Where to camp, reservations etc

[DandD2015]

Good evening,
My wife and I are going to take possession of our Chinook Concourse this week and we were planning to do a little traveling. We'd really like to find a place where we could enjoy peace and quiet, not have too many neighbors, but we don't want to boondock either.

It seems to me that probably the best place would be a state park but when I look on line, everything in the area (north Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas) seems booked up. The other thing I notice is that they seem to require renting for a minimum of two days, which would be a problem for us.

A lot of the "for profit" campground places have amenities that we would not use. Additionally of course they're not as private.

Should we figure to start booking things a month before we'll need them?

[DandD2015]

tatest wrote:
Booked up how? AFAIK the campgrounds in most Oklahoma state parks do not reserve sites. This time of year they are mostly empty, even on weekends, unless you are looking at Halloween. Even for that, they won't be "booked" rather just filled up by thise who came early.

COE campgrounds here typically have about 1/3 of the sites not reservable, so they show as not available on site-by-site reservation systems like recreation.gov. Typically, all sites subject to being closed for floodwater management are never reservable. If not occupied when you show up, the site is yours. You just can't reserve it.

Also, the farther you can drive from Dallas, the more you'll find open, until you get close to another big metro area (e.g. KC).

Specifically, the state park at Bernice, on Grand Lake O' the Cherokees, almost always has a lot of open space at this time of year, unless under water, which is really rare and certainly not the case this year. At the north end of the same lake, Twin Bridges SP has two campgrounds alway high and dry (a third, fishermen's camp, occasionally floods) and empty except for holiday weekends. But that one is almost all the way to Kansas, so even Tulsa folks don't go there, with so many other campgrounds with space closer to home.

Most of the COE recreational access facilities in Tulsa District will have closed all their larger campgrounds by end of October, because the volunteers and workcampers will have gone south for the winter. Most of these projects, however, keep open at least one CG that can be managed by permanent staff, but the sites are not reservable, they are first come, first served.
??
If you limit yourself to camping at places where you can make a reservation, you might be excluding nearly half the opportunities in Oklahoma, and maybe similarly for Arkansas or Missouri.

What I've found with many Texas state parks, northeastern part of the state at least, is that the reservations get shut down off season because demand is so low. Where I've learned I have to be. careful is that many of the SP campgrounds are open weekends only. This hasn't been a problem further south in Texas.

Thanks for the reply!

We ended up staying at Lake Eufaula...they accepted reservations. When we got there, I'd estimate 75-80% of the spots were full. Odd, though---when we got there there was nobody at the welcome center. The sign said just to go and get your spot and you'd pay at the site. Well there was nobody "at" the site (small trailer at inner entrance) so we left a note and went looking. There was a reservation on our spot. We didn't ask for a particular number but we did ask to be away from others, and that's what she gave us.

We were going to stop by at Robbers Cave SP on the way back, just to look around and see if it would be our sort of place, but there was some festival going on and it looked crowded. So I guess if you run into a festival you better have a reservation.

Meanwhile, the wife was talking to a (tent) camper at work who said that he plans about six months in advance to be sure of getting what he wants. We did see signs for some COE sites on the way back. We'll definitely check those out. Now that we have a Wal Mart stay under our belts, we're more confident about backup plans.

[DandD2015]

paradiseag wrote:
We Like COE park, Liberty Hill campground on Lake Navarro Mills, near Hillsboro. It would be close if you can get south of Dallas on I35 in a decent amount of time.

Thanks, we'll check it out!

[tatest]

Booked up how? AFAIK the campgrounds in most Oklahoma state parks do not reserve sites. This time of year they are mostly empty, even on weekends, unless you are looking at Halloween. Even for that, they won't be "booked" rather just filled up by thise who came early.

COE campgrounds here typically have about 1/3 of the sites not reservable, so they show as not available on site-by-site reservation systems like recreation.gov. Typically, all sites subject to being closed for floodwater management are never reservable. If not occupied when you show up, the site is yours. You just can't reserve it.

Also, the farther you can drive from Dallas, the more you'll find open, until you get close to another big metro area (e.g. KC).

