Keyed or something else? Weird marks on my bumper

The nature of those parallel marks strongly suggests human contact rather than an animal, even though it happened near a trailhead. A deer or dog wouldn't typically leave distinct, horizontal stripes across a bumper. Even if it was an animal, it would usually result in more random, jagged gouges or a large impact point, not the deliberate, staggered lines you described. Those long, linear scratches are the classic signature of a key or a sharp object being dragged across the surface. For determining the severity, if the scratches are just in the clear coat, you might be able to do a simple polish. Just grab some car wax or a metal polish and really work it into the lines; if the shine returns, you're good for a quick touch-up, but usually, that won't hide the damage long-term on its own. If they have breached the base coat or are hitting the plastic beneath the paint, it's definatly needing a professional repair. Since you mentioned some spots look like they went through to paint, those will require sanding and repainting to prevent rust or moisture getting into the material.

As for a repair shop, if the scratches are widespread and complex like this, they are better off getting the whole bumper out, prepping it, and then painting the affected sections rather than trying to spot repair it from the outside. The low scrape near the bottom lip is likely a separate issue caused by debris or something you clipped while maneuvering in that dirt lot, which is much more common than a squirrel trying to climb your Camry. Insurance is usually going to deny this claim if it looks like a common occurrence for a used car in a dirt parking area. They want clear evidence of vandalism. If you can definitively prove it was hit by a person, then talk to them, but for a casual parking situation, you're probly on your own for the repair costs.

I totally agree with the analysis that those parallel lines look more like deliberate human damage than anything an animal could cause. I've seen this happen before on a sedan, and even when the scratch is superficial, people often try to fix it themselves. The downside is that unless you are a proffesional, it is nearly impossible to get the paint to blend properly once you start touch-up painting, which makes the damage look worse in the end. I also agree the insurance company will likely reject this type of claim because it doesn't fit thier profile for high-risk incidents.

The low scrape you mentioned near the bottom? That's probably just a piece of road debris or you clipping a curb coming out of that dirt lot. Those key marks, though, are something else. Back in the day, if it was just clear coat, you coud ussually get it out with some good abrasive compound and elbow grease. Don't waste time with those fancy modern waxes til you've tried the old metal polish trick. For the deeper lines, unless it's bad enough to compromise the structure, I'd start by just filling the gouges with a suitable filler and seeing how it sits before thinking about a full paint job.

I don't think it's fair to say the insurance will just deny it automatically. Even though it happened in a common parking spot and they might not like the paperwork, you still have to file a claim if you want to cover it. They won't just reject it because it's minor or ocurred near a trailhead. It might be a difficult claim to get approved, but you can't just assume the insurance company will ignore it completly.

Update: I tried using that abrasive compound on one of the deeper marks. It took some of the shine out, but the lines are still pretty noticable. Looks like the damage went past the clear coat, so I probably need to get a professional quote for repair.