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Old 07-01-2019, 09:28 PM   #1
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Can’t ever get a camp site

Being new to the RV life, I find it near impossible to get any reservations outside a inner city RV park (weekends). It seems that ALL state parks, campgrounds are all reserved out for the rest of the season. Most sites like the reserveAmerica and state parks URL allow a 3 month book window, it’s like a damn race to watch, monitor and be ready online to reserve a site.

Some places have walk ups but I’m sure those are taken Thur night. Frustrating!!
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Old 07-01-2019, 09:42 PM   #2
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If you dont mind not having hookups you could try Forest Service campgrounds. Most of them are nonreserveable. Oh yes and try to arrive around checkout time.
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Old 07-01-2019, 09:49 PM   #3
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If you dont mind not having hookups you could try Forest Service campgrounds. Most of them are nonreserveable. Oh yes and try to arrive around checkout time.
If it is for the 4th of July week, forget about it. Always reserve holidays. We find ourselves in the same boat this year. We are 3 months into our cross country trip and didn't know where we would be for this weekend.
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Old 07-01-2019, 09:55 PM   #4
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Around here most COEs and SPs have walk up sights only. Some you can reserve and some not as it depends on the host. When this weekend is over here it will be back to normal. I reserved this weekend back in January as the DW has a favorite spot at the lake we are going to so I grabbed it.
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Old 07-01-2019, 10:01 PM   #5
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Yea I did get a spot up at Bear lake for Mid Aug, but wanted to arrive one day early (Friday) and of course now nothing is available to modify reservation. Do I risk heading up that direction to be lucky and find a campground walk up Friday afternoon or just wait and leave Sat morning for our trip
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Old 07-02-2019, 06:07 AM   #6
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New folks to RVing always get a surprise their first season. I've been at this a while but in the old days getting a campsite was pretty easy, a few weeks out and you were good. Today with all the Millennials that prefer to roam rather than work in an office and the baby boomers all retiring and taking to the road the crush on what's left of the campground industry after the great recession is tough to navigate. Booking out a year in advance is not uncommon for popular areas and yes you have to be Johnny on the spot for State or Federal campgrounds or you'll be out of luck in a few hours. I book everything a year in advance that I can, and set calendar alarms on those that I need to do on a certain date. Now you'll be ready for next season.
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Old 07-02-2019, 06:21 AM   #7
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I don’t have a RV. I’m investigating for my retirement. One of the things that appealed to me, was the spontaneity. To say let's go this way, and arrive anywhere you want in your home. Having to book a year in advance is the antithesis of that. Sobering.
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Old 07-02-2019, 06:23 AM   #8
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First, WHERE you are trying to book is a large part of your aggravation, as it sounds as if you and everyone else wants to camp there at the same time - no different from a popular hotel in a place where everyone wants to stay... 'fully booked' is the term that any hotel or park owner wants to see! Popular places are hard to get for all of us....but...

you want to make sure you do several things that will 'help' you get a reservation:

- when you go to the reservation site for the park, DON'T put in ALL of your days you want to camp - keep it as a SINGLE day. You may find that there are many site options, giving you the ability to then use that site and simply change you days of stay to 2, then 3, etc, to see if it is available the whole time. If not, consider 'moving' from one site, to another, within your stay timeframe.

- WALKUPS: Walkups are not reservable, at least they are not typically, because, after all, they are for WALKUPS only - meaning that the campground or park does NOT allow them to be reserved PRIOR to arrival. So, 'how' to you know if they are available? Well, you have to actually SHOW UP. Does it mean you have to show up WITH your camper or RV? No. You must just show up and CLAIM the available site. Then you can bring your camper or rv and occupy the site.
Now, as for walkups, you typically can only occupy them for a SINGLE night, because, after all, they are designed to allow folks to 'walk up' to the park and get a site, not for those wishing to stay for MULTIPLE days - at least not on that 'walkup' site. It's simply for those who arrived WITHOUT a pre-planned reservation, so the limit is a single night. Does that mean you cannot stay on that site more than one night? Not necessarily. You can simply move from the site the next day, back out the entrance, and turn around and come back in, then occupying the same site again. Certainly, if someone else is 'waiting' for a walkup site to open up, they may be able to claim it when you move, but the idea is that you still may have the option to stay on the same site again.

- Camping is about enjoying where you are, but it's also about the experience of camping, not necessarily 'where' you are doing it. If you consider this, you may be able to see that the 'popular' campgrounds and parks may not be the 'only' consideration of where you can camp - there are MANY other options. There are PRIVATE rv parks, which may tend to not necessarily 'advertise' as destination camping places, but are maybe more for seasonal, full-time, or just 'passing thru' motorhome and RV folks, but may have many of the same amenities that you expect to see anywhere else.
There are also many regional and city - sponsored campgrounds and parks that are not always what some consider as a 'camping' place - maybe designed more as an overnight stop for visitors.

You have to really look at 'what' you are trying to accomplish when reserving a campground or rv park. Do you really have to have EVERY day of your time at ONE campground? Are you flexible and can move within the park during your stay? Can you decide to use your time between SEVERAL campgrounds or parks?

Every park and campground has a different reservations policy, system, and potential for staying there EVEN if their park seems to be 'full' ... calling their office may result in finding out about something you didn't know was a possibility, especially CANCELLATIONS that may not yet be showing as available in their online platform. Sometimes they can even tell you what site may be available for 'some' of your time, and can move you to another site for the other several day/days.
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Old 07-02-2019, 06:27 AM   #9
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Last year was our first.

Did not know the rv manufacturers are expanding production like crazy. We wanted to go somewhere out west.

