How can I travel without making reservations

[raldl]

I am new to camping. I have a 22 foot trailer and plan to tour the western U.S. I would like to be spontaneous, so I have not made reservations at any campgrounds. I am now worried about getting a camping spot in the more popular areas (Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Canyon). I want to be in the Yellowstone area in early Sept and Grand Canyon in Oct. I am reading that reservations are recommended (is it too late?) and generators are not allowed at the first come, first served campgrounds (my battery will only last one night). HOW DO YOU DO IT???

[2gypsies1]

Atlee wrote:
Sometimes it's a problem like I'll have next year. I need to be in Omaha, NE the first weekend in May. I want to get to Yellowstone towards the end of May. But there are a lot of places I want to go to on the way to Yellowstone. I want reservations in Yellowstone, yrt I have no idea how much time i'll need to visit the Black Hills, Custer State Park in SD, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, Little Big Horn, and Cody before getting to YSNP.

I can guarantee you that you will not have a problem going to those places in May or early June without reservations. Take it easy on yourself and just go.

[CA_Traveler]

One poster said he calls in the afternoon and asks for half price for one night. It's like you can get half the rate for a otherwise empty site. Ask to talk to the owner/manager vs a desk clerk.

[Atlee]

Sometimes it's a problem like I'll have next year. I need to be in Omaha, NE the first weekend in May. I want to get to Yellowstone towards the end of May. But there are a lot of places I want to go to on the way to Yellowstone. I want reservations in Yellowstone, yrt I have no idea how much time i'll need to visit the Black Hills, Custer State Park in SD, Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, Little Big Horn, and Cody before getting to YSNP.

bigdogger wrote:
If you know when you are going to be somewhere, what is the problem with making a reservation? It is not like you are just going to stumble on to either of those parks while just be-bopping down the highway. With Yellowstone, many of the campgrounds start to close down in September. Even though there are less people, there are also less sites. If you get there and there is no room at the inn, it can be 50 or more miles to a park with availability In the summer I have seen the park where we stay telephoning other parks looking for a vacancy for a last minute guest needing to go out nearly 100 miles before finding said open site. You will probably find a site with little or no notice, but why chance it?

[Veebyes]

I don't understand the great fear of traveling without reservations. It is easy enough. The high demand areas will be high demand, especially Fridays & Saturdays. Most SPs save a few sites for drive ins. Get there Thursday or early Friday & there usually is space.

The FHU sites go first. Don't know why. All RVs can carry enough water for at least a couple of daays & all parks have dumps. Dry sites are the easiest to get. Who needs power if it is not cold or oppressivly hot?

If the CG of choice is full there is always another not too far down the road. Don't drive in at 6:00PM & expect a choice site. Not going to happen. Get there early to mid afternoon.

It is not hard to do if you are flexible & know how to play the game.

[wbwood]

Depends on where you want to be, when you want to be there and with what type of park is acceptable to you.

We still both work and have limited time off together. So for us, reservations it is. We do not want to HAVE to park overnight in a parking lot somewhere because we couldn't get in anywhere. We also like to know what to expect when we get somewhere. As long as it's not a dump, it's clean and it's safe, then we are pretty much ok with it. We depend on reviews from others as well. If a bunch of people call it a dump, then I'm not going to even waste my time. I also don't want to spend half my day trying to figure out where I can stay for the night. All my plans are arranged before the trip.

Now as we get older, have no kids at home and can travel when we want, where we want and for as long as we want, then we will relax a little. We will still know where we are parking before we get there though. My boss is learning this now. Tried to get reservations for this weekend this past week for a couple places. Everything already booked up.

[2gypsies1]

You definitely will not have a problem with your 22' for Yellowstone in September or Grand Canyon in October. There are even campgrounds that don't accept reservations and Mammoth c.g. in Yellowstone is open all year round without reservations.

If your concern is generators, Norris and Mammoth in Yellowstone are both non-reservable and accept generators 8am to 8pm. Both are open all of Sept.

Yellowstone Campgrounds

[Tvov]

raldl wrote:
.... I am reading that reservations are recommended (is it too late?) and generators are not allowed at the first come, first served campgrounds (my battery will only last one night). HOW DO YOU DO IT???

When we "dry camp" (without electric or water hookups), our battery (standard 12v RV/marine deep cycle battery) can last almost a week. This is with being very careful with electric usage in the camper. We actually use battery camping lanterns inside the camper at night. Basically, treat the camper as a big, hard sided tent. Don't turn anything on unless you really need it, and shut it off immediately when done.

When I know we'll be dry camping for a week, I also bring a spare battery so I don't have to worry about it. You can make your battery(s) last a long time if you are careful.

