Reserve America

RGar974417 wrote:
Don't just look at their website,call.I believe they have a different number for each state.I always call.

Ditto to this!

Johno02 wrote:
Campgrounds should be able to open site for walk-ins soon after a checkin-by time. Paying comfirmation for the entire reservation in advance would stop a lot of the abuse.

Every reservation we've ever made via RA is paid in full at the time of reservation. No way around it.

If a campground gave away my site because I wasn't there by check-in time (due to weather, car trouble, whatever), I would be pretty-darned upset about that. Words would be exchanged.

2012Coleman wrote:
Bob - FL. State Parks always have a few sites for walk-ups that are not listed on Reserve America, or they are listed as filled. I have been told this at numerous parks in FL. as I always see empty spots on holidays or in the summer months.

Call the park you are interested in and ask them. You may actually have to show up to rent the spot, I'm not sure, so ask that question too.

The park I was referring too I actually drove there and asked the ranger about spots held back from RA for drive ups and was told that they did not do that so I do not know what is true because I had heard it before...

Bob Vaughn wrote:

2012Coleman wrote:
Bob - FL. State Parks always have a few sites for walk-ups that are not listed on Reserve America, or they are listed as filled. I have been told this at numerous parks in FL. as I always see empty spots on holidays or in the summer months.

Call the park you are interested in and ask them. You may actually have to show up to rent the spot, I'm not sure, so ask that question too.

The park I was referring too I actually drove there and asked the ranger about spots held back from RA for drive ups and was told that they did not do that so I do not know what is true because I had heard it before...

Bob, why don't you just go to the website of the actual park or state you are referring to? Tends to be a wealth of factual information there with little suppositions. I will say I've been given contradictory information by rangers working at the same time at the same park to the same question. Thank goodness for smart phones.

All I can think of is that the reservation window isn't accurate or the sites are available for drive-ins, not reservations. When you look at the site list, do the little boxes have a 'R' (reserved) or an 'A' (available) in them and what color are some. The non-reservable sites are brown.

Probably best to call Reserve America and have them look at the site after you were assured by calling the campground that sites are indeed empty.

It's hard to believe that the campground would be empty all the time because folks can't get through with a reservation. Someone is getting into that campground - either reserving or just driving in.

What campground is it?

I discovered a little quirk a few years ago trying to book a government campground out west. All the sites were unavailable, apparently fully booked, I assumed, which didn't make sense to me since the date was off season, and way in advance.

Finally I learned they showed it that way after Labor Day because they did not bother with reservations, yet the campground was still open for whoever showed up to check in with the host, Which we and others did, selecting whichever site we preferred. The rangers had closed one section, but the other was up and running.

Not saying this is your scenario or that Florida does it that way, just that sometimes the system may be hard to decipher.

Okay...wait. A FL state park near Seffner?? Are we talking about Hillsborough River SP? If so, there is an explanation.

If it is Hillsborough, see the 4th post in this thread.

(And if you mean Silver River/Silver Spring, they are not currently taking reservations through R/A due to campground construction.)

GMandJM wrote:
Okay...wait. A FL state park near Seffner?? Are we talking about Hillsborough River SP? If so, there is an explanation.

If it is Hillsborough, see the 4th post in this thread.

(And if you mean Silver River/Silver Spring, they are not currently taking reservations through R/A due to campground construction.)

No it was Alafia State park

Ahh...Alafia. There's a possible reason for that. Is it okay if I send you a PM?

EDIT: Looking at Alafia on RA it shows good availability for the next couple months on both loops.

Here's a link to that campground. It shows many sites with a 'R' (reserved) and some with a 'A' (available. Look under 'Date Range Availability'. Hope this helps.

http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/alafia-river-state-park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=FL&parkId=281251