Do You Have To Reserve Campsites Months in Advance?

[Evergreengirl]

Cathy P., thanks for the clarification. I know it can be frustrating if you only have certain days free or want to go to a specific place/event! One thing I learned is that you can request that Reserve America send you email notifications for cancellations on the dates you're looking at. That's how we were able to nab a spot at the big Oregon Gathering rally this July when we decided to go at somewhat the last minute.

As for new State Parks - Oregon seems to lead the way. Cottonwood Canyons State Park opened in the fall of 2014 I believe and Stubb Stewart SP near Portland is pretty new too. Oregon sees the value of investing in these recreational lands which draw millions of visitors to the state every year. I wish other places would follow their lead. Here in WA I think the newest park is Rasar SP. The land was acquired in 1990 but I'm not sure when the park actually opened for business. It still has the look and feel of a very new facility. State budgets barely cover upkeep nowadays, let alone the development of new parks. It's a shame.

[Mr. W.]

This past Friday after work, my wife and I walked around a street car show, and finally wandered home about 6pm. One of our neighbors was just loading his camper to go out for the weekend. It was a beautiful day. My wife and I looked at each other, and we both had that look, and we said, "Let's go."

My wife called the nearest state park, and they had 60 electric sites, 9 non-electrics, and a bunch of primitives available. We ate dinner, loaded the cooler, hitched up the trailer (took two trips to the storage garage because I forgot the tongue-lock keys...), and drove out to the park, arriving at 9:30pm. There were still 5 non-electrics available, not sure about the others.

So, for the last weekend before school, I was surprised. You won't get away with that kind of spontaneity on holiday weekends! This was northern Indiana.

[Jon Vermilye]

I tend to travel without reservations, and rarely have a problem. I do make some calls to campgrounds in the area I expect to end up by the end of the day on mornings when I'm in popular areas or holiday weekends, and a few times had to change my plans to find a site, but so far I haven't had to "camp" in a Walmart or CrackerBarrel.

I should add that I usually stop for the day around 1:00PM, something that destination travelers might not want to do. It isn't unusual to find sites around that time, and the campground full by 7:00PM.

As long as you are willing to dry camp, at least in the West, it is usually possible to find something.

[Cathy P.]

I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences with me. Good thoughts. We have to plan at least 2 weeks in advance which definitely takes away from the flexibility that seems to be required.

Dry camping really would be a nightmare for us unless we go back to a motorhome. We just would have to have "extras". We did it in the state parks with an old tent camper and for awhile with a tent. Also, at Gilbert Ray in the Tucson area and Picacho Peak which we really, really liked.

I also found that if you want to volunteer here for a campsite, they only appear to need volunteers during the winter months since the same people seem to snag the positions each year.

Oh, well, Plan B. Life goes on.

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by Cathy P.

I also found that if you want to volunteer here for a campsite, they only appear to need volunteers during the winter months since the same people seem to snag the positions each year.

Oh, well, Plan B. Life goes on.

Yellowstone National Park had a shortage of both Volunteers as well as part and full time paid help this summer. Try www.yellowstonejobs.com or ygsjobs.com for next year.

[SoloMatt]

Originally Posted by Cathy P.

Dry camping really would be a nightmare for us unless we go back to a motorhome.

In my experience, the toughest spots to snag without advanced reservations are state and national parks, which tend to offer dry camping more often than sites with hookups (at least, here in California). So, if you're leaning more towards partial/full hookup sites, private parks may be your best bet, which typically are easier to reserve with less notice. Allstays.com and campgroundreviews.com are both great resources for finding public and private parks.

Happy camping!

[George in New Mex]

Norm, I hope that delivered fresh lobster was yummy! Anyway, back to the thread. My wife and I do not own an RV yet. Just reading and learning. We have rented state park cabins in Indiana, which require getting onto a computer system a year in advance. I suspect that as more boomers and others flood campgrounds, reservation software will improve, providing safe-guards to prevent people from hogging up sites and not using them, etc. Computers, when they don't crash, can really make life a lot better in many ways. It's good to know from these posts that you can still go camping. Just have to plan a bit sometimes.

[Cathy P.]

We do have a lot of issues that have to be worked out in order to put this together. I appreciate all thoughts and suggestions.

Whatever I do, it includes my adult son with Down syndrome and 2 large dogs one of which is chow/shepherd and banned from KOA and some other private campgrounds based on "breed". If one of the dogs was going to eat you, it would probably be the Lab as she always hungry. So, I have baggage.

The pop-up isn't really workable for SO many reasons and that is why I am looking for the molded fiberglass. Love being able to stop and go into the back for lunch/bathroom/breaks.

Big dogs have a bad reputation and mine are very good and well mannered, one spent her first year full-time in an RV park - the fierce and banned chow-shepherd.

Breed bans are worth mentioning and they do exist. The list of banned breeds gets longer all the time. "For insurance purposes".

I often tell people that sometimes the decisions you made in the past keep you from choices that you might want to make in the future.

So, I can see that boondocking would be a necessity if one is serious or at least being able to go without hookups. We had to use A/C and the furnace both each day when we were out last September. Kansas weather falls under my if you can't say something good about it, don't say anything at all so silence on that!

