Finding a Camping Spot During These Peak Travel Times

[Flanz]

Hello All,

Well, another season has just about pasted us by and we are very close to purchasing a new MH. Most likely Jan - Feb 2016. We stepped out of this season because we sold our 15 year old coach.

So, I've got a question for all the part time as well as full time campers and also the weekend warriors. How did everyone find travelling around the country this year? Since the price of fuel was relatively low and, this is a big AND, the economy is suppose to be getting strong 🙂 Was it easy to find sites and just pull in OR did folks have to make sure that they have reservations? I've heard that it's getting difficult to move around and find sites if you don't have reservations.

We plan to go full-time in the fall of 2016 and we're trying to gauge what we need to do to move around freely.....Especially if we're in a 45' coach.

-paul

[Flanz]

holstein13 wrote:

Flanz wrote:
Your right, not a full-timer, at least not yet! We plan to be there about this time next year, possibly sooner, but we have been RVing since 1992 and camping forever.

We are currently seeking advice from realtors on selling our house. Most of the junk collected over the years is gone and when the house goes, so will the remaining stuff. We're on our way, tomorrow, to the Hersey RV show in Pennsylvania with the hopes of finding our full-timing MH. I think we already know which one, but it will be awesome to see it and walk thru it.

I started this thread to understand how most fulltime RVers seek out and get into campgrounds around the country. We always made reservations, because like you, we need to go back to work on Monday or after a week or two vacation. I still remember back in the 90's not having to make a reservation at all when we went for the weekend. It was great because if it rained, we didn't go or lose any money. Times have changed....

That sounds great. I'm very impressed that you've cleared out all the junk from your home in anticipation. I couldn't get my wife to commit 100% to that so we only sold about 80% of what we had.

I think you'll love Full-timing. You'll probably find that reservations will become a source of stress rather than a source of relief once you go full-time. It really cuts down on your flexibility. I guess it's only money, but it still pains me to lose a deposit on a reservation.

Of course, you'll always need reservations for popular places at popular times. That's just the way it is. Sometimes you can get lucky, but not always.

I'm really lucky when it comes to my bride. She and I are on the same page when it comes to full-timing. She can't wait!! She has been doing most of the closet cleaning and encouraging me to go through my stuff. We're almost done and should/will be done during the winter months. We already bought our retirement coach during the Hersey show and all that will be left is selling the house....

-paul

[Bill_Satellite]

As an example about finding it hard to find camping in popular places during prime camping times, we recently we heading down the West Coast and wanted to stop in Pismo Beach in August. With a whole lot of phone calls we found one campground that had 1 site for 1 nights. That was perfect as we only planned to be there 2 nights. We then headed for Ventura and found the dry camping along the Pacific Ocean was FULL, FULL, FULL. Dang, our favorite stop. We drove to Emma Beach and lucked into a cancellation. 1 night only. Perfect, again but an absolute last resort as the Wal-Mart does not allow overnight camping. Not sure where we would have gone but it would have been in-land somewhere and a real bummer.

[ncrowley]

We are not full time and we are planners. It is not because we have jobs we go back to. We have found that the destination places we go to fill up. For example, we went to an RV park in Estes Park. We arrived on Tuesday and there was a sign that said there were no sites unless you had a reservation. They were full the entire week. We were there for a reunion so we really needed a spot. We had to delay our trip home for one day because we could not find a place to stop on Saturday night. One town had a wine festival and one a melon festival.

[Pogoil]

Nutinelse2do wrote:

Pogoil wrote:

Nutinelse2do wrote:
The only time I made reservations was this Summer was on the Oregon Coast. And that was only when we wanted to be at a specific rv park, at a certain time. Those reservations were only made
1-3 weeks in advance, at the most.
We have never, not been able to find a place to stay for a night or two by just pulling in somewhere, though, I have made early reservations for a couple of months this winter already.
We have a 33' fifth wheel.

Funny, we have a friend on the Oregon coast and he tells me he has turned away at least 100 RVs this summer.

Pogoil.

And your point is exactly what??:?

My point is the Oregon coast is packed and many are having to drive way past where they wanted to stop because parks are full.

The coast is becoming busy like the California coast. Reservations are becoming the norm here. State parks have signs out more often than not that campground is full.

Pogoil.

