Virginia State parks new site specific policy
Anyone here who camps at the VA state parks have an opinion on this? One of the reasons we enjoy the state parks was the fact that the reservations were non-specific. We like camping 4 or 5 nights ...
Forum Discussion
Southwind98 wrote:toedtoes wrote:
Two scenarios:
I can only camp from Friday to Sunday and all the nice sites are full by the time I arrive and I can only get the site next to the bathroom. Now with reserved sites, I can actually get a decent site for the weekend.
I can arrive before the crowds and have always been able to get a decent site. Now because people can reserve specific sites, I get stuck with the site next the bathrooms.
Let's face it - there is no way to please everybody.
I thinks toedtoes sums it up best. I actually took part in the survey about a year ago on about changing the reservation policy and stated basically it's a catch twenty-two. Great if you can arrive Sunday - Thursday and have a lot of sites to pick from. Not so great to arrive Friday evening, maybe delayed because of traffic and sites left are to small to fit on. Really I just wouldn't chance the weekend trip for nonspecific sites and it limited me for just camping in my favorite Virginia parks for the weekend. But I can see the other side where now the reservation schedule has nine months of sites booked only on the weekends and you can't get a larger block of time without having to move sites.
That's it, if the system changes to benefit one type of camper, it ends up messing things up for another type of camper. It's impossible to establish a system that works for every option:
1. The planners - plan camping trips and reserve campsites well in advance (need to know they have a site before driving 3+ hours to nowhere)
2. The wingers - can't or don't want to make plans, just want to say "let's go camping today/tomorrow", jump in the RV, and go to their favorite campground
3. The weekenders - can only head out to camp on Friday or Saturday
4. The weekdayers - can camp during weekdays, weekends, whenever
5. The longtermers - camp more than 1 week at a stretch
6. The shorttimers - camp for 1 week or less
For me, I'm a planner, weekdayer, shorttimer. Policies that work best for me will make it all but impossible for the wingers and longtermers. Policies that work best for the wingers and weekenders will make it all but impossible for me.
