I think that you have to be a lot more careful when finding a campsite now, because there are a lot more chances of other campers being in the area, unless you are in a fairly remote location. Regular campgrounds are nice because they usually have restrooms and water nearby, even though they do not have the privacy of camping in the mountains. There are trade-offs, and benefits to each one.
Now, if i were going to camp, I would opt for as much comfort as possible, even though that wasn't important to me when I was younger. Definitely having water and a bathroom is an important thing to me. I have cleaned dishes with leaves and sand before, and while it does work fine; I much prefer water, even if it is only cold water.
We used to cut fir boughs and lay them out on the ground to make kind of a mattress for the sleeping bag, and that does help when you are sleeping on the ground, (plus it smells wonderful!) but I think a camper van would be the right thing for me if I were going camping nowadays.