[xctraveler]

holstein13 wrote:

Flanz wrote:
Your right, not a full-timer, at least not yet! We plan to be there about this time next year, possibly sooner, but we have been RVing since 1992 and camping forever.

We are currently seeking advice from realtors on selling our house. Most of the junk collected over the years is gone and when the house goes, so will the remaining stuff. We're on our way, tomorrow, to the Hersey RV show in Pennsylvania with the hopes of finding our full-timing MH. I think we already know which one, but it will be awesome to see it and walk thru it.

I started this thread to understand how most fulltime RVers seek out and get into campgrounds around the country. We always made reservations, because like you, we need to go back to work on Monday or after a week or two vacation. I still remember back in the 90's not having to make a reservation at all when we went for the weekend. It was great because if it rained, we didn't go or lose any money. Times have changed....

That sounds great. I'm very impressed that you've cleared out all the junk from your home in anticipation. I couldn't get my wife to commit 100% to that so we only sold about 80% of what we had.

I think you'll love Full-timing. You'll probably find that reservations will become a source of stress rather than a source of relief once you go full-time. It really cuts down on your flexibility. I guess it's only money, but it still pains me to lose a deposit on a reservation.

Of course, you'll always need reservations for popular places at popular times. That's just the way it is. Sometimes you can get lucky, but not always.

Although we are mostly in the No Reservation group we know full timers who can't move unless they have the next 90 days planned and reserved. Some even boondock on a schedule 🙂 Just their style. We are more likely to wake up in the morning and ask "are we staying or are we moving?" and then think about whether to prep for departure or another day of doing whatever.
Paul

[holstein13]

Flanz wrote:
Your right, not a full-timer, at least not yet! We plan to be there about this time next year, possibly sooner, but we have been RVing since 1992 and camping forever.

We are currently seeking advice from realtors on selling our house. Most of the junk collected over the years is gone and when the house goes, so will the remaining stuff. We're on our way, tomorrow, to the Hersey RV show in Pennsylvania with the hopes of finding our full-timing MH. I think we already know which one, but it will be awesome to see it and walk thru it.

I started this thread to understand how most fulltime RVers seek out and get into campgrounds around the country. We always made reservations, because like you, we need to go back to work on Monday or after a week or two vacation. I still remember back in the 90's not having to make a reservation at all when we went for the weekend. It was great because if it rained, we didn't go or lose any money. Times have changed....

That sounds great. I'm very impressed that you've cleared out all the junk from your home in anticipation. I couldn't get my wife to commit 100% to that so we only sold about 80% of what we had.

I think you'll love Full-timing. You'll probably find that reservations will become a source of stress rather than a source of relief once you go full-time. It really cuts down on your flexibility. I guess it's only money, but it still pains me to lose a deposit on a reservation.

Of course, you'll always need reservations for popular places at popular times. That's just the way it is. Sometimes you can get lucky, but not always.

[Flanz]

holstein13 wrote:

willald wrote:
As to how we find a camping spot: We almost always have reservations, that are made well in advance. We are 'planners'. Always have worked that way, and probably always will. I've found that our trips are much more pleasant and relaxing, knowing that I have a guaranteed site where I'm going. In many cases I also know exactly what site I'll have, how much space it offers, etc. We've never had to worry about getting to our destination and not having a campsite we can comfortably fit in. That, IMO, is well worth having to pay some $$ up front for a reservation, and planning ahead to make such reservations.

Many of the places we go, during the times we go, there really is no choice - You will not get a site there without a reservation.

I'm going to guess that you aren't a full-time RVer. The reason I'm saying that is because I used to be exactly like you and when I took 8-10 trips a year, I planned everyone of them meticulously. I wanted to maximize my time camping and reduce any chance of disruptions. For non-full-timers, I fully recommend reservations every single time. Time is too precious to waste trying to find a campground when you need to be back at work on Monday.

Your right, not a full-timer, at least not yet! We plan to be there about this time next year, possibly sooner, but we have been RVing since 1992 and camping forever.

We are currently seeking advice from realtors on selling our house. Most of the junk collected over the years is gone and when the house goes, so will the remaining stuff. We're on our way, tomorrow, to the Hersey RV show in Pennsylvania with the hopes of finding our full-timing MH. I think we already know which one, but it will be awesome to see it and walk thru it.

