Any tricks or tips to reservations (Newbie)

[fredoe61]

My wife and I are completely new to this and have just bought a camper. We live in Sout Carolina and had planned on spending a week at some east coast beach this summer but wala we quickly found everything booked up till September. Are there any tricks or tips I can get on what you guys do cause quite honestly this sux lol. Any clubs I can join ect... Thank you.

[Crusadernoob]

Welcome to the world of planning your vacations to popular destinations a year in advance!

[SailorSam20500]

Yup, book early or keep watching for a cancelation. Similar issue on the popular Frog Rallies. Tadpole sold out in under 2 hours and here is the report on last years International Rally which had 800 slots:


WHEW!

Two years ago was the first time that the FROG Rally sold out. It took seven weeks. We were blown away last year when it sold out in 3 1/2 days.

But 21 HOURS? Are you serious?
__________________

Bob Byrne
Director, Forest River Owners' Group (FROG)


Bottom line - plan early and watch for when any rallies that you are interested in open up - many fill VERY quickly!

[Jmkjr72]

Yep just keep looking and start planning for next year
Even here in Wisconsin if you want an ele site at a state park you need to book a year ahead
Even popular weekends at private campgrounds book a year out

[BuzzWolfAR]

Very tough to get prime time at ocean locations. Move inland 40 miles, will be much easier.

[poppytoymaker]

I must be lucky. I plan my trips and book my parks 3 months in advance . I live in Central Fl so in the Winter and Fall I go North and the gulf states west, and in the Spring and Summer I go South.

[Oaklevel]

Some of the Myrtle Beach Campgrounds open reservations 18 months in advance. But as others have said keep checking back cancellations do happen often.

[poppytoymaker]

I booked KOA S Myrtle Beach the day before the last hurricane in Oct. because I had to change my plans going to New Orleans.

[Rollingdunder1]

Be flexible. Look around the area. Check multiple sites for ideas. Remember to visit the state and local visitor bureaus. Always google properties to see what they look like. Take ratings with plenty of salt. Keep in mind there is no industry standard for definition of “Resort”. Enjoy and have fun.

[rjbru69]

You might want to check into “AMERICA the Beautiful”. Check “Recreation.gov for all federal parks and Corp of engineers campgrounds.If you are a Senior, I believe the lifetime pass went up to $80.00. If you are disabled, it is still free, I think. The pass gets you campsites for 1/2 price. Check that out.

[CaptnJohn]

Call Willow Tree CG in Longs SC. 20 minutes to the beach but you will not find a nicer CG anywhere near the beach.
You might also try Brunswick Beaches a KOA in Sunset Beach NC at the Sc border. About 10 minutes from Sunset Beach and 15 from Ocean Isle Beach.

[Flybob]

Many public campgrounds( state and Federal) have a few sites that can not be reserved ( First come first served). It is a gamble, but if you get there early you may have a chance. I would not count on this on major holiday weekends as they will usually be taken by Wed or so. Most require that you have some type of camping gear on the site. You can grab a $10 Wall mart one person tent and set it up until you return with your RV.

[rsdata]

Some state park reservations are out to 11 or 12 months in advance including FL and KY. Some Federal and other state park systems are out to 6 months in advance.

Advance planning to go south in the winter is a must. It is also a must if you want to go to the northern (like Michigan) and western states in the summer.

When I say advance planning... I mean KNOW where you want to go the night before a campsite opens for advance reservations, then be online at 8AM ready to reserve with at least 2 backup destinations in case you get closed out of the first.

Boondocking Federal sites with no utilities are much easier to find.

Way too many seniors out there with RV's. It was a bit easier 5-7 years ago.

[67L48]

Let me establish some context, first. Two types of CGs: Public and Private. Private are things like KOA, Jellystone, and others -- from corporate chains all the way to local mom & pop outfits. Private. Public is USFS, state/county/city parks, national parks, national monuments, BLM, corps of engineers, etc. These are government sponsored CGs. Public.

I will only address public CGs, because I tend not to use private.

Reserveamerica.com and Recreation.gov are the two main bookings sites. The former is for state parks and such, while the latter is USFS and such. But, they link to one another. I typically use Reserveamerica.com, as it has a slightly better interface and will take me over to Recreation.gov if I need to book there.

From there, get to know your public CG booking windows. In CO, it's 6 months. That's based on numerical date, not 182 days. 6 months from today is July 9.

In Custer State Park in South Dakota, it's 12 months. So, it will vary by state, facility type, and so on.

Start with where you want to go. Map out your plans and then know when the booking window opens. For example, I knew that I wanted to camp the weekend after Memorial Day this year. That's the weekend beginning Friday, June 1. Therefore, my booking window opened up on Monday, December 1 2017.

It took me about a year or so to get a rhythm for the CGs here in CO. Popular spots close to Denver/Boulder fill fast ... like within 10 minutes of the earliest booking dates. Some are so popular that, unless you camp for 7+ days, you'll never be able to book. If I'm willing to stay from Tuesday, July 17 through Sunday, July 22, then my booking window opens on Wednesday, January 17. If you only wanted to stay that weekend (Friday, July 20 through Sunday, July 22), then your booking window doesn't open until Saturday, January 20. And, if there are enough people like me (willing to camp mid-week), there will be no spots left for that weekend by the time your window opens. Voila! (and, it's voila, not wala, for those scoring along at home. )

So, summary:

• Get familiar with Reserveamerica.com
• Know where you want to go
• Know the booking windows of those places and, thus, when you're first eligible to book
• Generate a feel for busy CGs versus less busy ones
• Be willing to go to first-come, first-served CGs (not discussed)

Good luck.

