Dislike of 'Reservation Only' camping
Hi All, Love camping, usually take one big trip for about 2 weeks every year. It's becoming tough to find places to camp where you can just show up. I don't like making reservations, in my opinio...
Forum Discussion
I do lots of long trips (111, 138, 304, & 193 days) and make as few reservations as possible. For example, on a June & July trip to Alaska, the only reservation made ahead of time was for the Teklanika Campground in Denali National Park. Over the 74 days we only had one stop where the planned campground was full, and found another a mile down the road.
I want the flexibility of being able to stay longer or skip new parts of the country, depending on what I discover in the area. My solution when campgrounds start to fill is to call in the morning to check availability for campgrounds in the area I expect to reach that night. Most campgrounds are honest about the likelihood of them being filled for the night - if they are close, I'll make a reservation. In the few cases where everything is booked, I just go somewhere else. I do have the advantage of being retired so my schedule is more flexible than most, and I generally stop by 2:00, early enough that there are usually non reserved sites still available.
I want the flexibility of being able to stay longer or skip new parts of the country, depending on what I discover in the area. My solution when campgrounds start to fill is to call in the morning to check availability for campgrounds in the area I expect to reach that night. Most campgrounds are honest about the likelihood of them being filled for the night - if they are close, I'll make a reservation. In the few cases where everything is booked, I just go somewhere else. I do have the advantage of being retired so my schedule is more flexible than most, and I generally stop by 2:00, early enough that there are usually non reserved sites still available.
