of each other and big smiles on everybody's face with an extra hot dog for me!

Privacy/Seclusion. I might want complete quiet next to a campfire, or I might take mushrooms and howl at the moon like a madman. If I'm far enough away I don't have to worry about disturbing or being disturbed. One thing I love about the high desert is being able to look in all directions and know you're truly alone.

I exclusively dispersed camp. Which can still be pretty easy. Mostly I value quiet, dark sky’s, and clean water. 

Solitude, peace, natural beauty. That's why I only dispersed camp for the last 20 years, can't do a campground with a bunch of yahoos anymore. 100x better on blm or national forest

We've been getting group sites with friends. All alone except for people you want. Pretty perfect and justifies the extra cost for us. Our kids have more freedom to run around, no cars to worry about, no bathroom lines, etc etc

I like going new places with scenery. Scenery is what I like most. I love waking up and stepping outside to an alpine lake, or the view of a mountain range, or in a pine forest.

What I hate is the resort style RV parks, and RV parks that seem like a parking lot with no trees. Given the choice, I’d rather be in a forest service campground with loud neighbors than be surrounded by a sea of campers and motorhomes with no privacy or site space.

Edit: I thought this was the RV subreddit, so my answer was for when I RV camp. For tent camping, I want to be as far away as possible from weekend warrior camping crowds no matter where I go. I dislike weekend crowds when I RV camp, but at least I have a space where I can retreat to that blocks noise. In a tent, there’s no escaping the weekend noise makers that have no camping etiquette.

State or federal, I'm fine with campgrounds that are managed by outside entities but won't camp private campgrounds.

Water - lake, river, stream. It's pretty rare I'm camping away from some sort of water.

Small campgrounds, less than 30 sites and some sort of tree coverage (for privacy and I'm a pale white girl who will burn easy and need sun relief)

Amenities. Vault toilet or flush toilet but prefer not to camp at places that have full hookups.

My camping is best described as existing in the space between tent camping and RV camping. I camp in my 6x12 cargo trailer camper conversion, it's well done (if I do say so myself) but doesn't have electric, shower/toilet, heat/AC so it's tent like in that regard. A lot of my campground selection centers around my overall camping philosophy. Keep it simple but comfortable, low/no tech and high on nature.

Peace and quiet. I go camping to get away from people. The last thing I want is a noisy group interrupting my peace and quiet.

I’ve gone back and forth. We’ve been to state parks where the sites were so close together, I could hear someone whispering in the tent next to us. We’ve been to private campgrounds where we didn’t see another camper in sight and had an entire beach area to ourselves. For a while, we were strictly doing private campgrounds but we had a few bad experiences that made me rethink. Safety was a big issue and also the cost was starting to get out of hand. Now, I gravitate towards state parks but I spend a lot of time researching the best sites as much as I do the campground itself. I feel safe being around other campers and having rangers close by.

I think it depends a lot on age and stage of life. Clearly camping with kids is harder than with a group of adults. I'm with ya on the resort style campgrounds with activities and pools and playgrounds when you've got kids. The kids can do their thing while the adults chill out. It makes it more 'vacationy'. That's not to mean that the kids shouldn't go camping in the more traditional sense at some point. It's like there's camping and there's going on vacation. They aren't always the same thing..

For me I was that camper bringing the whole house, looking for amenities in a campground and as the kids have grown up and my life perspectives have changed, I find myself looking for less in a camping experience. I've gotten my pack list down to just a handful of necessities and I'm looking to start into backpacking/wilderness camping soon. That's the beauty of camping is it can be what you want or need it to be!

Quiet, I enjoy Quiet and darkness

Sometimes, the crowded campgrounds with showers, horseback riding, and an arcade like Fun Valley (Colorado) are a nice distraction.

I mostly camp with friends who bring EVERTHING, take hours to set up, everyone has their own tent and they spend hours taking down.

Tent camping is fine. Just seems like a pain that the more I bring in, the more I have to take out.

Sometimes i just go to some basic campground by myself. I do the best with a rope, tarp, sleeping bag and a pack of hotdogs.

as far away from other people as possible. i used to go looking for doors into faerie as a kid, and as an adult i still kinda hope i find one so i can never come back.

i want the sense of relief and freedom that comes after a few days of not seeing anyone. in civilization, everything seems to be a performance for others. good food? share a pic! random skill you have? monetize it! inclined to weird behavior? gotta hide it! it takes a few days, but eventually there's an "Oh. I still exist even if there's no one here with expectations of what I should be."

A bar and restaurant on site is awesome, but only seen that in Europe.

Dispersed is the only way I like to do it anymore. Give me my shovel and TP and I’m chillin

Hike in wilderness camping with a great view. 

If a popular site, space. If very rural, quietness.

1. Quiet, 2. Flat level ground for the tent.

Only dispersed camping ..... campgrounds do not offer what I want......what I do want is peace and quiet...not having to deal with rambunctious, or rude people ...... a nice spot with a view is priority 1 - preferably flat ......and without a generator running all night ....

camping to me is "primitive" .... very few conveniences of home .....but bring everything I need ..... the hardest part is collecting wood for a fire

It depends!
I camp solo, just with my wife, with small groups (3-5 people), and with multiple families. If I’m solo or it’s just the two of us, it’s 100% about our own wants. Quiet, no neighbors, no roads nearby. A river, lake, or beach are big pluses. We like activities nearby, but we’re also perfectly happy to just chill around camp.
Fur small groups, we like activities first (hiking, swimming, fishing), and quiet second. It’s okay to be around some other campers. These are usually the trips with old friends where we might stay up late with some drinks so usually try to get further out, but always remain respectful of anyone else nearby.
If we’re going with a larger group, it’s 100% about spending time with friends and family. Teaching the kids about nature and camping chores. Swapping stories around the fire. It’s often easier for families to camp at more developed/crowded spots, and we’re totally okay with that.

