Camping is popular

[Oasisbob]

Some of the best camping, in my opinion, is after Labor day. And I guess others are catching on. I went to make reservations for Thanksgiving weekend at Champeog state park here in Oregon and all RV sites are full. So muchg for that idea. My frustration builds when I learn they close down the A loop this time of year. So do they not see the need? At $31 a night they are turning away revenue. What am I missing here?

[garmp]

OP, it's all those dang baby boomers. Retired, bought an rv and now want the freedom they deserve. OH wait a moment, I are one!
Safe travels all!

[mikestock]

SidecarFlip wrote:
My spot is always empty, because I own it.

Maybe YOU should use it sometime. Then it wouldn't always be empty.

[hokeypokey]

As for shortage of rv parks, we spent a week in New Orleans. The park wasn’t fancy but pretty secure. The grounds was a motel torn down after Katrina. Sewer was in place so I thought it was a good idea to develop it that way. I would way more like to own an rv park over a motel !

[profdant139]

I talked to the owner of an RV park not long ago, and he said that yes, off-season travel is way up. He thinks that compared to the recent past, many more folks are retiring in good health and are able to travel into our 70s and beyond. He said that 30 years ago, the typical person of 70 was not up for the rigors of RV travel.

So the off-season crunch may be an unanticipated side effect of better healthcare, better pharmaceuticals, and better dietary habits. We have the same number of campsites as before, but more RV travelers.

Not sure if this is true, but it sounds like it could be true. I certainly see many more reasonably healthy seniors cluttering up my local surf break than I saw 30 years ago. (Note -- I am one of the seniors.) 😉

[ORbiker]

I've got our reservations for News Years week at Neskowin RV Resort.

I'm betting some of the campers that are registered at Champoeg State Park are visiting family in the PDX area.

[floridacamper]

Popular and expensive

[rhagfo]

Oasisbob wrote:
Some of the best camping, in my opinion, is after Labor day. And I guess others are catching on. I went to make reservations for Thanksgiving weekend at Champeog state park here in Oregon and all RV sites are full. So muchg for that idea. My frustration builds when I learn they close down the A loop this time of year. So do they not see the need? At $31 a night they are turning away revenue. What am I missing here?

Keep in mind it a bit of a special weekend, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, and Labor Day weekends are major open house weekends in the Willamette Valley wine country, this includes special events and many of the winery's.
If you are not interested in doing wine tastings, then you might try LL Stub Stewart SP 4 miles north of Hwy 26 on Hwy 47 about 35 miles from downtown Portland.

If travel isn't an issue come on out to the coast, most coastal parks are open during the winter, yes they close down loops to cut cost, and that is based on overall occupancy. In the past we have been to the coast in January and there have only been about two dozen sites occupied.

Some parks also recognize special needs, South Beach and Beverly Beach both open all but the Tent camping loops for the week of the Newport Seafood and Wine weekend in February, and they are both almost reserved full for that weekend.

Most of the coastal parks have loops in the reservation system and usually one loop that is on a first come first served basis.

[Oasisbob]

As helpful as you all are I realized I needed to contact the campground directly which I did. A nice lady returned my call and told me if one loop ends up being full they would allow folks to use the closed loop. Sometimes it is better to go directly to the campground so I have learned. I did find lots of info on OSP and data available in regard to usage. So they know the score but do not always act accordingly

[patbac]

We've gone to Champoeg for 4 of the last 5 Thanksgivings. I always make the reservations in June or July. Any later, and it's all booked.

Last year was cold and dry, the year before that wet and very windy. One year a storm knocked out the power (luckily after dinnertime).
Thankful for it all...

[IdaD]

I know there's limited public land in the midwest and back east, but you guys from the west aren't looking very hard if you can't find a spot to camp any time of year.

[GordonThree]

Same here, the ones that remain open November through April often close all the loops except their smallest, or the one closest to the headquarters building. They claim it's to reduce maintenance costs because they have seasonal budgets. I don't completely buy that excuse - what maintenance is there once the water is turned off and the bathrooms are boarded up?

[goducks10]

GordonThree wrote:
Are you certain they're occupied or just no longer valid for reservations? Michigan typically stops accepting reservations after Oct 31, perhaps other states do as well? When viewing online the spots show as occupied.

Some of the state parks here (Oregon) do close certain loops, but can be filled for overflow on a 1st come 1st serve basis. Champeog St park doesn't seem to offer it like that. They just flat out close some loops.
Knowing how the state of Oregon works it may take years for them to figure out that because of high RV sales more people want to get out and glamp and they could at least leave some loops open for overflow.

[jarata1]

Your right maybe they are just closed for the season

[rhagfo]

Come on out to the coast!