When Will RV Campgrounds get with program and have better websites

[RubenZ]

Am I the only one that gets annoyed by the fact that most campground websites severely lack decent Content? I like to see a good view of the campsite from the RV sites, etc. etc. I want to get an idea of how much shade the campsite has, etc. etc. before making the long journey.

[trudinator]

Originally Posted by RubenZ

Am I the only one that gets annoyed by the fact that most campground websites severely lack decent Content? I like to see a good view of the campsite from the RV sites, etc. etc. I want to get an idea of how much shade the campsite has, etc. etc. before making the long journey.

Maybe they're not too proud of their sites! I stayed at a campground quite a few years ago that had "special" tent sites. Yeah, they were "special" all right - 100+ yards from the nearest tree, in the middle of a field with the sun blazing all day. Needless to say, after we saw the site, we got a refund and went somewhere else.

[DF5.4]

If I'm going to a CG I haven't been to before I checkout their sitemap and then go to Google Earth. You can get a pretty good idea of where the trees are.

[yvesm]

Bing maps also works good sometimes, you can locations of roads and highways

[momtovn]

i do that too, i use google satellite we saw one site that looked more like a city dump than a CG, phew, glad we did not book that one!!

[Los Popes]

What also frustrates us is there are many campgrounds where you still can't make online reservations or check availability. You have to complete and submit a request form or call for availability.
I understaand that it can be expensive to upgrade your internet infrastructure but most of these places seem to have enough business to support the upgrades. Maybe they don't receive enough customer complaints about their websites so they don't change.

[zaih05]

Keep in mind we're new to all this, but I was just fighting the booking site reserveamerica.com for a spot at Starved Rock here in IL. I'm sure it has to due with budgets or lack of, cost of website administration, database administration, etc, etc, etc. seems many places farm out the online booking / website part. I just wanted to TALK to someone to ask a simple general question... IF you can find the hidden link to get to cryptic page that may or may not have what you need, good luck getting a live person on the phone! UGH! Sorry for the soapbox rant but this one is still near and dear to my heart.

[MrT]

Originally Posted by RubenZ

Am I the only one that gets annoyed by the fact that most campground websites severely lack decent Content? I like to see a good view of the campsite from the RV sites, etc. etc. I want to get an idea of how much shade the campsite has, etc. etc. before making the long journey.

Ruben--take solace in the fact that you are among good company in this forum. I try to access every available (online) resource to determine if a particular campground or RV park is what we are looking for. We all have our tastes and preferences, as do those that rate campgrounds. Sometimes you are the bug, and sometimes you are the windshield... Submit reviews when you can, and that may help the folks next in line.

[hoffkm]

Problem with campground information on the internet (be it a campground website or google earth which are both sources I use) is the age of the information. You have to be careful and try to make an educated guess if the info is recent or not (age of RVs in pictures, hair styles on guests, apparal, etc.). The google earth pictures of our home are about 6 to 7 years old for example.

We have booked at campgrounds that looked nice on the internet and then were not so nice in person. We have also been pleasantly suprised at very nice campgrounds with wonderful owners that had "sub-par" websites that left us guessing. It sometimes is the luck of the draw and that can be half the fun (unless you get stuck with the extremes).

Another possible warning sign sometimes can be "under new ownership". It all depends on the reason for the new ownership.

[campnqueen]

Have you checked out Federal recreation, camping and tour reservation information - Recreation.gov some of the fed and state parks DO have photos of actual site! shade and all! They have length of site and how far from water/lake or river too.

A lot of the fed/ state park campgrounds are manned but volunteer hosts... they are more than happy to chat with you about the facilities. Most of them live on site.