reservations

Sad what has happened. Reservation only at so many parks, while many other beautiful parks sit nearly empty.

I like to be spontaneous and reservations that far in advance mostly eliminates discovery of new places IMO.

Why would the beautiful parks be empty?

Locarion, location, location. Add the fact their 6 or more hours away from the major metropolitan areas.

Would it be safe to presume that these are parks that do not have a 180 day booking window? Are these commercial campgrounds/RV resorts?
I've only been able to book 5 locations here in Colorado, based on the 180 booking window. January 4th is the opening of the window for the July 4th weekend here. I too have stayed up to just past midnight, only to find that apparently some of the booking windows are based on eastern time zone times. 8am mountain time gets me in to the booking window for certain locations.

I've already done the same but since we can make resi's 9 mos in advance, you HAVE to make them that far ahead to get the better spots or in some cases, to get any site at all.

to answer a few of your questions, the parks are small and have fishing ponds for the grandchildren. the few spaces they have that can accommodate the size TT I have are few. I really don't care for some of the parks in Oregon, some are too close to the railroads and it's bad enough we have a train come through town at 2 in the morning 5 nights a week. we have beautiful mountains here in eastern Oregon and I can't see driving from here to the western part of the state to only be flooded with people. I enjoy the parks we stay at and since that is the name of the game, that is where I make my reservations

To us Old Guys,

I just turned 62 this summer. I live about five miles out of Salem, in the country and hate the big cities also. Just retired this summer and drove from Salem to Portland for work for 24 years. I find it very hard to find a nice RV site that doesn't seem to be like camping in down town Portland or like at Detroit Dam.

Maybe it was a big mistake, but I bought a used 2010 Mobile Suite 5th wheel that is right at 34 foot long. The guy before me payed over $110,000 for it and I got it for $34,000.00 in very good shape. Note; I have a very old 24 foot 5th wheel before.

The wife and I like quiet camp grounds and one of the best we camped at for over the past 20 some years is Clyde Holiday just out of John Day. Prairie City, Oregon, about 15 years ago had my favorite RV site. But now the RV park looks like a homeless camp were people camp fully time. Get the feeling your a Walmart parking lot.

We been trying to only go camping in the off season, after mid September to miss the crowds. Like to do more camping now that I am retired but been unable to find any smaller camp sites that have water and electricity in eastern Oregon or anywhere these days. Stayed at Wallowa Like last September and had to make reservations 9 months in advice and was lucky to get a spot.

Like to stay at smaller places in the woods but were do you find them with water and hopefully electricity?

Do you have any suggestions? I just might have to buy a camper for the back of the truck with generator, but that might not solve the problem.

PS: If you are going to stay near Salem at Silver Falls State Park or at any of the coastal parks you better make reservations 9 months to a year in advice.

Chuck .. wrote:
To us Old Guys,

I just turned 62 this summer. I live about five miles out of Salem, in the country and hate the big cities also. Just retired this summer and drove from Salem to Portland for work for 24 years. I find it very hard to find a nice RV site that doesn't seem to be like camping in down town Portland or like at Detroit Dam.

Maybe it was a big mistake, but I bought a used 2010 Mobile Suite 5th wheel that is right at 34 foot long. The guy before me payed over $110,000 for it and I got it for $34,000.00 in very good shape. Note; I have a very old 24 foot 5th wheel before.

The wife and I like quiet camp grounds and one of the best we camped at for over the past 20 some years is Clyde Holiday just out of John Day. Prairie City, Oregon, about 15 years ago had my favorite RV site. But now the RV park looks like a homeless camp were people camp fully time. Get the feeling your a Walmart parking lot.

We been trying to only go camping in the off season, after mid September to miss the crowds. Like to do more camping now that I am retired but been unable to find any smaller camp sites that have water and electricity in eastern Oregon or anywhere these days. Stayed at Wallowa Like last September and had to make reservations 9 months in advice and was lucky to get a spot.

Like to stay at smaller places in the woods but were do you find them with water and hopefully electricity?

Do you have any suggestions? I just might have to buy a camper for the back of the truck with generator, but that might not solve the problem.

PS: If you are going to stay near Salem at Silver Falls State Park or at any of the coastal parks you better make reservations 9 months to a year in advice.

I'm retiring this summer, and have always wanted to head out on a bucket-list trip to the Columbia River Gorge. It seems it's too late already, places are full. I should have paid more attention to the Oregon threads lol.

The reservation systems are a blessing and a curse. There are many places we enjoy within a 6-8hour drive from Cleveland, but if you can't decide, or your vacation picks haven't been made yet, you're out-of-luck. The spontaneous trips many enjoyed "back in the day" are fading, as RVing has become very popular.

Chuck .. wrote:
To us Old Guys,

I just turned 62 this summer. I live about five miles out of Salem, in the country and hate the big cities also. Just retired this summer and drove from Salem to Portland for work for 24 years. I find it very hard to find a nice RV site that doesn't seem to be like camping in down town Portland or like at Detroit Dam.

Maybe it was a big mistake, but I bought a used 2010 Mobile Suite 5th wheel that is right at 34 foot long. The guy before me payed over $110,000 for it and I got it for $34,000.00 in very good shape. Note; I have a very old 24 foot 5th wheel before.

The wife and I like quiet camp grounds and one of the best we camped at for over the past 20 some years is Clyde Holiday just out of John Day. Prairie City, Oregon, about 15 years ago had my favorite RV site. But now the RV park looks like a homeless camp were people camp fully time. Get the feeling your a Walmart parking lot.

We been trying to only go camping in the off season, after mid September to miss the crowds. Like to do more camping now that I am retired but been unable to find any smaller camp sites that have water and electricity in eastern Oregon or anywhere these days. Stayed at Wallowa Like last September and had to make reservations 9 months in advice and was lucky to get a spot.

Like to stay at smaller places in the woods but were do you find them with water and hopefully electricity?

Do you have any suggestions? I just might have to buy a camper for the back of the truck with generator, but that might not solve the problem.

PS: If you are going to stay near Salem at Silver Falls State Park or at any of the coastal parks you better make reservations 9 months to a year in advice.

Hey Chuck. Check out volunteering for Oregon parks. As for camping, places like Goose Lake in early summer, the newer park east of John Day should be good places to explore. You could always go trout fishong on the Ana River and camp at the private park at Ana reservoir.