Thanks again. So, ability to not need hookups a must to avoid frustration.

[Vanderscamper]

Wow- yes we go camping when we can avoid the families; this area of NE GA, W NC and East Tenn are as full as Orlando can be from Easter to end of Leaf peeping season. We were lucky to grow up here part time and Florida most of the time. Is there any other life!- but we had family and friends all over the South. Now that we are over the hill- we will plan a lot but take what God gives us. Computers and cell phones are a wonderful thing; often we go to a specific place to see the place- not to spent nights sleeping in it. We love to go to Museums- I can spend a day sitting in a creek looking for crystals. I know our local National Parks are a bear to get into- Elkmont and Smokemont- but the Blue Ridge Parkway drive is beautiful. I am babbling, but what I mean is there is always someplace we have never been within a days drive- and we usually find a reasonable place to sleep.

[slowpat]

County fairgrounds often have spaces--some even have hookups. I usually look up where those are, as a backup. I do the same with casinos.




On the dog breed bans, what do you say if you have a mutt and no idea what breeds it is?

[Cathy P.]

With the mixes, generally you'll be OK unless maybe it is mix of banned breeds and obvious.

Here is list of the 14 Dog Breeds Blacklisted by Insurance companies: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...ance-companies Many of these are my favorites.

When we were out west, dogs over 20 lbs in some parks was an issue.

You do want a dog with manners when you travel as that way, sometimes, you'll get pass on some rule. Our chow shepherd mix has the sweetest face and is a real tail wagger.

So, again, I think the message remains the same and you need to be able to boondock.

I did notice that the range of closing of parks here is from 30 Sep to 30 Nov, with the more southern part of the state being open later. We are in the central part so in reality, this is doable. Nov can be a good month to camp and a great one if I can get the molded fiberglass, the pop-up can be chilly.

[slowpat]

For us spontaneous people, Oregon has a system where they have two colors of tags posted on the space numbers. You can drive around the loops and look for those. One color designates the space as being open for one night and reserved after that, the other color means the space is reserved for that night.




I like to stay in state parks instead of boondocking for a safer feeling. On one November trip coming home I stayed at South Beach SP at Newport, OR, and seemed to be outnumbered by campground hosts. They were very nice and hosty.

[Evergreengirl]

Cathy, good luck in your hunt for a molded FG trailer. Yes, it can really extend your travel window. Being able to be inside, nice and dry and warm on a cold autumn morning is definitely one of its advantages. And being able to dry camp is also a plus. Someone above mentioned county fairgrounds and that's a great option to remember. Casinos too!

[Hazel in Sk]

In Saskatchewan camping spontaneously at Provincial Parks is disappointing on weekends in July and August. The Park system decided to rent many sites out for the season - leaving those who don't have that much money available out of luck. Increasing numbers of sites are being electrified or made full service - and the fee goes up again!. Many primitive sites are claimed by those with big units and they often run generators a lot of the time.


As retirees we are able to go to our choice of Park mid week and generally find an available site. Often though we have to pay for services we have no interest in using (we like basic camping!)

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Hazel in Sk

In Saskatchewan camping spontaneously at Provincial Parks is disappointing on weekends in July and August. The Park system decided to rent many sites out for the season - leaving those who don't have that much money available out of luck...

Or who don't have that much time… That's a disturbing trend in parks that are (theoretically) owned by the people. What is driving the practice, I wonder? Who is renting sites for the whole season?

I have never heard of public parks doing that on this side of the border, but it's been many years since I camped extensively at state/national parks outside of the SW region. Fourteen days seems to be the limit most places I've been recently.

[Bob Miller]

More and more I see limits like 7 to 14 days in a month, anywhere in the park. This is to discourage those that move from site to site and never leave the park. Publicly owned parks really shouldn't allow seasonal rentals unless they are under used.

[Cathy P.]

I was looking at Kansas State Parks and they have a 14 day limit but you can get an extension of 14 days. There was a time when we had started camping that they could stay for 30 days, that's when we had to dry camp.

It going to get cold now so there should be less demand. We go out tomorrow night and it will get down to 50 degrees. Gosh, time to unpack the winter jammies.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Very Very Rarely do I have reservations. Camping 110 to 130 days per year.

Here's a resource that might help find those places that don't require reservations. Also many campgrounds in the Reserve America and Recreation.gov systems have first come first served sites. You have to search for them and learn some weird coding systems the reservation companies use. Anyway this web site has been useful to me.

[Uplander]

Cathy P......Winter Jammies at 50 degrees???....better not venture into the Adirondacks...here 50 degrees is considered a warm night!

Happy Camping!

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Uplander

Cathy P......Winter Jammies at 50 degrees???....better not venture into the Adirondacks...here 50 degrees is considered a warm night!

Given that Cathy lives in Kansas, I'd say the remark was meant tongue-in-cheek. Those plains states can get both blazing hot in summer and downright arctic in winter! Then there are the spring tornados… Hardy folk, those plains dwellers.

I got caught in a June thunderstorm while tent camping in a Kansas state park years ago. Not an experience I ever want to repeat!