Connecticut state parks have been using Reserve America for years now. The "reservation fee" is per reservation, not per night - so if you make a reservation for 3 nights, you pay one fee, not three.
You can walk up to get a site without a reservation, but you can't escape the fee... if you walk in to the campground office to see if they have room that night (they usually do), you can "reserve" the site right then, but you still have to pay the "reservation fee" - even though you are standing there in person. Oh well.
People used to line up hours in advance to reserve prime sites, and also would "game" the system to stay on prime sites almost all summer. The online system has reduced that abuse, and allowed other people to use sites that were almost impossible to get. Some people still work to game the system, but there are always "those people".
Do I like it? I go back and forth. It has opened up many campsites that used to be virtually impossible to get, but the fees can be a bit over the top. It is better for people who need to plan in advance.