Specifically, the state park at Bernice, on Grand Lake O' the Cherokees, almost always has a lot of open space at this time of year, unless under water, which is really rare and certainly not the case this year. At the north end of the same lake, Twin Bridges SP has two campgrounds alway high and dry (a third, fishermen's camp, occasionally floods) and empty except for holiday weekends. But that one is almost all the way to Kansas, so even Tulsa folks don't go there, with so many other campgrounds with space closer to home.

Most of the COE recreational access facilities in Tulsa District will have closed all their larger campgrounds by end of October, because the volunteers and workcampers will have gone south for the winter. Most of these projects, however, keep open at least one CG that can be managed by permanent staff, but the sites are not reservable, they are first come, first served.
??
If you limit yourself to camping at places where you can make a reservation, you might be excluding nearly half the opportunities in Oklahoma, and maybe similarly for Arkansas or Missouri.

What I've found with many Texas state parks, northeastern part of the state at least, is that the reservations get shut down off season because demand is so low. Where I've learned I have to be. careful is that many of the SP campgrounds are open weekends only. This hasn't been a problem further south in Texas.

[paradiseag]

We Like COE park, Liberty Hill campground on Lake Navarro Mills, near Hillsboro. It would be close if you can get south of Dallas on I35 in a decent amount of time.

[DandD2015]

welove2drive wrote:
Hickory Creek campground at Lewisville Lake TX is nice. The gate closes at 10 p.m.(?) Check recreation.gov. We stayed there while visiting friends. Nice big sites. Only con is the gate. You can get out but not back in after 10.

Thanks for the tip! I notice they're closed till November 1 because of flooding but it looks good---pets allowed, not all reserved already.

[welove2drive]

Hickory Creek campground at Lewisville Lake TX is nice. The gate closes at 10 p.m.(?) Check recreation.gov. We stayed there while visiting friends. Nice big sites. Only con is the gate. You can get out but not back in after 10.

[DandD2015]

imgoin4it wrote:
Yes that is the one. Sounds like it is "going away". Was not aware. Too bad. We enjoyed the park.

Looking at that article made me wonder if cutbacks are also a cause of the difficulties. Less funding, parks close, and the existing ones fill up faster. Thanks, anyway!

[imgoin4it]

Yes that is the one. Sounds like it is "going away". Was not aware. Too bad. We enjoyed the park.

[DandD2015]

imgoin4it wrote:
Check out walnut creek corps of engineer park in or by Lewiston just off I-35 E. Don't know how much privacy you want but spots are not too close together and should be fairly close to you.

I am not sure if you meant Lewiston or Lewisville.

https://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2014/10/02/uncertainty-looms-over-walnut-creeks-somber-final-weekend-as-a-state-park/

Is this the one and if so, has their status changed?

[imgoin4it]

Check out walnut creek corps of engineer park in or by Lewiston just off I-35 E. Don't know how much privacy you want but spots are not too close together and should be fairly close to you.

[DandD2015]

Mountain Mama wrote:


One thing you may be running into is that some COE parks do close during winter months, or leave a few sites open for first come first serve basis. Be sure and look at the "Season Dates"also at the top of the Facility details page. Like on this page. This particular park is closed due to damage from spring rains, but others should have more info.

Also checking out RV Park Reviews will give you some other CG options in that might be just as inexpensive as paying for 2 nights when you only need one. Hope this helps some!

I did a little tent camping about ten years ago and it never even crossed my mind to reserve anything in advance. Those were the days, I guess.

I think that yes, sometimes it will be just easier to go to a private campground for one night if they'll allow it.

[Mountain_Mama]

DandD2015 wrote:

Mountain Mama wrote:
For such short trips (time wise) I'd suggest not trying to go so far as San Antonio, etc. Look for something within 2 hrs of Dallas until you can plan further ahead &'find available sites. We love the COE parks as they usually have larger sites and many do have some walk up sites. You'll be surprised that though you may not be very far from home how relaxing it will be just to get away.

And yes, book your weekends as far in advance as possible. For the COE parks thru www.recreation.gov, there is a $10 or so cancellation fee if you happen not to get to go, but to know that you gave a site reserved for your weekend is a good feeling!

We really have two different types of trip in mind. One is the kind you mention: we'd just be out to get some nature, relaxing and walking the dog around a lake or something.