I started this thread to understand how most fulltime RVers seek out and get into campgrounds around the country. We always made reservations, because like you, we need to go back to work on Monday or after a week or two vacation. I still remember back in the 90's not having to make a reservation at all when we went for the weekend. It was great because if it rained, we didn't go or lose any money. Times have changed....

-paul

[holstein13]

willald wrote:
As to how we find a camping spot: We almost always have reservations, that are made well in advance. We are 'planners'. Always have worked that way, and probably always will. I've found that our trips are much more pleasant and relaxing, knowing that I have a guaranteed site where I'm going. In many cases I also know exactly what site I'll have, how much space it offers, etc. We've never had to worry about getting to our destination and not having a campsite we can comfortably fit in. That, IMO, is well worth having to pay some $$ up front for a reservation, and planning ahead to make such reservations.

Many of the places we go, during the times we go, there really is no choice - You will not get a site there without a reservation.

I'm going to guess that you aren't a full-time RVer. The reason I'm saying that is because I used to be exactly like you and when I took 8-10 trips a year, I planned everyone of them meticulously. I wanted to maximize my time camping and reduce any chance of disruptions. For non-full-timers, I fully recommend reservations every single time. Time is too precious to waste trying to find a campground when you need to be back at work on Monday.

[Nutinelse2do]

Pogoil wrote:

Nutinelse2do wrote:
The only time I made reservations was this Summer was on the Oregon Coast. And that was only when we wanted to be at a specific rv park, at a certain time. Those reservations were only made
1-3 weeks in advance, at the most.
We have never, not been able to find a place to stay for a night or two by just pulling in somewhere, though, I have made early reservations for a couple of months this winter already.
We have a 33' fifth wheel.

Funny, we have a friend on the Oregon coast and he tells me he has turned away at least 100 RVs this summer.

Pogoil.

And your point is exactly what??:?

[willald]

I really didn't hardly notice a difference this season, in terms of how many folks were/are out camping. I'm not convinced that fuel prices have made that much difference. Those that want to get out and camp/RV are doing so, and will do so regardless of what fuel costs.

As to how we find a camping spot: We almost always have reservations, that are made well in advance. We are 'planners'. Always have worked that way, and probably always will. I've found that our trips are much more pleasant and relaxing, knowing that I have a guaranteed site where I'm going. In many cases I also know exactly what site I'll have, how much space it offers, etc. We've never had to worry about getting to our destination and not having a campsite we can comfortably fit in. That, IMO, is well worth having to pay some $$ up front for a reservation, and planning ahead to make such reservations.

Many of the places we go, during the times we go, there really is no choice - You will not get a site there without a reservation.

I imagine that if camping/RVs does get more and more popular as some are saying it is...Yes, it will get more and more difficult for folks that don't plan and make reservations to get in the nicer parks, campsites. Glad that won't be a problem for us. 🙂

[Flanz]

Mr.Mark wrote:
As a general rule, like many others, we call the day of traveling to see if a RV park has space. It seems like 99% of the time we are OK.

If we are going to a more of a 'destination' location, we'll make a reservation a week to a month out. Currently, we are on a trip in North Carolina and the two parks that we wanted were full (reservation made a month ago) but we managed to find a park a little further out of town.

The trees are just barely starting to change so in a month, North Carolina will be crawling with color enthusiasts.

MM.

They have already started their yearly/season migration north here in New England. On my way to work I see MH's moving north on rte 495. Campgrounds will begin to fill up through to the end of October.

[Mr_Mark1]

As a general rule, like many others, we call the day of traveling to see if a RV park has space. It seems like 99% of the time we are OK.

If we are going to a more of a 'destination' location, we'll make a reservation a week to a month out. Currently, we are on a trip in North Carolina and the two parks that we wanted were full (reservation made a month ago) but we managed to find a park a little further out of town.

The trees are just barely starting to change so in a month, North Carolina will be crawling with color enthusiasts.

MM.

[Flanz]

2gypsies wrote:
I answered in your other post. 🙂

Thank you, and I read it....

[holstein13]

Nobody has mentioned the reason why they don't like to make reservations. For me, it's because 1) they usually charge a deposit or the full amount on the credit card and 2) if my plans change, I have to call them back and cancel and 3) if I cancel a reservation, they will keep some or all of the amount I've paid.

I don't blame the campgrounds, but these things make me want to avoid reservations.