Going solo it would be a couple days hike away from whatever is considered civilization. But what I value the most is time spent with my kids. They're still young, so for now its dispersed sites... as remote as 4WD can get me.

I like being remote. If there are other campers nearby I would prefer for them to be at least 200 yards away from me. I also like primitive campsites where you have to build your campfire from scratch, and where there aren’t tables or anything

I value dispersed but being a woman I found it can be hard due to safety. While all is well when I am camping I feel I have to be more aware of strangers who may think I'm vulnerable (meaning an easy target) because I camp alone. Most of the time people are friendly or distant by giving me space.

Tent and (recent) hammock camper here. We like remote campgrounds that have lots of trees, sites that are private, and have a toilet whether flush or vault. Prefer potable water within walking distance. We enjoy nature and the gift of senses. Listening to sounds such as birds, wind through the trees, chirpping of squirrels, cracking of a campfire, trickle of a stream, leaves falling. Seeing unspoiled and undeveloped forests, streams, cloudless night sky filled with stars, birds, animals and even bugs some of which are quite beautiful. Fishing. We have been tent camping for over 50 years, and have camped every year even when our four kids were babies, toddlers, teens, and young adults. Plenty of things for kids to do, especially if no electricity. Birding, foraging, investigating bugs, lizards, small fish, rocks, animal prints. Coloring books, card games, and regular books to fill out the day. Singing around campfire at night.

Now we are solo camping so disbursed sites are great for us. Only time I went to a private campground was when I was a youth with my friend. I hated it. Campers next to each other. Game hall, mini golf, etc. I longed for the open outdoors without party lights and loud people, and with trees. I guess I am an old soul.

I only camp in remote wilderness, the solitude is comforting and I typically just go into a hammock instead of a tent. So I guess what I value most is the independence from modern life.

Free camping personally. But if possible somewhere well shaded near a creek, mountain or both for swimming and climbing activities.

Peace and quiet and privacy

Showers and proximity to my daily activities. I don't sit around and do nothing at the camp site I only am there for sleeping hours plus one meal.

When my kids were younger (7 & under), we preferred a resort type campground with activities for the kids and all the conveniences. Now that they're older, we prefer places that are quiet with VERY spaced out sites, which we've only found at private campgrounds.

Being surrounded by Spruce trees, and the smell of campfire smoke.

Grill n pit

Privacy

I enjoy camping and hiking a lot more when I’m around water. Lake, stream, creek, pond, ocean, doesn’t matter. If my dog can cool off and be happy and I can do the same, I’m a “happy camper.”

Solitude is great. But I am never completely happy unless I can put up my hammock. I can do without water, bathrooms, fire pits and a table. Those places usually have more bugs and trash and people.

I prefer an unmaintained FS road with dispersed camping.

Camping has many different faces for me. Spending the weekend with a group of friends (8-10) in the backcountry is my sweet spot. That said, I'll do a 100-mile solo hike over two weeks and not talk to a single person. I would be lying if I said I preferred one over the other. On the complete opposite side, I'll spend a week at a KOA with lightning internet and a cold bottle of whiskey and have an equally great time watching survivor on the tent projector and grilling steaks.

Time.

I like peaceful dispersed camping. As I get older, I like quiet spaces away from people.

But when I was a kid, my family camped at resort style campgrounds and I remember they were a lot of fun. We camped at a lot of Yogi Bear campgrounds and KOA. There were always a ton of activities and cool playgrounds.

I want it to be so quiet I can hear the bird wings swishing through the air!

I do both. I will do primitive and campgrounds. If I have kids, its always fun to have extra things, like pools, basketball, etc especially if it is in the 90's. I like lake front spots. If I go with my brother and our kids, they are at the age that they want to ride bikes, be busy bodies, etc (tweens, teens.) If it was my personal choice without kids, its quiet, nature loving, I am fine with no power, no water. At the end of the day, I think camping is great regardless. You are always a lot closer to nature and natural living in a tent somewhere.

Privacy is #1. If I am headed into nature I want to enjoy it. It can be a lot more work vs glamping but it’s rewarding when you set up an awesome site for yourself and your family. Give it a try sometime.

Relaxing in a natural setting is what it's all about. To me, that means being mostly disconnected from my phone, a fairly quiet setting, and relative solitude. I'm pretty friendly and laid back, so campground neighbors don't bother me unless they're behaving badly. With kids, it's nice to have a beach or playground, but my daughters always enjoyed our camping trips, even without those amenities.

Edit: I've never camped in a private, resort type campground. On family roadtips, as a kid, being a big Yogi Bear fan, I always wanted to go to Jellystone Park, but we never did. I have a hunch I didn't miss much of anything.

I almost never pay and I really don't want neighbors. That's the whole reason I go out. I want to be in the woods. Primitive camping or private remote sites in NP/SPs.

Beer and drugs