Recreation.gov website
I just got done making reservations at five different National Forest campgrounds. I was able to do all this through Recreation.gov it was very easy. We make almost all of our reservations for Nationa...
Forum Discussion
mpierce wrote:
We detest the reservation system. Those of us who cannot set our vacation schedules ahead of time, are locked out. One time, we were able to take off at the last moment. Got to a park, and we could not get a site because it was all "booked". We dry camped nearby, and when we drove by early the next AM, I would guess over 50% of the sites were empty. The system is being terribly abused. I wish there was some way to surcharge 100% if one does not show up for a reservation, without canceling 24 hours in advance. That would stop at least some of the damage.
The national forest sites I've seen, you forfeit the 1st night's fee if you don't cancel more than 2s hrs in advance. And, you lose the entire reservation if you aren't actually at the campsite the first night. No dropping off a chair or two and coming back 3 days later.
I wonder if the problems are more geographical. I really don't see any empty spots in Northern Canifornia. And the national forests have a good mix of reservable and walk-ins, either within one campground, or campground A is reservable, campground B a bit aways is all walk-in.
