It appears that COVID really packed most parks this past camping season. With the rapid growth of RV sales, cities being hot spots and online learning, folks were every where. Grab your internet and school the kids on the road. A lot of families were out with their new rigs for several reasons. Motels were questionable as to being safe, many restaurants were closed as were many other vacation activities. So head to the woods and let the kids wander throughout the forest with their cell phones.I wonder how many families have become disenchanted with this new found freedom and what is to be expected this coming season. According to the "experts" things should be well in hand by late summer, early fall. Things should open up and be closer to normal. Say they are right this time and our regular life returns, what do you guess the camping scene will be like? Folks have gotten the hang of camping and are starting to enjoy it more, thusly getting out more? Or found out it is more work than they thought and the DW still has to cook, so it's no vacation for her at all and reminds you that you should have never bought that d@mn thing!Myself, I see the parks more crowded than previous years before, but not to the level they were this past season.So as I sit here pondering our August trip, I guess that I best decide where we're headed and start making reservations, which is very unlike us. But don't want to be left high & dry.

I did not see that last summer during our Florida to Idaho and back via Hwy 2 and down thru NE and KS back to FL. 21 states, 33 camping spots and we got turned down once on a last minute call to a park. And that was right outside West Yellowstone. And our second call got us a spot for the night. My belief is that this over crowding occurred in states with lockdowns that shut down state parks and restricted the number of campers allowed in private parks. So yes that caused local overcrowding. Now some boondocking sites seem to be mobbed but since we had never been there before I cannot say if that was normal. A great boondocking siye outside YNP was packed but YNP closed almost all the park cg.

It won't be too much longer before a lot of the impulse buyers that thought having an rv was a great idea realize that it actually entails work and upkeep. On top of that, the backing in fights will cause many wives to tell their husbands where they can put the rv. Look for many bargains on used rv's by end of summer and the campsites will be available again. We have run across quite a few newbies that won't even handle their own stinky slinky and tried to get other people to do it for them under the pretense of not knowing what to do. There will be bargains galore!

QCMan wrote:It won't be too much longer before a lot of the impulse buyers that thought having an rv was a great idea realize that it actually entails work and upkeep. On top of that, the backing in fights will cause many wives to tell their husbands where they can put the rv. Look for many bargains on used rv's by end of summer and the campsites will be available again. We have run across quite a few newbies that won't even handle their own stinky slinky and tried to get other people to do it for them under the pretense of not knowing what to do. There will be bargains galore!Well maybe, there are surveys showing otherwise. But most expect these newbies to stick to short local, weekend, trips so they may not have much affect anyway. Especially if they start the schools back up in the east and west coast. Trapping the parents to near home trips.

A bunch of guesses backed up by assumptions, ponderings and favorable recollections.

I think last summers "over crowding" is "over stated" As mentioned, with public parks shut down or on reduced capacity, there may have been some artificial high capacity but nothing outrageous. We've had no issues getting sites.I think it will be 2022 before we see if people who bought last year start selling in large numbers.Of course, I think by the end of March, we will see restrictions settle down and restrictions largely ending. Something like 90% of the deaths are in the 65 and older group...after first responders, that's the next big group. Once they are vaccinated, expect deaths to tail off drastically. It will be a bit slower, but with estimates of around 80-100mil having already had plus another 100mil getting vaccinated by March, expect the early stages of herd immunity to kick in with infections tailing downward...You might see some minor restrictions kept in place but very quickly, it will be a tough political sell to keep businesses closed.

August cammping | Good Sam Community

PawPaw_n_Gram
Explorer
Jan 03, 2021
Come down to Texas in August.

A lot of open spots in most campgrounds. Some of the cheaper ones like COE or State Parks may be crowded.

Most folks in Texas like to be someplace cooler than home in August, say Colorado.
ReneeG
Explorer
Jan 04, 2021
I have no clue what it will be like and am only hoping that it will return to somewhat normal. Quite a few campgrounds were busier than normal in the Yellowstone area outside the park and the park itself was busy, but we got a site at a popular CG doing what we have always done - camp close by overnight and head over early to snag a spot then return for our 5th wheel.
padredw
Nomad
Jan 04, 2021
I am already finding it much more difficult to find sites to reserve in Colorado in July--September. We used to travel there without concern about finding a campground with open sites; now we have to be fast on the draw when the six-month window opens up for state parks and national forest parks.

As for Texas in August, I'm with Paw Paw. The best place to camp in Texas in August is in Colorado!
Busskipper
Explorer
Jan 04, 2021
padredw wrote:
I am already finding it much more difficult to find sites to reserve in Colorado in July--September. We used to travel there without concern about finding a campground with open sites; now we have to be fast on the draw when the six-month window opens up for state parks and national forest parks.

As for Texas in August, I'm with Paw Paw. The best place to camp in Texas in August is in Colorado!

In the Summer - you are Correct! Hard to be in a CG that does not have a number of Texas Tags, especially in the San Juan's.
goducks10
Explorer
Jan 04, 2021
Being an Oregon camper I found all parks maxed out. State parks are always full during summer so no change there. It was the Fs types that were packed. It was trending that way for the last 3 years. 10 years ago you could arrive on a Friday night around 6:00 pm and get a spot. In the last 3-4 years the show up times decreased and most of the FS campgrounds we frequent started filling up on Thursday afternoon.
Last year was a mess and even some of the RV parks we frequent were packed all summer even during the week.
With record sales predicted again for 2021 and many newbies still enjoying the RV lifestyle I don't see much changing here.
YMMV in other states.
wowens79
Explorer III
Jan 04, 2021
It has been getting harder to get into campgrounds for the last 5 years for us weekend warriors with kids.
My youngest starts college in August, and we are working from home, so we are hoping to be able to work from the beach for a week or two this fall.
Here in the southeast, the State Parks and COE campgrounds on the lake or beach stay booked on the weekends almost a year in advance. I know a few people that will grab a site for every weekend of the summer, then cancel the ones they don't want at the cancelation deadline.
dedmiston
Moderator
Jan 04, 2021
We've been boondocking and riding A LOT in the California deserts this past year. It's a safe way to get away and it's about as socially distant as you can get.

We've seen bigger crowds than normal in 2020, but more remarkable is how people have stretched the season out. In the past, we'd never see anyone out in the desert beyond April or early May, and then again nobody before late October. The normal kickoff to the riding season is typically Veterans Day in early November. But we saw people out there in big numbers all through May and into June, and then in HUGE numbers starting in late September while it was still pretty hot.

We were out for eight days after Christmas and it was the most crowded we've seen it in years. I was sorry to see so many huge camps though (we called them Super Spreader Camps). That seemed pretty irresponsible to me, but nothing surprises me anymore.

But with remote work orders still in place and schools closed, it's pretty easy to pull up anywhere with a halfway decent cell signal and work for a week or so out of the RV. It's a pleasant way to be, and my coworkers get a kick out of my ever-changing Zoom backdrops.
mdcamping
Explorer
Jan 05, 2021
garmp wrote:
Or found out it is more work than they thought and the DW still has to cook, so it's no vacation for her at all and reminds you that you should have never bought that d@mn thing!

Our destination trip, for next Aug we have booked a return trip to Association Island KOA, NY we generally go with 2 other families. Because of covid we had to book forward 1 week as everything was taken up. Next few weeks I will be booking my long weekend trips, I don't think I will have a problem booking as I am familiar with the parks.

I do hope there is a large inventory by the end of next year. 2021 will probably be my last year with my Tacoma & TT as we plan to go in deep with a new setup. :C

Mike

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