How can I travel without making reservations
I am new to camping. I have a 22 foot trailer and plan to tour the western U.S. I would like to be spontaneous, so I have not made reservations at any campgrounds. I am now worried about getting a cam...
Forum Discussion
I think your 22’ TT is really a 26’ one so you may have limitations on the smaller, first come, first serve, more primitive campgrounds. If you want hu’s you’re far more limited. There is only one cg in YS and one in the Tetons that have hu’s. Regarding generators, some cg’s allow them and some don’t. For example last I know they’re not allowed in Tower, Slough Pebble Creek, Lewis Lake and Indian Creek campgrounds in Yellowstone. There are commercial cg’s outside the park that have hu’s, but YS is huge and it makes more sense to me to stay inside the park to reduce the driving.
If you’re traveling the west, there’s a lot of public land and you’ll have a great many options to find a place to camp without reservations. But it will be dry camping or boondocking. If you’re boondocking you can likely run your generator as much as needed because you won’t have any neighbors. If you’re in something like a national forest cg you can unusually run them within certain hours.
I pull a 16’ TT so I can usually get in anywhere anytime. Twice in 50 years and many trips to YS I got in late and couldn’t find a site in the dark. So once I stayed in Fishing Bridge, an experience I don’t want to repeat, and once I boondocked outside the park. Both times I easily got a site the next morning. So try to get to the parks early.
I never make reservations; I want total freedom of movement when I’m traveling and I almost always stay on public land. But on a very few occasions I’ve been caught with no public land in the area and the DW just calls ahead to commercial cg’s and finds a spot. We’ve never failed to get one, either, so that’s another way to be spontaneous and still find a campsite.
If your battery only lasts one night you’re either running the furnace fan or being too generous with the use of your resources. I couple of deep cycle batteries and LED lights would be a significant improvement, but being more frugal would be best. I have one group 27 battery and it will last the best part of a week. But I only use one light unless I really need more, the water pump is off until I need it, and I don’t carry tv’s or electronics. Oh, and I don’t use the furnace.
In short, if you’re not comfortable with not having the security of a confirmed campsite you’re best off to sacrifice the spontaneity and make reservations. If you can deal with the uncertainty, you should have many options to camp without them.
If you’re traveling the west, there’s a lot of public land and you’ll have a great many options to find a place to camp without reservations. But it will be dry camping or boondocking. If you’re boondocking you can likely run your generator as much as needed because you won’t have any neighbors. If you’re in something like a national forest cg you can unusually run them within certain hours.
I pull a 16’ TT so I can usually get in anywhere anytime. Twice in 50 years and many trips to YS I got in late and couldn’t find a site in the dark. So once I stayed in Fishing Bridge, an experience I don’t want to repeat, and once I boondocked outside the park. Both times I easily got a site the next morning. So try to get to the parks early.
I never make reservations; I want total freedom of movement when I’m traveling and I almost always stay on public land. But on a very few occasions I’ve been caught with no public land in the area and the DW just calls ahead to commercial cg’s and finds a spot. We’ve never failed to get one, either, so that’s another way to be spontaneous and still find a campsite.
If your battery only lasts one night you’re either running the furnace fan or being too generous with the use of your resources. I couple of deep cycle batteries and LED lights would be a significant improvement, but being more frugal would be best. I have one group 27 battery and it will last the best part of a week. But I only use one light unless I really need more, the water pump is off until I need it, and I don’t carry tv’s or electronics. Oh, and I don’t use the furnace.
In short, if you’re not comfortable with not having the security of a confirmed campsite you’re best off to sacrifice the spontaneity and make reservations. If you can deal with the uncertainty, you should have many options to camp without them.
