reservation tips

[Steve2013]

I'm starting to do so planning for our retirement tip. We plan to visit a number of national parks and national forest. The problem I'm running into is that every time I check a reservation I can't seem to get any openings. It seems that everything is full. Does anyone have any tips?
Thanks
Steve

[Fire Instructor]

Plan (and reserve) as far ahead as possible, and plan on arriving on a Wed of Thu night, rather than the popular Fri night arrival.

We book at Assateague Island State Park (MD), every other year, and we have to get sites starting on Wed or Thu, through the following Sunday to get a full week with the number of sites that we want, all together (eight sites in next year's group).

[Terier]

Try searching for fewer days and see what's available. Neighbor was looking for a week but everything was booked. I found two sites for 5 or 6 nights. Wasn't exactly what he wanted but he was happy.

Be first online when the reservation window opens. As suggested start with a midweek day. Be prepared - dates and site (including backup choices).

For ReserveAmercia I sometimes will book the last day of the month before my trip if is my trip is in the first week of the upcoming month. Example: June 31- July 6 to get my holiday booked before the July window opens. The second the window opens I'm ready. If you wait even a minute or two - good luck. 90% of the time you will have little choice if at all.

[Steve2013]

Thanks everyone for the tips. I'll try them and see what happens.
Steve

[RoadTrip]

good tip terier! never even heard of reserveamerica. Looks pretty cool!

[Triguy]

ReserveAmerica works well for us. Terier is right, though, there are certain CG's at certain times of the year where you want to know exactly the first minute you can reserve.

Here in Wisconsin State Parks, for example, both Peninsula and Devil's Lake fill up quickly for electric sites in June - August. WI allows 11 months in advance and the time is 9:00am I believe. I usually lock my office door so I get no interruptions, get all my ducks in order and hope my internet doesn't go down

Good luck

[Terier]

For CA state parks the window for scheduling is 6 months in advance. Arpil just went on sale October 1. At more popular campgrounds the summer months like June, July & August fill up extremly fast because longer date ranges are booked.

I also like this website to get a general idea of the campground & sites.

[Twisty]

In my experience, reservable sites make up about 50% to 90% of the total number of sites in a CG. The rest, first come first serve, or walk in (don't know why they call them that) are available to travelers or those who are willing to just show up on a whim.
Try to get to a CG on Sunday afternoon or a Monday or a Tuesday.
If you want to stay somewhere for a week, consider moving from one spot to another after a couple days. A good host will show you available sites with the dates they have open.
Also, stay near a NP not in it. When driving in the park, check the CG's, if any, and reserve on the spot. There are always cancellations and no-shows.
Move your rig in later that day or the next day.
A friend of mine, Unstable Tripod of PopUpPortal, did a 6 week Southwest Tour and did not make a single reservation. He wrote extensively about his trip.
Southwest Grand Tour 2012

[Steve2013]

I have used Reservation America, good site. I know the window for the National Parks and National Forest are six month. Does anyone know when the window opens? Is it based on days or does it open on the 1st lets say for the entire month? Is mid night the time?

In Florida its almost impossible to get into a State Park from Jan to May. Snowbirds. We use county parks and there are some good ones (and some not so good) Most are first come so the best time is Sunday afternoon or Monday Morning at opening.

Thanks
Steve

[Sugarph]

I have used Reserve America for New York State parks for years. Currently, one can make a reservation 9 months (to the day), in advance, for up to 14 nights. For example, if I want to start my camping on May 20, 2013 the earliest I can make a reservation is August 20, 2012. On that day, I can reserve a specific campsite for May 20, 2013 thru June 3, 2013. It is by the number/day of the month, not by the month. I make 95% of my reservations 9 months in advance, and then work out the logistics of vacations from work. I am fortunate to live with 45 miles of the Adirondack Mountains and the Saint Lawrence River, so even if I have to work for 1 or 2 days--it is still a vacation when you get to spend the evening at camp!

[Terier]

Sounds like it can vary by state. In California the window opens at 8AM Pacific time on the 1st of each month except January which would be the 2nd. This window is for the entire new month. For example on October 1 the window that opened was for April 1-30.

Best thing would be to check RA website or call them to find out the actual date range for the state and/or campground you are interested in.

You can also *test the system* to see how far out you can book. If you are beyond the current open dates it won't allow you to book them. On the other hand if you are in the open window a credit card will be needed to complete the transaction but you would opt out of that screen & let the dates return to the system. After all no payment = no reservations.

[cstover]

Being on the Coast Guard, 2-3 months out is as far as I can plan. I will have to assume that we are lucky. Never had much of an issue, except Fall Creek Falls, TN. They are half reservation half not. We would drive up in the car Thursday morning to try and get a spot.

[Triguy]

Remember that you can cancel, too. I often reserve with the thought that we will stay but sometimes need to cancel (for a small cancellation fee). Its too bad that it needs to be done this way, but some places are really hard to get into.

[Terier]

I've paid cancellation fees more times than I care to admit. In the beginning it was hard to plan 6 months in advance but now I'm better at it. And sometimes life just happens...