CAMP GROUND OBSERVATION

Several things.
Good economy.
Cheap gas prices.
RVs are more the "in" thing to do.
More geezer camping baby boomers (it's just a lifestyle that is more prevalent than say 20-30 yrs ago or more).
And yes here on the wet side, super high housing prices and no cold weather make it an attractive option for more people by the day to live cousin eddy style.

As fulltimers, we liked to stay at a particular state park in VA (we camped there before we retired) for 14 nights when in the area. However, they have raised their prices so much that we can stay in a private campground with full hook ups for much less. We still stop there, but now just for a couple of nights. We stayed 14 nights because we loved the campground, not because it was cheap. It's wasn't cheap before but now the cost is way out of hand.

While I agree it is harder, it depends when you want to go.If you can only do weekends, it can be real tough. If we camp locally, we usually go in on a Sunday and leave Wednesday. In May, we went from Pennsylvania to Yellowstone and back. We only had reservations for the first night,a Saturday and for the 4 nights in Yellowstone.For the rest of the 2 week trip we had no problem at all finding a site at either state or private parks.

The combination of the influx of boomers in the RV market along with lower fuel prices and the improved economy have caused a not surprising boom in the RV industry as a whole. Sales are nearing historic highs, meaning of course, there are lots more RV'ers competing for the available campsites. The number of fulltime RV'ers though, appears to be remaining relatively stable. That's probably because fulltimers in general come mostly from the older generation, and the drop-outs due to death, disability, or other reasons likely pretty much match the number of new fulltimers on the other end of the scale. Many fulltimers spend longer terms at a given park rather than moving frequently, so I expect the impact in state and national parks with 14 day limits is minimal.

2oldman wrote:

Oasisbob wrote:
So I guess I need to reserve in advance eh?

Depends on your ability to camp with no hookups. I find that opens up way more possibilities for beauty and quiet.

X2 - the folk living in their trailers usually want hookups.

Price of fuel went up years ago & everyone stayed home. Price of fuel is down now & everyone is out.

I always try to make reservations, I do not like surprises when it comes to camping. ( happened a few times that we did not get a campsite because the CG was topped off)
And as stated it is getting harder to find a campground that is not full.

Oasis Bob, you didn't say that the kids are in school but I bet they are and you may even be working and, therefore, probably out on week ends. If this is true, reservations will be mandatory in many areas of the NW. It may be a slight inconvenience but it shouldn't be a problem.

If you're going week days it maybe necessary for really popular areas.

We make reservation once or twice at a new(to us) campground just to get a feel for occupancy. If after a couple of visits we see lots of vacancies, we don't make reservations.

A lot of the baby boomer generation are now retired/retiring which has significantly increased the number of RVers, making it more difficult to get sites.

bukhrn wrote:
I take it, this must be a Western thing, as I have no problem finding a site around here, except on Holiday weekends, and it is easier to find a spot during the week than on weekends, for the popular destinations, at certain times, you absolutely need reservations.

Here in Michigan campgrounds here are still full every weekend after Labor day. Halloween marks a drop off.

Yes you can get "a site" without reservation in the off season, but likely there's something wrong with it. Muddy, no view, too close to the bathrooms or too far, etc.