I miss the old Lake Cachuma

Just curious why you hate reservations?

I can't imagine not having them. I'd worry about being loaded at the ready and arriving to find they were all full.

The problem with reservation systems is you need to plan your trip, sometimes months or even almost a year in advance to get a site. For a lot of folks who also must plan their vacation out 6 months in advance due to company policy, this isn't a problem.

However, I like to be spontaneous and not have a schedule. My work allows me to take up to a week vacation on short notice, a couple of days without any notice. So I can decide on Wednesday I need a vacation and be on the road that night. If I arrive at a campground that's full, I'll just travel down to another campground which most times turns out better because it's an unexepected find.

On longer trips, I hate reservation because it removes flexibility. You can't love this place and stay a couple extra days or hate this place and leave a few days early. You can't see something along your route that was unexpected and decide to spend the day there because you have reservations up the road.

Just means you miss a lot of wonderful thing that are of interest.