Dislike of 'Reservation Only' camping

The state of Minnesota just this month converted ALL of their state park campsites to the reservation system. Before, they had about 60% reservable and 40% FCFS.

The problem isn't so much finding an open site (on non-weekends) it is finding and being able to STAY on a site. On a FCFS site, we could make a decision to stay as long as we liked. If the weather was good and the park was interesting, we could re-up for a day at a time, or for several days up to the 14 day max. Now with all the sites reservable, the opportunity to stay on the site is limited because you can almost bet that it will be already reserved by Thursday or the very latest Friday of that week and through the weekend.

I completely understand about private campgrounds having all their sites reservable. But I firmly believe state parks should have at least some percentage of their sites on a FCFS basis.

We always make reservations. Or I should say we always have made reservations. We both work, so time is limited for us. We need to know that after driving several hours to a location that we will have a spot. 8 or 9 pm in a friday night is not the time to start trying to find a place...

Setting aside sites purely for FCFS; Ridiculous. If I owned a campground and someone called me and wanted to reserve a site, if I have a site available, I am going to reserve a site for him. There is no way I am going to tell him no and set it aside and take a chance on someone showing up and wanting it FCFS. You show up at my campgrounds and want a site and I have one available, you're welcome to it. But hoping someone comes along doesn't pay the bills. A bird in the hand does.

Even if you have membership in a CG network and pay a lot for the privilege, you can still get turned away. Some CGs have dry camping for overflow but many don't.

DW refuses to go anywhere without booking all CGs as far in advance as possible. I'm the type that likes to just get out on the open road with no particular destination in mind. Took me a while to get used to her style but am glad we do it that way now. It's not that big a deal. We don't do marathon legs on a trip and have time to stop and sightsee if want along the way and always know there's a site waiting for us.

We're going on another long trip this summer and will be passing through Nevada, Utah and Colorado on the way back. We found that there are far fewer CGs in Utah compared to up and down the west coast. Would not want to be looking for a place in Utah in the high season on short notice. We have Thousand Trails membership but they don't have CGs in the central portion of the US. We also have RPI and have booked some stops at KOAs and casinos as alternate places to stay.

Pre-planning a road trip in advance is also a good idea in that it forces you to look at specific roads and highways you will drive on which will/can in turn affect where you stay.

Some are destination campers while others are journey campers.

I understand the need for reservations for the ones that go somewhere for a week or more and then back to their daily grind.

We journey and seldom stay any one place more that a few days. On a 60-90 day trip, it is impossible to make back to back reservations at up to 30 different locations. Plan changes will cost much time and possible cancellation fees. We often rely on other's cancellations.

It seems reasonable and fair that a percentage of sites could be managed on FCFS basis.

HTH;
John

BB_TX wrote:
I am of the other camp, pun intended. I prefer to make reservations and know I will have a site waiting for me when I arrive rather than take my chances and hope for one. And if none available, have to scramble to find something near by.

We are now on week two of three weeks of Grand Canyon, Zion, Brice. I planned out 6-8 months for this and love that I have a spot right in each of the parks. I feel so sorry for the 10-12 family's each night showing up last minute hoping for a spot, and the looks on kids faces when they have to drive away. I miss the days of "hey lets go camping" But planning and having a spot right in the park or just outside the gate in this case at Zion so i have full hook ups is well worth the planning. So far I have been able to wake up walk through the woods and stand on the rim of the Grand Canyon and have my morning coffee. This week i wake up and have my morning coffee looking up at the great walls of Zion and am doing so as i type this. So for me I much rather take the time to plan a trip to have these experiences then always having to settle for down the road or miles away from were i want to be. Plus my wife loves the experience i provide by planning. "Happy wife happy life". That's my 2cents and now i am off to summit Angles Landing.

BB_TX wrote:
I am of the other camp, pun intended. I prefer to make reservations and know I will have a site waiting for me when I arrive rather than take my chances and hope for one. And if none available, have to scramble to find something near by.

This is us, too. Here in the Northeast campgrounds are incredibly busy and tend to be full almost all summer and weekends beginning in late spring and extending through the end of October. Like others have said, the improved economy and low fuel prices have a lot to do with that.

Like you, we have a limited amount of time we can be on the road, so making reservations ahead of time guarantees we won't waste that time looking for a place to stay. JHMO

If a CG allows reservations, I make one if I intend to be there more than one night. Especially if there's a three day weekend involved. I've never run into a problem, but then I use FHU campgrounds. I need electric for medical equipment and prefer water and sewer as well. When I'm between destinations, I look for a KOA. So many people hate them (at least on this forum) that there is usually an opening for an overnight if I stop by 3PM. I'm a solo RVer and 5 or 6 hours on the road is enough for one day.

Reserve for holiday weekends but not the holiday monday itself. That is the day most are headed home.

Reserve peak season for the most in demand destination parks, particularly sites with services or big sites. Dry camping Sunday-Thursday in small to medium sites are almost always available.

For non reservations arrive early to mid afternoon. Don't expect to get a non reserved site late in the day in an in demand area.

Be flexible. Have a plan B, even a plan C.

BB_TX wrote:
I am of the other camp, pun intended. I prefer to make reservations and know I will have a site waiting for me when I arrive rather than take my chances and hope for one. And if none available, have to scramble to find something near by.

By planning ahead, you can get the nice campsite you want, and not be stuck in some "first come first served" dirt parking lot. Retired and in no hurry? Then you can be a little picky and not make any reservations. But if you still have to work for a living, you've only got so much time, and may want to spend it camping instead of searching. It works for us, anyway.