Reservations for extended trips?

ReadyToGo wrote:
We never make reservations when we travel in the winter time. We can do that because we have no preference where we stay. If it is a nice place and they have room, we might stay longer like a week. If it is a not nice place, we will be gone the next day.
We have been in AZ, NM, TX, MS, and GA and have always found places to stay. If you are looking for longer stays at specific CGs, then maybe reservations will be necessary.
The only time we had even a hint of an issue was in Yuma AZ. It took about 5 phone calls before we found a place for the night but once we were in, they said we could stay for a week with no problem.

have recommendations for campgrounds in AZ and NM? Going highway 66/40 in Sept. Thanks!

We're going on a trip in a few weeks where we'll be staying in a few national parks. We planned our itinerary in advance and got reservations at the park stops since we know it's high season and space will be at a premium. Some of the other days, when we're not in the parks, we're going to wing it. On our last short trip of 5 days, we made one reservation. It was a stop we knew we had to make, in a popular area, after a long day of driving, and we knew we didn't want to get boxed out. So, with us, it all depends on what, when and where. Sometimes we reserve, and sometimes we don't.

Use (or get) a cell phone.

Reservations are needed some times at popular places and not needed at other places.

If it's REAL popular- then you better plan ahead and arrive there on the prearranged day...what you do in the two months ahead of time could be very free at more open campgrounds.

Also, if they are just SOMEWHAT popular- maybe you don't need reservations TWO MONTHS IN ADVANCE.

Call ahead, use the internet, figure out what's important plan ahead when you need to and wing it when you don't have to.

After a very rough night with no reservations, we started calling mid day during more busy times.

At this point in our life (both working full time and have a child in school) we make reservations. Mainly being that the places we often go to are popular places and over an hour away. The last thing I want to do is get to a campground on a Friday evening at 6pm and find out they are full after driving an hour.

When the child is gone and we are retired, then we will probably change our views then. But still, the main places we have gone to are popular places and depending on the time of the year, you will need reservations.

We did a month long trip in April-May and we reserved well ahead of time everywhere we could. I just don't need the uncertainty and the best sites get snapped up first.

EcoBullet wrote:
Thanks for all of the input. It sounds like I might be concerned over nothing, except for those sure enough popular places in high season. South Florida in January is apparently one of those places. I recently booked the last reservable site available at John Pennekamp State Park in January.

Once you are on the road for some time you won't want to be in the most popular place during the height of the season! :B

Last year during the snowbird season I was able to find 'very' nice CG's all season long without a reservation.

Usually just pulling in for the night and come morning if I really liked the CG I would just ask for the monthly or weekly rate and just stayed there.

Took me a awhile to get out of the planned reserved mode but once you break free it's great sailing from there. Good Luck and have fun!:C

I full time.

Since I try to keep my campground fees in the $10 to $12 range by using C2C, RPI, AOR, (4 - 8 weeks in advance reservations) COE, BLM, or NPS campgrounds (4 to 6 months in advance), I always make advance reservations. I use a computer program Calendar Creator to mark the reservations and print out the current months or two calendars to keep track of my reservations.

I am now beginning to lay out initial plans for 2014. I use Garmin's MapSource or BaseCamp to plan the routes I will take.

EcoBullet wrote:
Thanks for all of the input. It sounds like I might be concerned over nothing, except for those sure enough popular places in high season. South Florida in January is apparently one of those places. I recently booked the last reservable site available at John Pennekamp State Park in January.

Those times are exactly why sometimes you should make reservations.

Have fun.

Thanks for all of the input. It sounds like I might be concerned over nothing, except for those sure enough popular places in high season. South Florida in January is apparently one of those places. I recently booked the last reservable site available at John Pennekamp State Park in January.

EcoBullet wrote:
It makes me uneasy to go on a trip without having assurance that I'll have a place to stay when I get there. This isn't a big issue as long as I'm just planning a week or two of vacation, but when I retire I plan to stay out longer and would like to be more flexible. Making all reservations ahead for a 2 month trip strains my brain. What do you do?

When I week end RV'd I always made reservations. Then I went full time with that same attitude.

After being on the road full time for a while I realized you do NOT need to make reservations. There is always a CG somewhere. AND you can pull into any CG after hours no matter what time. Some will have a box for your check other just say pull in find a spot and find the mgr in the morning!

Once I learned about that being a safety net, I stopped making reservations. 6 years on the road now and haven't made a reservation yet and have never been without a CG site for the night. :C