August cammping

[garmp]

It appears that COVID really packed most parks this past camping season. With the rapid growth of RV sales, cities being hot spots and online learning, folks were every where. Grab your internet and school the kids on the road. A lot of families were out with their new rigs for several reasons. Motels were questionable as to being safe, many restaurants were closed as were many other vacation activities. So head to the woods and let the kids wander throughout the forest with their cell phones.
I wonder how many families have become disenchanted with this new found freedom and what is to be expected this coming season. According to the "experts" things should be well in hand by late summer, early fall. Things should open up and be closer to normal. Say they are right this time and our regular life returns, what do you guess the camping scene will be like? Folks have gotten the hang of camping and are starting to enjoy it more, thusly getting out more? Or found out it is more work than they thought and the DW still has to cook, so it's no vacation for her at all and reminds you that you should have never bought that d@mn thing!
Myself, I see the parks more crowded than previous years before, but not to the level they were this past season.
So as I sit here pondering our August trip, I guess that I best decide where we're headed and start making reservations, which is very unlike us. But don't want to be left high & dry.

[mdcamping]

garmp wrote:
Or found out it is more work than they thought and the DW still has to cook, so it's no vacation for her at all and reminds you that you should have never bought that d@mn thing!

Our destination trip, for next Aug we have booked a return trip to Association Island KOA, NY we generally go with 2 other families. Because of covid we had to book forward 1 week as everything was taken up. Next few weeks I will be booking my long weekend trips, I don't think I will have a problem booking as I am familiar with the parks.

I do hope there is a large inventory by the end of next year. 2021 will probably be my last year with my Tacoma & TT as we plan to go in deep with a new setup. :C

Mike

[dedmiston]

We've been boondocking and riding A LOT in the California deserts this past year. It's a safe way to get away and it's about as socially distant as you can get.

We've seen bigger crowds than normal in 2020, but more remarkable is how people have stretched the season out. In the past, we'd never see anyone out in the desert beyond April or early May, and then again nobody before late October. The normal kickoff to the riding season is typically Veterans Day in early November. But we saw people out there in big numbers all through May and into June, and then in HUGE numbers starting in late September while it was still pretty hot.

We were out for eight days after Christmas and it was the most crowded we've seen it in years. I was sorry to see so many huge camps though (we called them Super Spreader Camps). That seemed pretty irresponsible to me, but nothing surprises me anymore.

But with remote work orders still in place and schools closed, it's pretty easy to pull up anywhere with a halfway decent cell signal and work for a week or so out of the RV. It's a pleasant way to be, and my coworkers get a kick out of my ever-changing Zoom backdrops.

[wowens79]

It has been getting harder to get into campgrounds for the last 5 years for us weekend warriors with kids.
My youngest starts college in August, and we are working from home, so we are hoping to be able to work from the beach for a week or two this fall.
Here in the southeast, the State Parks and COE campgrounds on the lake or beach stay booked on the weekends almost a year in advance. I know a few people that will grab a site for every weekend of the summer, then cancel the ones they don't want at the cancelation deadline.

[goducks10]

Being an Oregon camper I found all parks maxed out. State parks are always full during summer so no change there. It was the Fs types that were packed. It was trending that way for the last 3 years. 10 years ago you could arrive on a Friday night around 6:00 pm and get a spot. In the last 3-4 years the show up times decreased and most of the FS campgrounds we frequent started filling up on Thursday afternoon.
Last year was a mess and even some of the RV parks we frequent were packed all summer even during the week.
With record sales predicted again for 2021 and many newbies still enjoying the RV lifestyle I don't see much changing here.
YMMV in other states.

[Busskipper]

padredw wrote:
I am already finding it much more difficult to find sites to reserve in Colorado in July--September. We used to travel there without concern about finding a campground with open sites; now we have to be fast on the draw when the six-month window opens up for state parks and national forest parks.

As for Texas in August, I'm with Paw Paw. The best place to camp in Texas in August is in Colorado!

In the Summer - you are Correct! Hard to be in a CG that does not have a number of Texas Tags, especially in the San Juan's.

[padredw]

I am already finding it much more difficult to find sites to reserve in Colorado in July--September. We used to travel there without concern about finding a campground with open sites; now we have to be fast on the draw when the six-month window opens up for state parks and national forest parks.

As for Texas in August, I'm with Paw Paw. The best place to camp in Texas in August is in Colorado!

[ReneeG]

I have no clue what it will be like and am only hoping that it will return to somewhat normal. Quite a few campgrounds were busier than normal in the Yellowstone area outside the park and the park itself was busy, but we got a site at a popular CG doing what we have always done - camp close by overnight and head over early to snag a spot then return for our 5th wheel.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

Come down to Texas in August.

A lot of open spots in most campgrounds. Some of the cheaper ones like COE or State Parks may be crowded.

Most folks in Texas like to be someplace cooler than home in August, say Colorado.

[Lwiddis]

“in the Plague Hot Spot that is SoCal..”

And getting worse everyday. Very scary.

[azdryheat]

I'm not much of a predictor but we've done a lot of camping during covid and plan to continue doing the same in 2021. One thing we always do is make reservations.

[naturist]

We had been planning a big trip out west before the Plague struck, and wound up staying home. We did go camping a couple times close to home, midweek only, and had no trouble finding spots. We did use reservations, which we rarely did before, and found the campgrounds much more full midweek than usual, but there were still sites open, even with the restrictions.

We're hoping that we can get vaccinated sooner rather than later, and would love to (finally) make that Western swing. We will definitely make reservations ahead this year, and probably only move during the week, hunkering down wherever we are over weekends. I, too, don't expect any big dumping of that pesky RV for at least another year or two, which may be just about right for us to consider a new (to us) unit.

Our Darling Daughter and Handsome Son in Law live in LA, and we're thinking -- ok, **I'm** thinking -- about the possibility of some late fall/early winter in SoCal. We didn't get to see them this year, Christmas got cancelled due to that Plague, so maybe . . . .

Anyway, DD & HSiL are staying sequestered and safe in the Plague Hot Spot that is SoCal.

[wapiticountry]

It will be like boats. People will use them a lot the first year, and every year thereafter they will be used a bit less. But for many people, it isn't a big enough financial commitment or burden to force an immediate liquidation. 2020 had very limited opportunities for people to take their normal vacation. A $25,000 travel trailer is likely less than they would have spent taking the family to Hawaii or Europe. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting on a screaming deal.

[Reader1]

My son-in-law is planning his western trip for this summer and a lot of places are already booked. We live fairly close to a state park. The campground normally is fairly empty during the week in September and October but this year it was very busy and weekends were sold out all the way through the first couple weeks of November. We saw a lot of new campers and equally as many new tents and mostly we saw families having so much fun. YIKES! I think they are here to stay.

[valhalla360]

I think last summers "over crowding" is "over stated" As mentioned, with public parks shut down or on reduced capacity, there may have been some artificial high capacity but nothing outrageous. We've had no issues getting sites.

I think it will be 2022 before we see if people who bought last year start selling in large numbers.

Of course, I think by the end of March, we will see restrictions settle down and restrictions largely ending. Something like 90% of the deaths are in the 65 and older group...after first responders, that's the next big group. Once they are vaccinated, expect deaths to tail off drastically. It will be a bit slower, but with estimates of around 80-100mil having already had plus another 100mil getting vaccinated by March, expect the early stages of herd immunity to kick in with infections tailing downward...You might see some minor restrictions kept in place but very quickly, it will be a tough political sell to keep businesses closed.