Just took a look at California's new reservation system. Doesn't appear user friendly to me. Maybe I just need to get used to it. Found it very difficult to even get to my frequented campgrounds. Perhaps I will have better luck getting a site with the new rolling 6 month in advance reservations and maybe not. It says online reservations can be made 24/7, but I can't find what time the window opens each day. Is it at 12:01am, 8 am or 10am?

I gave up going to any California state park 2 years ago. System is screwed up, web site was very complex, and the prices are generally outrageous after that years round of increases. Sure, there are bargains here and there but on the whole, not RV friendly state. Final straw for me was a state park that blocked off ALL the lower priced RV spaces to force multi-night RV'ers to use the expensive spots. Would have stayed 3 nights, only stayed one.The states loss as I now travel Nevada, Arizona, and points east instead. Loads of competitively priced RV parks in the states east of California.

DAS26miles wrote:Just took a look at California's new reservation system. Doesn't appear user friendly to me. Maybe I just need to get used to it. Found it very difficult to even get to my frequented campgrounds. Perhaps I will have better luck getting a site with the new rolling 6 month in advance reservations and maybe not. It says online reservations can be made 24/7, but I can't find what time the window opens each day. Is it at 12:01am, 8 am or 10am?I have found the new site to be very perplexing. It is very much a step down from ReserveAmerica in both functionality and user friendliness.Let's say you want to make a reservation. If one opens the link provided for CA. State Parks in RV.net, this is where you end up: LINK Once there, if you simply want to make a reservation where do you go? There is nothing intuitive about where to go just to make a reservation. If you select "Visit a Park" then you can search by name. Once you find the park you are looking for then you select "Reservations" and another page comes up that offers a link that says "Online Reservations". If you select that it opens a completely different website (LINK) in a new tab. From there you have to re-enter the name of the park you just found on the other site. (So this is the link you want to save for future reference.) Once you enter the park name you are invited to pick a date. Dates that are 'reservable' are highlighted and bright, and as you scroll into the future the non-reservable dates are 'grayed out'. But if the park is seasonal dates will still be highlighted even if they are not reservable. Then you have pick the length of your stay (no issues there) and there is also a Choose Activity drop down menu. To make a camping reservation you simply select Camping and Lodging...but if you notice, one of the options is for Hearst Castle Tours. Really? Why would that be there as an option for every campground in California even if Hearst Castle could be 500 miles away (try google maps: Burney Falls to Hearst Castle)After selecting "GO" the next screen that opens is a general information page about the park, listing options available for reserving (camping vs cabins, etc.). You then select the one you want and another window opens that shows the sites that are available for the dates you want.But how does the site know if you have a small tent or a large RV? You have to scroll all the way down to the bottom and select FILTERS to input your information. And the info. is generic so it will fit ALL State Parks, so you can ask for a river side boat site with hookups even if your campground has no such features.Now that you have input your features, let's look at a map to see where the available sites are...we don't want to be by the road or the restrooms, right? But wait, there IS NO MAP. OK, no map, so you just pick a site that is available. When you click on the green square for your date a window does at least pop up to give you some info. on the site...but no photo. Unless you know the campground already and know the sites you want you are just running blind!Can you tell I'm a little frustrated ????Steve

Only the California government could get rid of a lousy reservation system and replace it with an even worse system.And I'm a retired California state employee.I only wish they would have used whoever designed Oregon's state park reservations system.

Sounds as bad as the California DMV. Let's see how hard we can make it.

I have a Distinguished Veterans Pass but have not used it since last spring. I tried making reservations with the new convoluted system and found that there was no record of my pass. I called and was told that after July of ’17 we needed a new pass. They have my email but nothing was sent with this information. My old pass application was done through the mail but the new one must be done in person. An office is 15 miles away so I ran down and had a new temporary pass in 10 minutes. I was told all information was now on file and would show up the next time I made a reservation. She was correct as I was not charged for the next reservation which is the privilege received by the pass in recognition of my fighting and dying for this country. However, this new system now charges a $7.99 reservation fee which was not charged in the past. I know this is a small matter but the change is still an annoyance.

Calif State Parks New Reservation System | Good Sam Community

calberry
Explorer
Jan 20, 2018
RognBon wrote:
I just tried Plumas-Eureka, and while there is no map, if you click on a site number from the list, it does describe the site. There is no image of the sites currently available, but it says there will be soon. Part of the problem may be that you have to search for a date after Memorial Day, when the park opens for reservations.

I am very familiar with Plumas, as we go there 2-3 times each summer (including Memorial Day...and I was able to get reservations for Memorial day in our favorite site on the first minute reservations opened). So I was more concerned about other people and what they would see when they go in and try to make reservations. I find it very lacking in information for the 'un-informed'. But I assume over time that will improve.

Thanks for your help.

Now I have to figure out why I can't get the website to open correctly in Chrome. I will probably have to re-load it (or just use Firefox, or my wife's laptop, when we want to make state park reservations.)

Steve
RognBon
Explorer
Jan 20, 2018
I just tried Plumas-Eureka, and while there is no map, if you click on a site number from the list, it does describe the site. There is no image of the sites currently available, but it says there will be soon. Part of the problem may be that you have to search for a date after Memorial Day, when the park opens for reservations.
calberry
Explorer
Jan 19, 2018
CA Traveler wrote:
No CG sites shown for Plumas-Eureka.

Thanks, I'm assuming since it's such a small campground and open only seasonally that it's low on their priority list.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jan 19, 2018
No CG sites shown for Plumas-Eureka.
calberry
Explorer
Jan 19, 2018
CA Traveler wrote:
Tried one CG and got the same map with Firefox and Chrome.

Do me a favor if you would. Try Plumas-Eureka State park and see if you get a map for it.

Thx

Steve
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jan 19, 2018
Your problem is solved - Have DW make the reservations.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jan 19, 2018
Tried one CG and got the same map with Firefox and Chrome.
ppine
Explorer II
Jan 19, 2018
I have three dogs so I rarely ever go to any CA State Park.
calberry
Explorer
Jan 19, 2018
RognBon wrote:
Posted By wrote:
Firefox has the main page layout just as you described, but chrome does not

That's very strange, because I use Chrome and it works as I described.

OK, my wife's laptop is on the table right next to me, and she too uses Chrome. I had her open the site...and it worked :? Maybe I've got a setting that is disallowing the site to work properly.

Steve
RognBon
Explorer
Jan 19, 2018
Posted By wrote:
Firefox has the main page layout just as you described, but chrome does not

That's very strange, because I use Chrome and it works as I described.

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