KOA Availability Along I-80

We would carry the KOA directory and the Trailer Life directory (now it is the Good Sam directory) when traveling like this, start checking a little after noon for overnight stop locations. We would stop at a place that had mobile phone service (much of where we traveled used to be no-service) and call down a prioritized list for same day reservations. Usually we had reservations, or were told we would not need them, before making a the third choice call.

My wife and daughters liked KOA, so those would be the first picks, but that is too limiting. I think 3/4 of the decent RV parks are not part of any franchise, though many associate with Good Sam. Probability of finding a place through much of the Midwest is good, these are not destinations, they are overnight stops.

Busy travel destinations can be a problem. Special events can be a problem. For those, I like a reservation well in advance. Like for Bike Week anywhere, if I want to be there. Sometimes you get caught by surprise; once I found every campsite, hotel and motel room for 50 miles around occupied in a small Missouri town where I often stop. What was going on? Cattle auction. Thus you call ahead same day, rather than assuming there will be space because there is always space.

Holiday weekends can be a problem. So many areas have so few real recreational destinations that they'll all fill up, so just to be camping that weekend families might end up at the RV park behind the gas station at the Interstate exit. This is when all the state parks, COEs, town parks all fill up. If I have to out on holiday weekends, I treat those stops like destinations: reservations in advance.

I have at least three mobile apps for finding and rating campgrounds and RV parks, but still prefer to carry the published directories. I don't find data service everywhere; living in the big empty leaves me less optimistic about always being connected than those might be who live on the coasts or in the crowded states.

i checked their app sunday am and showed no problem so i didn't bother to book it we pulled into cheyenne wyoming about 4 pm sunday night and they were full unless you didn't want full hook up.we were able to find a spot in a different park away from 80 but they were full by 7 also. i would have thought sunday night would be the slowest night.

Why do you definitely need a KOA? There are plenty of very nice RV parks along your route....and much cheaper.

paullac wrote:
...For anyone who has driven that route, are KOA's generally available to book mid day for that night?...

You can check site availability for any KOA at the KOA Website. It will show what type of sites are available and which are not and what the cost will be.

We rarely make reservations. When travelling, I make a list of 3-4 campgrounds along our planned route for the day and then start calling about noon to check availability when I have an idea of which would be our preferred stop for the night.

In my experience, no one resource lists all the campgrounds. I use the following websites to find campgrounds along our route:
RV Park Reviews
Passport America
Allstays
RV Parky
Woodalls
Free Campgrounds
Free Campsites
U.S. Campgrounds
National Forest Campground Guide
Ultimate Public Campground Project
Corps of Engineers Campgrounds
Bob’s Cheap or Free Campgrounds
Dean’s List
Boondockers Welcome
Harvest Host

For some specifics:

The Des Moines West KOA in Adel, IA is nice. It's off the highway a few miles to the north, so you don't hear the road noise. Nice sites, some are a bit tight though. Nice facilities for an overnight stay, have been there a few times.

The West Omaha/NE Lincoln KOA in Gretna, NE was good for an overnight stop. Good pull thru level sites, but it's fairly close to the interstate so there is some road noise.

There's a KOA on the east side of Cheyenne, WY, which is easy on/off from I-80. There's also a KOA in Laramie, WY right off I-80, but you will definitely hear the road noise there. Both are fine for overnight, the Laramie KOA has some nice pull thru sites, and the last time we stayed there, it was clean and the staff was helpful.

All of the above mentioned KOAs are fairly typical of what one might expect from KOAs. All of them had clean restrooms the times we stayed there, and generally friendly, helpful staff.

They are the McDonalds of camping, ubiquitous and close to the freeway and railroad tracks :) They will call to the next one for you.

Like BB_TX, we use KOAs, Good Sam CGs and other CGs (even state parks on occasion). Lots of choices if you don't limit yourself to KOAs only. There are plenty of KOAs; some older ones have left the KOA system but are still decent parks to choose from. RVparkreviews is a great resource if you have access to the internet while you're traveling. A KOA directory and a Good Sam directory (book form) are also handy. (Why not pick up a KOA directory on your outbound trip? They're free and you can get one at the first KOA you visit. They'll have an updated list for this year of the CGs in their system.

Try the app RV Parky it has served us well.

you should be OK unless it's the holiday weekend. As long as you call early the day of arrival you should be OK.

I've found that the good sam book available at camping world is a pretty good book to keep on hand. I replace mine about every 2yrs. I just wish it would also cover state & fed cg too