Re: How to go with the flow but restricted by reservations?

We traveled almost exclusively without reservations. There are a few things you can do to make this easily doable. Avoid the three big holiday weekends (those were almost the ONLY time we'd break down and reserve a campsite or RV parking spot). That being said, we also planned trips for before school is out and after it starts up again, when going to popular family places like National Parks. Weather is usually better then anyway, traffic is lighter and campgrounds are much easier to get without reservations. We always kept our PPA membership as an emergency locator, though RV Parks are our least favored place to stay. Another good resource is my "Don Wrights guide to Free and under $12.00 camping". It's a two volume set with thousands of camping opportunities that meet those criteria. The GOOD news is that NONE of them are a retail parking lot (the only place less favored than an RV park). Another tip is to leave early and arrive early. Get your travel finished for the day by early afternoon and your odds go up a lot. WE've traveled through 49 states and much of Canada using this method and so far we've been somewhere every night :)