Some of the best camping, in my opinion, is after Labor day. And I guess others are catching on. I went to make reservations for Thanksgiving weekend at Champeog state park here in Oregon and all RV sites are full. So muchg for that idea. My frustration builds when I learn they close down the A loop this time of year. So do they not see the need? At $31 a night they are turning away revenue. What am I missing here?

They keep selling more and more RV's yet there are fewer spaces available. It's gotten to the point that for us to make a RSVP fo r a state CG, we have to make resi's 9 mos in advance. Even then, for the more popular spaces we have to trick the system.

Apparently, a lot of us like to go camping over Thanksgiving. My favorite nearby state park is usually full at Thanksgiving, but we find someplace else.I suppose that you know about Ft Stevens State Park, Oregon. (We were there one month ago.) A huge campground, but most sites are tucked into the trees so that we had a feeling of being in the deep woods.

My spot is always empty, because I own it.

I recently looked for ANY spot on the coast between Santa Cruz and Monterey CA and there was NO available weekend spots at state parks and I went out 6 months! Very frustrating.

Are you certain they're occupied or just no longer valid for reservations? Michigan typically stops accepting reservations after Oct 31, perhaps other states do as well? When viewing online the spots show as occupied.

Camping is popular | Good Sam Community

ScottG
Nomad
Nov 09, 2017
They keep selling more and more RV's yet there are fewer spaces available. It's gotten to the point that for us to make a RSVP fo r a state CG, we have to make resi's 9 mos in advance. Even then, for the more popular spaces we have to trick the system.
RoyF
Explorer
Nov 09, 2017
Apparently, a lot of us like to go camping over Thanksgiving. My favorite nearby state park is usually full at Thanksgiving, but we find someplace else.

I suppose that you know about Ft Stevens State Park, Oregon. (We were there one month ago.) A huge campground, but most sites are tucked into the trees so that we had a feeling of being in the deep woods.
SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Nov 09, 2017
My spot is always empty, because I own it.
IBcarguy
Explorer
Nov 09, 2017
I recently looked for ANY spot on the coast between Santa Cruz and Monterey CA and there was NO available weekend spots at state parks and I went out 6 months! Very frustrating.
GordonThree
Explorer
Nov 09, 2017
Are you certain they're occupied or just no longer valid for reservations? Michigan typically stops accepting reservations after Oct 31, perhaps other states do as well? When viewing online the spots show as occupied.
rhagfo
Explorer III
Nov 09, 2017
Come on out to the coast!
jarata1
Explorer
Nov 09, 2017
Your right maybe they are just closed for the season
goducks10
Explorer
Nov 09, 2017
GordonThree wrote:
Are you certain they're occupied or just no longer valid for reservations? Michigan typically stops accepting reservations after Oct 31, perhaps other states do as well? When viewing online the spots show as occupied.

Some of the state parks here (Oregon) do close certain loops, but can be filled for overflow on a 1st come 1st serve basis. Champeog St park doesn't seem to offer it like that. They just flat out close some loops.
Knowing how the state of Oregon works it may take years for them to figure out that because of high RV sales more people want to get out and glamp and they could at least leave some loops open for overflow.
GordonThree
Explorer
Nov 09, 2017
Same here, the ones that remain open November through April often close all the loops except their smallest, or the one closest to the headquarters building. They claim it's to reduce maintenance costs because they have seasonal budgets. I don't completely buy that excuse - what maintenance is there once the water is turned off and the bathrooms are boarded up?
IdaD
Explorer
Nov 09, 2017
I know there's limited public land in the midwest and back east, but you guys from the west aren't looking very hard if you can't find a spot to camp any time of year.