The unfortunate part of most reservation systems -- even if you want an open site for one night while traveling, the reservation fee still applies. That means the campsite is more expensive overall and often leaves one or more empty that would otherwise generate revenue.
We've seen a lot of empty campsites - state and NPS - over the past few years even when the CG says full.
When we think about senior and veteran and disabled discounts, then paying the reservation fee for one night nearly clears the discount for those that earned or qualify for the discounts.