[larryandamy]

If you are booking in popular National Parks you use Recreation.gov or Reserve Amercia for most other popular State campgrounds. Here are some tips.

For Popular National Parks you have to book right when the window for the next month booking those sights opens. For the toughest reservations like Yosemite it is 5 months before on the 15th of month. So if you want a site in June, then Jan 15th at 7:00AM is when the window opens. Each park can have a different window. Some 6 months or more. You have to have be a registered user and signed in before 7:00AM and it is better if you have several people trying with their own signon simultaneously. By 7:10AM every site will be booked for Yosemite, so select your site ASAP and book it before it times out because someone else will grab it. If you are site picky, then have a list prepared of sites you desire. Make sure they are site that can fit your rig. Don't book a 22" RV site if you have a 40' rig. Also shoot for the end of the new month window instead of the beginning dates. There are pretty good tutorials on the recreation.gov website. Read them and print out the booking window schedules.
Also.... Always say 1 night only and say flexible for the next 4 weeks so you will see all open sites. If you pick 5 days, then you will only see sites with 5 continuous days available. I have had to move to different sites sometimes to get what I wanted.

AND...don't be discouraged... There are a lot of non-reservable sites and here is where a little knowledge goes a long way.
If a campsite has Walk-up site, then they are not reservable but are first come first serve. For these our trick is to get there at about 6AM or earlier and sit in front of the ranger station where they assign campsites being the first in line when they open (usually 8AM). If anyone is leaving, you get it.
If there is no ranger station and the sites are self register with a dropbox, then walk/drive around the campsite around 8AM or earlier and look for people leaving that day. Check the dates on the posts by each campsite, but also ask the people in the campsite if they are indeed leaving, because they have to option of extending until checkout time which is usually around 11AM or noon. If they are leaving and they are friendly (usually are...), then give them a couple of chairs or something they will agree to put on the campsite before they leave. Because for self register sites, site possession is primary and possession is defined by you having your stuff on the site. If all this happens, then fill out the envelope for that site with the money in it. And drop it in the dropbox. But rip off the slip that goes on the site post first and when the previous occupants leave, then move in. Of course if you find an already empty site, then possess the site by putting some of your stuff there and fill out envelope and do it right away. Don't wait till noon.

And of course... midweek is always much easier then weekends... For walk up sites getting there early Sunday morning is best as most people are leaving then.

It is a battle, but a little strategy and fore knowledge goes a long way.
We can go to Yosemite and get a walkup site at Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite anytime we want, but we camp out in front of the ranger station at about 5AM and we now have a F350 dually with slide in camper that is only 23" long, so we can fit into any site. If you have a big rig your options narrow dramatically, but this process still works... Just more risk of not getting a site... Of course if you can book reservations... always do so.

One more thing... Look at all campsites in the area... Don't lock into just one campsite.

Hope this helps... Some might be angry with me as some hold these tips close and don't want everyone knowing, but not me. Good luck!

[mjones12]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

Call Willow Tree CG in Longs SC. 20 minutes to the beach but you will not find a nicer CG anywhere near the beach.
You might also try Brunswick Beaches a KOA in Sunset Beach NC at the Sc border. About 10 minutes from Sunset Beach and 15 from Ocean Isle Beach.

Have stayed at Brunswick Beaches and, yes, very convenient to Sunset Beach, which is so much more relaxing than Myrtle. Don't think it is a KOA anymore, though.

[Brendon37]

Originally Posted by fredoe61

My wife and I are completely new to this and have just bought a camper. We live in Sout Carolina and had planned on spending a week at some east coast beach this summer but wala we quickly found everything booked up till September. Are there any tricks or tips I can get on what you guys do cause quite honestly this sux lol. Any clubs I can join ect... Thank you.

You can also try Reserveamerica.com for reservation.

[camaraderie]

Good suggestions above. I'd also suggest that you get on line with your phone or PC on some of the better campground trip planning sites so that you can see reviews etc. and ALL the campgrounds in the areas you want to visit.
The owners of this forum also run campgroundreviews.com which is great... and Good Sam has an excellent trip planner which does not limit itself to GoodSam parks and the All Stays app is favored by many here.
There's lots more but that's a good start! Good luck.

[Jim in Halifax]

I always check private CG's before State and never KOA's

[rvdoctor]

FLYBOB
Don't want to contradict your comment but you have not met the campground host named Flo at the National Park Campground at Sheridan Lake South Dakota. On a Thursday we selected, paid for, and pitched our 4 person tent and set other items on the site. We left campground to go eat dinner at a nearby restaurant and were gone less than 2 hours. Returning to campground found our stuff was removed and someone else was in our paid for site. It happens that Flo saw us leaving the campground and assumed we would not be back until the weekend. She stated it was their way of combating exactly what you proposed in your post. She also checks on other campsites via a noisy, smoky diesel pick-up and if nobody is around late at night for several hours they do the same. We could not even get a refund because of the company policy that manages the campgrounds in the Black Hills. Complained to Forest Service, no reply, complained to management company their reply was some campground hosts become possessive of the campgrounds they host. Pactola Lake Campground is run the same way. We don't camp in the Black Hills National Forest any longer. We live in South Dakota. Bottom line I would not trust your method of holding a camp site.