Minnesota State Parks go reservation only for camping
We have camped in MN State Parks for years and we love it.
We are also impulse campers. If we get the bug, we say "let's go camping this week." We're not the sort of people who make reservations 1 year out and then have to abide by a schedule we've set for ourselves.
This has always worked fine, because MN State Parks have always had about 60% of their campgrounds on the reservation system, and about 40% non-reservable or first come/first served. Sure, sometimes on busy weekends there are none available, but usually during the week you can get a non-reservable campsite.
But MN DNR has just announced that they are putting ALL of their campgrounds on the reservation system "as an increased service and convenience to the public."
I don't consider this a good thing. Under the old system, if you got a non-reservable site, you could decide to stay as long as you wanted (up to 14 days) just as long as you re-upped by 11 AM. But now with all slots on the reservation system, even if you find a slot that is open and claim it with a "same-day reservation" made at the park, someone else may have already reserved it for the next night, or 3 days from now and you will have to leave.
I understand that having some, or even a majority of sites on the reservation system is a good thing, and we've reserved sites when we are travelling and want to ensure a place to stay along our route. But I also think that at least some sites should continue to stay as first come, first served for those who are a bit less structured in their travels.
We are also impulse campers. If we get the bug, we say "let's go camping this week." We're not the sort of people who make reservations 1 year out and then have to abide by a schedule we've set for ourselves.
This has always worked fine, because MN State Parks have always had about 60% of their campgrounds on the reservation system, and about 40% non-reservable or first come/first served. Sure, sometimes on busy weekends there are none available, but usually during the week you can get a non-reservable campsite.
But MN DNR has just announced that they are putting ALL of their campgrounds on the reservation system "as an increased service and convenience to the public."
I don't consider this a good thing. Under the old system, if you got a non-reservable site, you could decide to stay as long as you wanted (up to 14 days) just as long as you re-upped by 11 AM. But now with all slots on the reservation system, even if you find a slot that is open and claim it with a "same-day reservation" made at the park, someone else may have already reserved it for the next night, or 3 days from now and you will have to leave.
I understand that having some, or even a majority of sites on the reservation system is a good thing, and we've reserved sites when we are travelling and want to ensure a place to stay along our route. But I also think that at least some sites should continue to stay as first come, first served for those who are a bit less structured in their travels.
