Making reservations for every night?

Oh, and feel free to post a trip report! I always find those fun to read through.

We've always had reservations, and planned out all our stops. Especially when traveling with kids it was one less thing to worry about.

A couple other people mentioned... make sure you are giving yourself enough time.

As posted already, using the "50 miles per hour" rule seems to work very well in planning how far you will travel per day. Of course you will actually be traveling faster than that, but when you average out miles traveled, rest stops, fuel stops, and time, it always seems to work out to about 50 miles per hour.

Making reservations 24 hrs. in advance at popular places like Yellow Stone??? The answer is---it depends on your willingness and tolerance for finding last minute alternative RV parks when there are no reservations available. "Winging" reservations to the last minute requires that you have a "high tolerance for ambiguity".
Generally, I make reservations well in advance for popular RV parks i.e. Yellow Stone Park, Yosemite or RV parks along the ocean coasts during the spring and summer months. Making advance reservations does not lock or your diminish your "free winging it". Thats what cancellations are used for, just be aware of each parks cancellation policies. You can always cancel or reschedule reservations.

DrewE wrote:


There are differences in temperment also. Some people are planners by nature, and some wingers.

I'm very meticulous (read OCD) and like to plan out every detail. Reservations are a must when I travel long distance. I couldn't stand pulling up to a campground that was sold out without already having a reservation.

That said, I am so looking forward to retirement when my wife and I can "wing it" and just stop without reservations any place we want.

As a former Olympian (I lived on Totten Inlet for 30+ years), I retired 12 years ago, bought a RV and started traveling. During that time I noticed that the popular National Parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite, Denali, Zion, Arches, etc. usually require reservations during the Summer months especially if you have a larger Class A as some of the parks were built before the introduction of motorhomes and do not have many larger RV spaces. Most of the less popular parks like Crater Lake, Lassen, Great Basin, etc. usually have available spaces. The only time I make reservations is when I am touring the popular national parks. The rest of the time, I "wing" it and have yet to encounter a problem. In your case, the only reservation I would keep is Yellowstone and just enjoy the journey.

It depends on where you are, when you're there, and how picky you are about your campsites. Around here reservations are a decent idea on the weekends but less necessary during the week. I gather things tend to be a little more open in tbe west...and a lot less so in places like Florida during peak tourist season.

There are differences in temperment also. Some people are planners by nature, and some wingers.

The big holidays - Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day (and Thanksgiving Week and the week after Christmas in the south --- spring break in touristy areas) are ESSENTIAL for reservations for most areas of the country.

Huge tourist destinations like Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Orlando/Disney World, etc - reservations are required if you want to stay in the park / at the closest campground. Though there are always options, but you might have to stay an hour away. (Yellowstone is a bit unique with the combination of contractor run reservable campgrounds - and NPS run non-reservation campgrounds. Remember the numbers - 1,700+ reservable sites, 450+ sites in 7 campgrounds first come, first served. Most of the non-reservable sites are taken by 9-10 AM. Winging it means spending the night somewhere close, getting on the road before dawn and being at the CG you want about 8 am - and start looking at the sites to see who is leaving that day with a site where your rig might fit. The smaller the rig, the better your chance of being happy.)

I plan my long distance trips, but usually don't make reservations for every night. We tend to be a bit flexible in our travel - being full-timers and retired.

We don't have the time constraints of younger folks who have limited vacation time.

Some days I don't want to drive. If the weather is bad - I stay put. I'll make up the distance on the next couple good days.

When you say you planned a two week trip - it sounds like you have two weeks vacation, and have to be back at work on a specific day.

I would suggest you be flexible on the travel part.

Allstays, RVParky and programs such as Passport America show you where you can stay. As you gain experience you will learn how far you can travel in a day.

We've had to, or chosen to, change our day destination on many occasions. I make sure I have an idea of where I'm going, and if the drive/ day feels like I want to stop sooner, or go longer - my wife has learned how to look up and find alternative places for us to spend the night if I give her a city as a search point.

Now, I don't like to drive more than two days in a row. Did it when I was younger and had a job, don't do if possible now. So we tend to stop for two or three days at a time.

You probably can't do that, so please don't over extend your self. 500-600 + miles a day in a car is acceptable. You will NOT average 70-75 mph over a day's drive towing a trailer, in a motorhome. You will probably average closer to 50 miles per hour.

250 miles is about my top plan distance. I've done 442 miles in one day - it took a bit over 11 hours. Plus another hour of teardown and setup. A 12 hour day is a lot of work in an RV.

I agree for national park type destinations, reservwtions matter, but for the 'travel' portion, you are just stressing yourself out more, trying to keep to a specific schedule.
the day before, or the day of, will be fine for most places.
We leave tomorrow for a trek from MA to AZ- an 8 day trek no reservations at all.
Get an app like Allstays that shows RV parks, casinos, etc.

If you want to stay at a particular place in high destination spots.RESERVATIONS

If area is just a travel destination along the way...wing it