The second is more active. We have targeted towns and cities that we visit. We walk around checking out the old architecture, maybe taking in a museum or something historic, or perhaps enjoying the local yearly festival. Afterward we need a place to park the Chinook so we can sleep.

I looked at COE. For example, I picked a place up near Tulsa. The next available reservation is April 2016. Now maybe we could show up and they'd take us in. But it's 5 hours drive from here.

On the other hand suppose we pick a place just an hour and a half away. We still have to pick up the Chinook from storage, stock it with water etc., drive over...and if they don't have a place for us?

I think the day we need is really our downfall. One (Oklahoma) site had listings that showed how many places were "available," like maybe 10 could accomodate our needs---21' and 30 amp, bringing a dog. But if you click to reserve it shows that Friday-Saturday are already taken. We mainly need Saturdays. We did find a place finally but we have to take Sunday as well, though we'll be long gone before our time is up.

One thing you may be running into is that some COE parks do close during winter months, or leave a few sites open for first come first serve basis. Be sure and look at the "Season Dates"also at the top of the Facility details page. Like on this page. This particular park is closed due to damage from spring rains, but others should have more info.

Also checking out RV Park Reviews will give you some other CG options in that might be just as inexpensive as paying for 2 nights when you only need one. Hope this helps some!

[DandD2015]

Mountain Mama wrote:
For such short trips (time wise) I'd suggest not trying to go so far as San Antonio, etc. Look for something within 2 hrs of Dallas until you can plan further ahead &'find available sites. We love the COE parks as they usually have larger sites and many do have some walk up sites. You'll be surprised that though you may not be very far from home how relaxing it will be just to get away.

And yes, book your weekends as far in advance as possible. For the COE parks thru www.recreation.gov, there is a $10 or so cancellation fee if you happen not to get to go, but to know that you gave a site reserved for your weekend is a good feeling!

We really have two different types of trip in mind. One is the kind you mention: we'd just be out to get some nature, relaxing and walking the dog around a lake or something.

The second is more active. We have targeted towns and cities that we visit. We walk around checking out the old architecture, maybe taking in a museum or something historic, or perhaps enjoying the local yearly festival. Afterward we need a place to park the Chinook so we can sleep.

I looked at COE. For example, I picked a place up near Tulsa. The next available reservation is April 2016. Now maybe we could show up and they'd take us in. But it's 5 hours drive from here.

On the other hand suppose we pick a place just an hour and a half away. We still have to pick up the Chinook from storage, stock it with water etc., drive over...and if they don't have a place for us?

I think the day we need is really our downfall. One (Oklahoma) site had listings that showed how many places were "available," like maybe 10 could accomodate our needs---21' and 30 amp, bringing a dog. But if you click to reserve it shows that Friday-Saturday are already taken. We mainly need Saturdays. We did find a place finally but we have to take Sunday as well, though we'll be long gone before our time is up.

[Mountain_Mama]

For such short trips (time wise) I'd suggest not trying to go so far as San Antonio, etc. Look for something within 2 hrs of Dallas until you can plan further ahead &'find available sites. We love the COE parks as they usually have larger sites and many do have some walk up sites. You'll be surprised that though you may not be very far from home how relaxing it will be just to get away.

And yes, book your weekends as far in advance as possible. On the TX SP booking website there is a link that says .calendar search" where you can see when the next available dates are. For example I looked at Bonham SP for dates of 23-25 & nothing was available, but when I clicked on the "calendar search" I saw the there are 3 sites available over Halloween weekend so you could book those dates if it would work for you! May I also suggest purchasing a TX SP pass if you plan on staying at Tx SPs frequently. The day use fees added to the daily campground fees can add up in a hurry. If you have the pass, it covers the daily fees for everyone in your vehicle. If you are going to tow your car,you don't need an extra pass but if you plan on driving the car following the RV , I'd suggest getting the second pass when you purchase the original one as you get a small discount when you purchase 2; otherwise you pay full price for a second one later if you decide to get one. That is one reason we prefer the COE parks. The are less expensive over all.

For the COE parks thru www.recreation.gov, there is a $10 or so cancellation fee if you happen not to get to go, but to know that you gave a site reserved for your weekend is a good feeling!