First I'm a bit of a planner but would like take a little more relaxed approach going forward. Just curious how many here have all there parks planed/paid for in advance of a trip vs those who just roll till you need to stop and hunt for a place. I would imagine the later would be difficult in certain region during peak season. I guess you could always hit wal-mart as a back-up.

Here in Oregon we reserve because space may not be available or not a good spot. If we go unreserved we run the risk of someone reserving our spot online forcing us to move. Odd thing about OSP is online it may show nothing available but when we arrive we see several unoccopied spots. Have yet to figure that one out

It depends on where I am going and when. Last year, for a eastern trip in August/September, I made reservations well in advance for the Labor day weekend, and for Washington, D.C. for a weekend. That was an eight-week trip. The rest was without reservations.This summer is different, because I am going up the California/Oregon coastline in Sept/Oct. I already have Labor day reservations at a certain national park in northwestern Arizona, also reservations for San Diego, Monterey, and up the California/Oregon coastline. After I get away from the coast, I will have no advance reservations. Once on the road, I will often make a reservation one day in advance.

OR and WA coast. We have our favorite sites. All state parks are in prime locations and very popular, especially in the summer.Summer, we reserve.

I'm not a good planner, my life has always been: go where I'm needed and do what I have to do (the HVAC world). The best laid plans go out the window on the first job of the day. But with a 38' trailer I need to make sure of where I'm going and where am I going to stay. Finding a place to turn around is at best an iffy proposition. I alway make reservations as far in advance as I can. Just got back from Spring Break, gone for 30 days, drove 5K miles and stayed in 10 different CG. Even at that, some of my sites were real tight to get into and out of, but for the most part it worked real good. However, halfway through the trip I wanted to divert from the plan trip to see another area, but that would have fouled up the last 4 stops, I guess that's why the make "Next's year's" trips.On the return trip back north I made reservations while on route as we were skirting some sever weather. Campgrounds along the interstates are always set up for one nighters with pull throughs so we don't have to unhitch. Love those guys...

We simply do it both ways as circumstances dictate. Busy holiday or summer weekends we will book in advance, otherwise we will wing it most times although we at least know which parks we plan to stop at. We don't fret too much as state and COE parks in our region have about half of their sites that can not be reserved in advance, even on busy weekends just show up a couple of days early and choose a first come first serve site, then enjoy the peacefulness until the crowds show up.

How many make park reservations vs find as you go.

Bumpyroad
Explorer
Apr 14, 2017
Jayco-noslide wrote:
Keep in mind that reservations can almost always be canceled or changed. Sometimes for no more than $10 sometimes more. I used to hate spending that extra money but I'd rather have a reserv. that I have to cancel than to go a destination and find it full. $15 or $20 spent on changing the reserv. isn't much as part of the overall cost of a trip.

I can't ever remember being charged for changing a reservation at a standard commercial rv park.
bumpy
Jayco-noslide
Explorer
Apr 14, 2017
Keep in mind that reservations can almost always be canceled or changed. Sometimes for no more than $10 sometimes more. I used to hate spending that extra money but I'd rather have a reserv. that I have to cancel than to go a destination and find it full. $15 or $20 spent on changing the reserv. isn't much as part of the overall cost of a trip.
MitchF150
Explorer III
Apr 14, 2017
We camp in our State Parks during the summer and on weekends, so we have to reserve if we want to camp.. :)

Not everyone camps the same way, so gotta just do what works best for your situation..

Happy Camping everyone!

Mitch
jnharley
Explorer
Apr 13, 2017
We always know where we will be spending the night in advance. That does not mean we make reservations every place we stop. We call a couple days in advance of our stop and see if a reservation is required. Sometimes reservations must be made way in advance. For instance, we visit family in FL in the springtime and we stay at a state park. A reservation must be made as soon as the reservation window opens or we will not get a site when we want it because the snow birds are still there.
BizmarksMom
Explorer
Apr 13, 2017
If I'm out for a long road trip I'll make a reservation in the middle of the trip at a full hookup site so I can service the tanks, do laundry, and have a long shower. Otherwise I wing it.
Joyce_in_NY
Explorer
Apr 13, 2017
We have traveled for many years, including a two-month ocean to ocean trip back when my children were young. We very rarely reserve a site. The exceptions are Labor Day weekend, Fourth of July, and Memorial Day. For those, we start planning about two weeks early as to the area we want to be. Then we call and make reservations that will carry us through the busy time. On a travel day, we call ahead about two-three hours if we are driving late in the day. Campgrounds start to fill up around 4-4:30.
ncrowley
Explorer II
Apr 13, 2017
We make reservations whenever we can. Sometimes we are not sure of our plans, but as soon as they firm up, we get reservations. We have been glad we have made them in a number of parks since there were no spaces left when we got there.
junmy3
Explorer
Apr 13, 2017
We are going to Manitoba and Saskatchewan in early August through early September staying at a few national parks and provincial parks. We made reservations the first day we could. Checked back three days later and there were only three shoes available that we could fit in. We tried to make reservations at a national park in Michigan on the first day but could not get in. So our theory id's that if you want a specific destination reservations are a good a idea.
Community Alumni
Apr 13, 2017
We have crisscrossed the U.S. and parts of Canada without making reservations. The only time we make reservations is if we are going to a campground or RV park near home for a few days.
Sprink-Fitter
Explorer
Apr 12, 2017
Oasisbob wrote:
Here in Oregon we reserve because space may not be available or not a good spot. If we go unreserved we run the risk of someone reserving our spot online forcing us to move. Odd thing about OSP is online it may show nothing available but when we arrive we see several unoccopied spots. Have yet to figure that one out

How could someone reserve you're spot?