My wife and I are planning a 2 week trip, starting the weekend after Labor Day. We are leaving Michigan, going thru Colorado, (this is where we will start to camp) into Utah, around the Grand Canyon, and then to Casa Grande Arizona. My question is will I need to reserve camp sites ahead of time, or can you just show up? We will probably only stay a couple of days at each, and I am not particular on what type of campground. I have a living quarter horse trailer, (we are not bring horses) we usually dry camp, but have no problem staying at RV Parks.

It depends on if you need a spot for Friday or Saturday. Most of the time if you arrive on a weekday and plan to leave before Friday you'll be able to get a spot without a reservation. But for a weekend stay I would make a reservation.www.rvparkreviews.com is a good place to find campgrounds & RV Parks near where you want to stay.

If you plan to camp at one of the popular national or state parks then you need a reservation. Grand Canyon North Rim for example. IF you plan to stay in commercial campgrounds you can usually get by without a reservation. We usually call ahead when we are a few hours away and most of the time get a site at our first choice. Holiday periods are one time when a reservation is a good idea.

With a two week timeline I'd plan the itinerary and make reservations so we can spend more time on fun and less time on campground searches.

The problem is we don't have an itinerary. Once we get Colorado we don't know how many days we will stay in one place. If we want to see more of the area that we are in, we stay longer at that place. That is my delema I don't know when we will be where. I was thinking that the first weekend after Labor Day it would not be as busy.

Any weekend will still be busy, as long as the weather is nice. You might do as a few suggested, call ahead once you're on the road. You may have to make several calls for one location before you find an opening on a weekend. Weekdays shouldn't be as much of a problem.

Advanced reservation??? | Good Sam Community

CardinalCamper
Explorer
Apr 29, 2014
It would be best to call the RV park before you get there to see if they allow horse trailer campers.Some do some don't,I have workamped at 2 parks that did not allow horse trailer campers.
tryingitout
Explorer
Apr 29, 2014
TinyoneRV wrote:
FWIW, We traveled the western parks last June and July. We only had difficulty finding a place to stay on the July 4 weekend. Even then an early arrival at a private campground worked to score a beautiful site along an Oregon river. Our plan was to see the sites, spend the night, and leave early enough to arrive before 3 at our next stop. By arriving early we almost always found a site at a state or national park. We don't like reservations since they tie you to a schedule.

Exactly we do not want to be tied to a schedule. The point to this trip is spend what time you want seeing the sights in an area, and then move on to another. We have no problem using the trailer as a home base and drive for the day and come back.
mgirardo
Explorer
Apr 29, 2014
tryingitout wrote:
Thank you for the help. I was thinking that I would have to make reservations weeks ahead. We can easily do a few days ahead for the weekend.

You might want to check now for availability in some possible campgrounds for the weekends. In popular destinations, they may be booked for the weekend weeks in advanced.

-Michael
TinyoneRV
Explorer
Apr 29, 2014
FWIW, We traveled the western parks last June and July. We only had difficulty finding a place to stay on the July 4 weekend. Even then an early arrival at a private campground worked to score a beautiful site along an Oregon river. Our plan was to see the sites, spend the night, and leave early enough to arrive before 3 at our next stop. By arriving early we almost always found a site at a state or national park. We don't like reservations since they tie you to a schedule.
tryingitout
Explorer
Apr 29, 2014
Thank you for the help. I was thinking that I would have to make reservations weeks ahead. We can easily do a few days ahead for the weekend.
kknowlton
Explorer II
Apr 29, 2014
Any weekend will still be busy, as long as the weather is nice. You might do as a few suggested, call ahead once you're on the road. You may have to make several calls for one location before you find an opening on a weekend. Weekdays shouldn't be as much of a problem.
tryingitout
Explorer
Apr 28, 2014
The problem is we don't have an itinerary. Once we get Colorado we don't know how many days we will stay in one place. If we want to see more of the area that we are in, we stay longer at that place. That is my delema I don't know when we will be where. I was thinking that the first weekend after Labor Day it would not be as busy.
RayUSMC
Explorer
Apr 28, 2014
With a two week timeline I'd plan the itinerary and make reservations so we can spend more time on fun and less time on campground searches.
agesilaus
Explorer III
Apr 28, 2014
If you plan to camp at one of the popular national or state parks then you need a reservation. Grand Canyon North Rim for example. IF you plan to stay in commercial campgrounds you can usually get by without a reservation. We usually call ahead when we are a few hours away and most of the time get a site at our first choice. Holiday periods are one time when a reservation is a good idea.
the_bear_II
Explorer
Apr 28, 2014
It depends on if you need a spot for Friday or Saturday. Most of the time if you arrive on a weekday and plan to leave before Friday you'll be able to get a spot without a reservation. But for a weekend stay I would make a reservation.

www.rvparkreviews.com is a good place to find campgrounds & RV Parks near where you want to stay.

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