Nobody is building new campgrounds.

Got to be cleaver. The DW is good at it.

Got to learn the federal and state park walk up, booking, cancellation policies. I drove to a state park at 0 dark 30 on a Thursday to stand in line and pay for an extra night to get a walk up for the weekend. Gotta be cleaver. No phones sometimes. Flexible!

We went to Branson, Colorado, black hills, etc. last year with no reservations. Got to be careful.

Little mom and pop campgrounds are out there. The fourth would be tough. Labor Day not so much. Got to be flexible. In a Colorado state park we were in three different spots for a week. They are booked six months in advance.
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Old 07-02-2019, 06:33 AM   #10
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Up here in Ontario, Canada the provincial parks have a 5 month reservation window - and the window opens at 7:00 am. At the most popular parks, to book a site between late-June and the Labour Day weekend can be nearly impossible, especially if you have a larger rig. Having a smaller rig and being willing to book a non-serviced site will open more opportunities.
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Old 07-02-2019, 06:38 AM   #11
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Arrow

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Originally Posted by tomkatb View Post
...
Nobody is building new campgrounds...

well, I have to disagree with that statement, as it has no actual FACTUAL data behind it - it's only supposition, maybe due to aggravation...
There are many, many 'new' parks and campgrounds - we've had two within the last several years in our small area alone - and the local city/county park lake campground just upgraded from 30a sites to full 50/30/20 power sites, and new gravel, adding several 'new' sites in the process.

Just because it may 'seem' as though you don't see any 'new' campgrounds or parks doesn't mean that is the truth.

I would ask the opposite question: Have you seen any parks or campgrounds 'go out of business' lately? If so, you might would have more reason to think that 'new' campgrounds are unlikely, but I think you'll find the opposite is true. Campgrounds and RV parks aren't always stand-outs like now Hotels and Motels, right on the strip, and always in 'site' of the public. New Campgrounds and RV Parks tend to be in areas 'away' from the public view where you 'want' to go to camp!
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Old 07-02-2019, 07:10 AM   #12
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SP's in my state take reservations beginning Jan. 1st. Most weekends for the entire season are usually booked within a couple hours. You can find some spots during the week, but tough getting anything for weekends. Non reserved sites around us are usually "FULL" by Wednesday night, Thursday morning. This is why were selling our TT (had sold once already...so I thought) but the ratio of RV's to available campsites is somewhere around 10 to 1 or higher. We bought property last fall with a cabin...we own it and no reservations needed.
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Old 07-02-2019, 07:59 AM   #13
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According to a comprehensive KOA study, between 2014-2017 the demand for campsites went up 64%.

Kampgrounds of America Inc. - 2018 KOA North American Camping Report

I know there has been little expansion to state and federal camping opportunities. Funding is being cut constantly. Services are less available. Not a government priority.

I read most of the article and conclude getting a campsite is getting harder. 64% is a lot of growth/demand.
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Old 07-02-2019, 08:06 AM   #14
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According to this press release from the ARVC just last month, they stated they know of at least 20 new corporate parks being built with a total capacity of 10,000 new RV sites.

https://www.arvc.org/page/RVCaucus
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Old 07-02-2019, 10:48 AM   #15
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Yes, it is getting terrible around here too. On certain weekends you cannot get a spot anywhere. Most sites are gone by Wednesday or Thursday through the weekend. Any reservation site is gone with in minutes of being posted.

Over fathers day we went through 6 FS campgrounds in one area and couldn't get a spot. We had to go another 40 miles further to find one open spot. The latest trend is people will go up on Wednesday or Thursday, plop up a small tent and pay the fee for the weekend. Then show up with their RV on Friday and actually use it. The last site we went through probably had 25% of the sites with empty tents and no one camping in them.

Much like a previous poster, after this season, we are probably going to sell our RV because we simply can't compete and go camping. We can't plan out a year in advance. Sometimes we don't know if we are camping two days before we go. We might look at a truck camper and urban camp and just stay away from campgrounds all together.
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Old 07-02-2019, 11:18 AM   #16
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According to this press release from the ARVC just last month, they stated they know of at least 20 new corporate parks being built with a total capacity of 10,000 new RV sites.

https://www.arvc.org/page/RVCaucus
We have a handful of CGs around us within an hour's drive. Many have changed ownership (some numerous times) over the years but as far as I know, we haven't had any new ones built in my lifetime.

Good to see some new ones still are being built.
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Old 07-02-2019, 11:22 AM   #17
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I'm not sure where you're trying to book sites, but we've never had a problem getting a site here (AL) or in neighboring states. There have been a few times where we've just had to show up and take a 'Walk-up' site, but there's always been one available.

I tried looking up Bear Lake, and there's way too many of them to narrow it down any.
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Old 07-02-2019, 11:29 AM   #18
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Gotta plan ahead and make reservations months in advance!
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Old 07-02-2019, 11:37 AM   #19
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Here in Florida it is next to impossible to camp in the winter because the snow birds have reserved sites for months at a time. In the summer, however, RV parks usually have openings. State parks, not so much. They are difficult to get, depending on location. The more remote areas that are not on a river or beach are easier to reserve. Folks like the low cost of the State parks. I know many of the private RV parks are more expensive, but you should be able to get a site pretty easily for the weekend or week. In fact, we see many advertising discounts during the summer time.
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Old 07-02-2019, 11:44 AM   #20
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One of our favorite campgrounds is Huntington beach SP in SC. We typically book for the next year as we are leaving the current year. Other state parks around here seem to feel up kinda fast but we have always been luck so far.
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