Last minute reservations

[bob8687]

We're going to do our first long trip with our new fiver in the spring. One of the beauties of finally being retired (Jan.3rd!!) will be traveling at a pace that is slow & easy. While it was great fun over the years taking 2 week or so vacations with the kids; those were also frustrating as we tended to have a destination and drove like crazy to get there and then back. Seeing anything else was out and now if we want to stay a day or a week or ?? someplace we can.

Question: While I have researched the many RV parks & Campgrounds along our "probable" route, and know we will be out on the road on this first trip for about three months, how difficult have you all found it to basically leave a site say mid-morning and then try to find something for that evening + a few days added, at one down the road without an advance reservation?

I'm hoping it is not a real hassle as we would like that freedom of travel & schedule as opposed to being locked into "gotta get to the next stop by Wednesday" thing.

Thanks in advance for any pointers and points of view.
Bob

[rockintom]

All depends on the area and time of year. I workamped in Portland, OR for the past 4 years. We have the largest park in the area and in July and August, we are sent folks that came to Portland without reservations from all our competitive parks. Most parks in our area only have 100-125 sites and are always full in those months. Somehow we find a place for them, may not be exactly what/where they want but it's a spot with utilities! It always amazes me the folks that travel holiday weekends dropping in wanting 3 sites side by side, by the pool, without trees for the satellite!!! :B

[Veebyes]

Basically travel with no reservations at all here. Weekdays are never a problem. For weekends at destination areas get there early Friday afternoon, especially at a no reservation SP & stay till Sunday. Holiday weekends, make a reservation or plan to be in a non destination area.

Push comes to shove there is always Walmart.

[skipnchar]

If I traveled with reservations that is about the only style I would ever use. The beauty of retirement is no longer having a schedule to keep.
Good luck skip

[bob8687]

I'm gettin' the idea. That suggestion to stay over the weekend whenever possible makes sense from a couple of angles; being able to secure a mid-week spot and lighter travel congestion from Saturday traffic, especially in the summer months. We're going to limit our driving to less than 300 per day so that should allow some time to go to plan B if we do run into a snag. I've gone on line and created a basic route with stops and have listed with links all the seemingly acceptable RV parks/resorts and then there are the State/Fed and city facilities. (And I'm told Walmart if all else fails!)

Thanks for all the well wishes on the retirement. I've been working for a paycheck of some kind since I was 10. After some years as an operating engineer, then 37 years in law enforcement and now this last ten years as a Town's Safety & Risk Manager I'm READY! Ohhhh am I ever. 🙂

Thanks for all the info and suggestions and We'll see you on the road!
Bob

[Me_Again]

bob8687 wrote:
Meagain & Restless wind: Thanks...yup, figured summer would be the worst for that kind of travel but nice to hear it can be done. As you spoke of, I'd planned on identifying where we would land the next stop and making calls to confirm a site would be available. Just didn't know how successful or frustrating it could be.

And YES....when that date comes I'm DONE! Retirement is going to be a good fit for this guy!

I lot of time I ask if they will be full! If they say no, then I say, ok I hope to see you between 2-3 and do not reserve a site encase something comes up along the way. Memorial Day and Labor Day you will need to book a site in advance! We spent Labor day weekend one year 7 or 8 miles up a river off the coast of Oregon as it was the only site we could book. We paddled our inflatable kayaks amongst the fish boats and they did not gaff or net us!!!

We did fall retirement trips in 2006 and 2007 in western states based on this plan and worked out fine. Chris

[LynnandCarol]

A hard ? to answer as it will depend on the area and time of year. We plot out our travel and make a list parks along the way. Some days we go farther, some not. This allows us to call ahead while we are in route. Weekends are the biggest issue, so we try and get to a park and stay through the weekend, usually thru Monday.

[linnemj]

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement. If you are anything like me, you will never look back!

We just returned from a 9 week trip out to the west coast and we learned a lot about reservations. We reserved almost the entire trip and it was a mistake. There were many places we would have liked to stay longer but could not do so. We camped in mostly state and national parks and traveling in the fall, most has sites open - even Yosemite! I would make reservations for weekend in popular places and take your chances on the other nights. Do what others suggested and be flexible.

[junmy3]

You probably will not have a problems staying in most private parks without reservations, but state and national parks may be different especially on the weekends. I know the reservation systems on a lot of state parks let you see how many spots they have available. Might come in handy for the weekends.
Congratulations on your upcoming retirement. I retired two years ago the last of December. It is great.

[bob8687]

Meagain & Restless wind: Thanks...yup, figured summer would be the worst for that kind of travel but nice to hear it can be done. As you spoke of, I'd planned on identifying where we would land the next stop and making calls to confirm a site would be available. Just didn't know how successful or frustrating it could be.

And YES....when that date comes I'm DONE! Retirement is going to be a good fit for this guy!

[restlesswind]

Not a big problem.We have been doing it for 7+ years.
We try to make sure of a place on holiday weekends,but other than that,we pretty much do as you are planning.
We do call ahead around 1-2PM to make sure there is a suitable spot for us.
We use the Trailer Life guide,and various smartphone apps to figure out where to stop.We usually spend at least 2 nights when we stop.Usually disconnect to take the TV to fuel up.
Finding places to stop is much simpler when traveling in the spring,being as school is in session,and the working folks are not on the road
Ain't retired life just grand?!

[Me_Again]

bob8687 wrote:
We're going to do our first long trip with our new fiver in the spring. One of the beauties of finally being retired (Jan.3rd!!) will be traveling at a pace that is slow & easy. While it was great fun over the years taking 2 week or so vacations with the kids; those were also frustrating as we tended to have a destination and drove like crazy to get there and then back. Seeing anything else was out and now if we want to stay a day or a week or ?? someplace we can.

Question: While I have researched the many RV parks & Campgrounds along our "probable" route, and know we will be out on the road on this first trip for about three months, how difficult have you all found it to basically leave a site say mid-morning and then try to find something for that evening + a few days added, at one down the road without an advance reservation?

I'm hoping it is not a real hassle as we would like that freedom of travel & schedule as opposed to being locked into "gotta get to the next stop by Wednesday" thing.

Thanks in advance for any pointers and points of view.
Bob

Leave at 9 and stop at 2 or 3. Call the day before to book your next stop. Has worked well for us in the fall. Summer is another story!

Chris