Cammpground Rant

[garmp]

What is going on all of a sudden????
Planned a trip to the Hill Country of Texas for about three weeks in April. We are not ones for reservations and pretty much play it by ear. Plan an itinerary of the general areas with campground options and the approximate dates and go from there.
We will be leaving the mid-west to Texas shortly, and after researching campgrounds of our choice find that most all are FULL on the weekend, especially Easter weekend. Who'd a thunk! Even our local parks are full. Where'd all these people come from?
When did RVing become that popular?
Sorrow is the days gone past when we would just pack up and hit the road in a general direction and always find a nice campground. Guess I'm/we're just getting old and crotchety.
Thanks for letting me rant

[Airdaile]

AutoCamp closed a campground that was around for 60 years, cleared it out and brought in new Airstreams.

“These are high end, experiential outdoor locations,” Cox said of AutoCamp’s other campsites.

I didn't even know experiential was a word.

Back on topic, I wouldn't worry about the recent surge in the number of people RVing. Most of them bought within the last couple of years because they saw a show on the Travel Channel and will discover that it's too much work and sell their 2 year old coach at a loss.

[JKJavelin]

This is not helping: We are staying at an RV park tonight in Benton, Arkansas on our way back to Wisconsin. They are closing at the end of the month to make way for a new Ford dealership.

[Bob806]

LanceRKeys wrote:
I went to a small RV lot here, the guy said he sells about 100 units a year! I can only imagine how many the big ones sell. Camping on a whim is just about a thing of the past, unless you are in a tent, I think that gives you more options.

Bingo. I read that RV sales have seen a steady increase the last 12 years. Lots of us enjoy it, so it forces the plan-ahead game.

[TexasShadow]

Easter being "late" this year puts it right on the end of Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, so that's two weeks right out of the middle of April. Right now, the wildflowers are in bloom and it's a super bloom year, so lots of folks out sightseeing, etc.

[dedmiston]

I think it's also a sign of the strong economy. RV travel is really popular again.

[GizmosMom]

Easter weekend is a three day weekend for most. The weather is warmer and is frequently the first camping weekend of the year for many folks.

When we lived in Michigan Spring Break was always around Easter time. Not sure when it is now. Easter is late this year.

Please look at State Park and COE parks to see if any have openings.

By the way, our wildflowers are totally awesome this year!

[LanceRKeys]

JKJavelin wrote:
We stayed at Inks Lake State Park, near Austin, a week ago, Sunday to Sunday. During the week the place was mostly full of seniors. On Friday the people next to us had to leave because there were no available sites. Friday night and Saturday night there were many unoccupied sites. Apparently reserved by some who decided to not show up. What a shame.

I see that a lot here. In the summer all sites will be booked if the temperature goes over 100, less than half of the reserved sites will be in use. I think there should be additional fines for no-shows.

[wanderingdawgs]

We were traveling in the Hill Country around Easter in 2015. We had to leave Inks Lake on Good Friday. I started calling RV parks on Thursday and found a site at Riverway RV Park in Llano at the last minute. The staff was great and it just so happened the Llano Fiddle Fest was going on. Turned out to be a great weekend with a hike at Enchanted Rock, the Fiddle Fest, and Cooper's BBQ had some of the best BBQ we had in Texas. I hope you will be able to find something!

[TxGearhead]

We have already had school Spring Break here. Assume most of Texas has as well.
Texas is just getting too popular. It's a terrible place. Nothing to see or do here. Stay in California and New York.

[ACZL]

FWIW, I've seen a TON of new RV's being transported east towards Albany, NY on the T-way past 2-3 weeks.

[JKJavelin]

We stayed at Inks Lake State Park, near Austin, a week ago, Sunday to Sunday. During the week the place was mostly full of seniors. On Friday the people next to us had to leave because there were no available sites. Friday night and Saturday night there were many unoccupied sites. Apparently reserved by some who decided to not show up. What a shame.

[EgorKC]

Crowe wrote:
I think you may also be crossing over school vacations.

I'm glad so many others live a clockwork life where they can plan things down to the day 6+ months ahead.

Those of us who do plan ahead don't necessarily live a "clockwork" life. Many of us are locked into vacation time well in advance due to competition for time off at our jobs. Juggling back-up coverage, projects, etc., causes many of us to have to pick a week well in advance. Campgrounds are booked so there's no worry about finding a place. Not all of us have the luxury of "hey, let's just go!".

Yep. Crowe stated our situation exactly.
Greg

[K_Charles]

We never make reservations and only once in 35 years did someone say they were full. We never go on holidays. We just got back from 5 weeks in the Carolinas. Calling ahead the day of and the day before it happened at 6 places. Maybe spring break, maybe we stayed near the beach maybe there are too many people RVing.

[rexlion]

I'm pretty sure the public school spring breaks were in March (OK was 3rd week of March). Not positive about universities, but I'd think they would have been about the same time (March).

[Edd505]

Spring Break for the school kids.