Do You Make Campground Reservations?
Friday February 20, 2009
Have you ever gone on a camping trip only to arrive at the campground and find it full? Makes you wish you had made a reservation, doesn't it? On the other hand, have you ever made a reservation only to arrive and the campground has no record of it? Even more frustrating, huh? Which camper are you? Do you make reservations, or do you take your chances? Feel free to leave comments about your campground reservation experiences, good or bad.
Comments
Use Reserve America all the time. Have never had a problem. Of course this is for State and Federal camp sites and some KOA.
I never need to reserve a campground. I never camp in populated campgrounds. I prefer solitude and camp in very remote or unknown campgrounds. I even enjoy finding a farmer/rancher that will allow me to camp on his property.
We usually camp at first come first served sites and don’t have any problems. Especially if you arrive during the week.
I have having to make reservations, takes the spontanaity out of vacations but have found it to be a necessary evil. Wouldn’t camp without them now.
Unfortunately, campground reservations are often necessary unless you are like one commentor who camps on private farmlands.
Weekend reservations are especially necessary for in-season camps. Various websites provide info on whether or not reservations are available. High use camps like Yosemite require reservations as soon as the time window opens, 6 months in advance. An alternative for Yosemite Valley is the much less crowded high country at Tuolumne Meadows which reserves only half the sites. There are also a few camps beyond the Meadows on the Tioga Pass road which have no reservations. One of my favorites is Junction Campground with magnificient high Sierra scenery, trails and no crowds, and only 12 campsites.
It is advisable to arrive Thursday for a non-reserved site for the weekend. Arriving on a Sunday afternoon is usually best for finding a spot since the weekenders are leaving.
I suggest being flexible when camping without a reservation by having backup campgrounds as alternatives. And never never try to camp without a reservation on a holiday.
I believe in reservations. Some campgrounds have great sites that can truly make the difference for a camping trip. You’ll want to make sure that you reserve those in advance because I’m sure that you’re not the only one who likes them!
We probably should be in the “Sometimes” category but we make reservations 90% of the time even if it’s a call to the CG the day we’re leaving just to make sure they have spaces.
We usually have very good results with reservations We’ve only had problems one time and that was at a state park that only accepted call-ins. I called and told them that we needed 2 spaces for the weekend and they said it was no problem. When we got there they had given one of our spaces away. We had to go 100 miles to find another place. Now I always have them read the order back to me and I call the day we’re leaving to make sure we’re still on the list.
I’ve never had a problem with recreation.gov. I use it extensively.
Oregon State campgrounds are often show full when checking reservations, then when you get there, many spaces are empty and/or stay empty for days. I rarely camp in Oregon State Parks. Never make reservations in any other campgrounds except if it is for a group.
We have camped all over AZ. We have only made reservations once in our entire 20-some years of camping and more times than not, we have always gotten a campsite.
Why pay the extra charges?!?
We are,
The Happy Campers
:0)
My husband and I make reservations when we plan on staying at a particular campground for more than one night. If we are only traveling through to another permanent site, then we take whatever is available because we’ll be off at first light.
Indiana State Parks are great! We always make reservations during the summer though so we can pick our favorite areas. I have used Virtual Earth to get a bird’s eye view of the sites. I can see where the trees are but can’t always see the topography. The reservation website has a very good written description of each site. We just got home from a week’s stay at a private campground.
I make my reservations online and print a copy of it so I can show it when arriving at the campground. Never had a problem.
We have been fulltime RVers for 4 years and are usually off the road by 3:00 pm so we have had no trouble finding a site. If we know we will need a site for a holiday, or if we are going to be staying in or near a tourist area, then we will make a reservation.
I like to make our summer campground reservations in the dead of winter, six months or so before our vacation. Helps my cabin fever a tiny bit. We are weekend campers and like to camp several times each summer in state parks here in Wisconsin. They fill up early and it’s nice to know we have great campsites pre-arranged come summertime.
I usually always make a reservation as I often camp alone and want to be sure that I’m safe. One problem here in California is that more people are camping. I tried to make a reservation in January for a July date and the campground was full already (State Park). Bummer! I was thinking I could try for “overflow” camping since I’m in my wonderful Westy, but would prefer to know if I can stay there.