The Honda 2000watt RV generators are amazing how quiet they are. Please, please don't buy a "contractor" generator unless you really have to.

[oldchief7155]

If you decide to buy a generator, buy a Honda or Yamaha or other quiet one. Contractor "el cheapos" will get you acquainted with the local tar and feather crew.

[wanderingdawgs]

As others have said, you won't need reservations except for some of the National Parks and some of the popular state parks. If you can't find a site IN the public park there are always campgrounds near the popular destinations. If you really want to be in a specific national or state park then make reservations far in advance and plan the rest of your trip around getting to that location on a specific date and play it by ear the rest of the time. For example, we planned an entire 3 month trip out west around when we could get reservations at Custer State Park in South Dakota!

When we are traveling we often don't know where we'll be until the day before or the morning of the day we will check in so I will call ahead to see what is available. We've never been without a place to stay and we don't ever stay at Walmarts, Flying J, or rest areas. We usually stop around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. There are great apps out there for your smart phone to help you find places to camp.

My 2 cents worth - you are retired now so don't try to drive too many miles each day without taking the time to enjoy the journey. Some of the places we have enjoyed the most are off the beaten path.

The main thing is to have fun and don't stress about it! Happy travels!

[tatest]

I travel 3-4 weeks at a time, most of it in "the West" relative to your starting point, and don't usually make reservations.

But I don't go on the three big summer holiday weekends. I don't try to be at major events like races, ballon festivals, air shows, annual fairs, rodeo finals or biker meets. I try to make may visits to "must see" tourist destinations during relatively slow periods.

If you want to be at a high-demand location, or at an event that fills all accommodations, you need a plan, and that usually includes reservations, either by yourself or with a group.

At "events" quite a bit of what is available is already booked by commercial or club affiliated group travel operations, and to be there it is easiest and often least expensive (because they've bought in at a fraction of "rack" rate, let alone event rate) to join the group.

[Lucyc858]

I just wrote you a long message about rving without reservations. You have chosen to only accept messages from people on your buddy list so I can't send it. Add me if you want my ideas. We have been rving with only a few reservations for 40 years.

[Tanya6520]

Start searching early. Maybe 3 pm.

[rfryer]

I think your 22’ TT is really a 26’ one so you may have limitations on the smaller, first come, first serve, more primitive campgrounds. If you want hu’s you’re far more limited. There is only one cg in YS and one in the Tetons that have hu’s. Regarding generators, some cg’s allow them and some don’t. For example last I know they’re not allowed in Tower, Slough Pebble Creek, Lewis Lake and Indian Creek campgrounds in Yellowstone. There are commercial cg’s outside the park that have hu’s, but YS is huge and it makes more sense to me to stay inside the park to reduce the driving.

If you’re traveling the west, there’s a lot of public land and you’ll have a great many options to find a place to camp without reservations. But it will be dry camping or boondocking. If you’re boondocking you can likely run your generator as much as needed because you won’t have any neighbors. If you’re in something like a national forest cg you can unusually run them within certain hours.

I pull a 16’ TT so I can usually get in anywhere anytime. Twice in 50 years and many trips to YS I got in late and couldn’t find a site in the dark. So once I stayed in Fishing Bridge, an experience I don’t want to repeat, and once I boondocked outside the park. Both times I easily got a site the next morning. So try to get to the parks early.
I never make reservations; I want total freedom of movement when I’m traveling and I almost always stay on public land. But on a very few occasions I’ve been caught with no public land in the area and the DW just calls ahead to commercial cg’s and finds a spot. We’ve never failed to get one, either, so that’s another way to be spontaneous and still find a campsite.

If your battery only lasts one night you’re either running the furnace fan or being too generous with the use of your resources. I couple of deep cycle batteries and LED lights would be a significant improvement, but being more frugal would be best. I have one group 27 battery and it will last the best part of a week. But I only use one light unless I really need more, the water pump is off until I need it, and I don’t carry tv’s or electronics. Oh, and I don’t use the furnace.

In short, if you’re not comfortable with not having the security of a confirmed campsite you’re best off to sacrifice the spontaneity and make reservations. If you can deal with the uncertainty, you should have many options to camp without them.

[Oregon_Ms]

Don't worry. I've been camping in the west all of my life. Unless it's a major holiday or a summer weekend at a popular park, or I'm looking for hookups in a national park I never make reservations either, Yosemite being an exception.

I was at Grand Canyon last October, it was full in the trailer/RV park, I was glad I had reservations. That said, there is plenty of camping in Williams, AZ (outside of the park) anytime of the year and it's a fun place to hang out in the evenings.

I don't like adhering to a schedule either. I like it that way. You'll do fine with that little trailer.