To Plan or not to plan campgrounds

I do a hybrid method. I plan the campgrounds but do not necessarily make reservations. That way I know where we are headed but can still change our minds. I do make reservations for extended stays in areas around family or for holidays if they are near big cities but most of the time we call the day before or the day of arrival. We do not usually travel more than 200 miles in a day so we can call early.

We have stayed at both the Grand Canyon (Trailer Village) and Yellowstone (Fishing Bridge) without reservations. It depends on time of year, time of arrival, and day of week when arriving. We usually do not make reservations but we also do no buck the weekend and holiday crowds.

I agree with destination point reservations. While traveling we like to have a general idea of what campgrounds are available along the way at potential stops. Then when we are ready to stop we call ahead an hour or two to make sure we have a spot. This forum is super for offering ideas on nice places to stop along the way. Cracker Barrels are also a potential overnight stop. We have used them.

At any State of Washington Campground you have to reserve a spot a year ahead of time from May 15th to September 6th. Otherwise you will not get a place to camp unless someone cancels out!

jplante4 wrote:
A short story. The DW and I wanted to do something special for our 20th anniversary, so we decided to rent a houseboat in the Ft Myers area and cruise Pine Island Sound, Captiva and Sanibel and the Caloosahatchee River. We were going in October and by the preceding March I had all the nautical charts, the route planned and reservations at marinas. For 6 months I studied the route, charts, Google earth, Florida cruising guides and online boating forums.

When the trip happened, the house boat broke down on the first and second day, so we got towed into a harbor and abandoned the trip. It felt like someone had died. I had invested so much getting that trip just right that an unforeseen problem just devastated me. I'll never be that rigid again.

Man I am sorry that happened to you. I hope that you return and discover all that this area has to offer.

A short story. The DW and I wanted to do something special for our 20th anniversary, so we decided to rent a houseboat in the Ft Myers area and cruise Pine Island Sound, Captiva and Sanibel and the Caloosahatchee River. We were going in October and by the preceding March I had all the nautical charts, the route planned and reservations at marinas. For 6 months I studied the route, charts, Google earth, Florida cruising guides and online boating forums.

When the trip happened, the house boat broke down on the first and second day, so we got towed into a harbor and abandoned the trip. It felt like someone had died. I had invested so much getting that trip just right that an unforeseen problem just devastated me. I'll never be that rigid again.

This summer we went to Pa from Ca. Only made one reservation before leaving the stick house, only to find out we really did not need to. We would call a couple hrs ahead to find a spot, only one time did we need to make changes on our return trip back to CA. because it was a Saturday and I was wanting to get west of Denver, Nothing was available so I had to shut down a lot sooner then I wanted too. So we ended up staying East of Denver, was not a big deal you just have to be flexible.

Being a little paranoid about having a site, we have developed a "hybrid" way.

Once we have arrived at the campground, we look around for attractions and decide how many days we wish to stay. We go to the office and pay for same.

Then we make a reservation for two days at our next stop. Repeat.

Most has already been said. I don't plan reservations unless it is a high used area or over holiday weekends.

Wally World is used for rest only (short naps while SO shops/walks/etc.) not overnight stopping.

We usually have reservations. I would say that about half the time, there are lots of empty sites so we did not need a reservation. However, there are many times when that reservation was needed. I would recommend that you call ahead, especially on weekends, to see how full the campgrounds are in an area. Just recently, I was not going to make a reservation for a one night stop I needed to make on the way back home. There are only a few towns at the distance I wanted to go. In one town, there was a melon festival and at the other, there was a wine festival. There were no RV slots available. I had to delay my trip home by one day so I could get a slot.