to reserve or not to reserve

[kwise_6]

I’ve been RVing for about a year now, and every time I plan out a road trip I am careful to include reservations at parks along the way. However, I’m getting the bug to just get on the road and go – not necessarily knowing in advance where I will end up on any given day. A carefully planned road trip would obviously negate the freedom of taking it day by day for a change. I’m sure many others have done this, and I’m just wondering how often they may have run into any serious problems with finding space at campgrounds. I’m sure geographic locations (very popular locales) as well as seasons would play into this scenario. Nonetheless, I would be interested to hear what others have done along this same line. If anyone would like to share their experiences and insight, I would certainly appreciate it. Thanks!

[mike2wheels]

We found making reservations is a sure-fire way to jinx our trip, so we usually just wing it. However, we will make reservations if the area is expected to be crowded or we want a specific site.

[rexlion]

Oregon Ms wrote:
I rarely make reservations. I never know where I'm going to be one day to the next. The exception would be destinations like Disney, big cities or National Parks in the busy season. Keeping to a fixed schedule kind of takes the free-wheeling fun out of it for me. I try to leave the schedules at home.

X2. I often pick out 2 or 3 possible campgrounds that I might stay at, depending on how far I get and how I feel. If the first one I stop at is full (a rare occurrence), I move on to the next.

[TrailerTravele1]

Frustrated here. Not by overnight reservations, we usually just drive & figure it out along the way. But to stay in National Parks ... or even State Parks these days, it seems like we almost need reservations. You'd think I'd have learned that lesson last winter... but no, back in March I was having trouble with reservations for Winter 2017/2018.

If you really want to camp somewhere, be sure you know what the reservations "rules" are -- 6 months (vs 180 days), 11 months or some other magic number. I'm hopeful that we'll get somewhere to live in south Florida February 2018 .... because I waited too long for the best (read, most cost effective....) reservations.

And spring? Forget Amelia Island, St Augustine .... no reservations available at the state parks we wanted. Oh well, maybe I'll learn next year?????

Not like what we expected. We really thought we could go to nat'l parks west in September and have open spots on a first come first serve basis.... not so last September ... even the rangers were saying they've never seen it this busy in mid-September. Plus alot of campgrounds close because it's "out of season" so spots are limited. Aaaarrrgggg.....

Not sure what the conclusion is ... but our experience since 2015 is not what we anticipated.... we wanted to wander ....

[nineoaks2004]

I like to make reservations, I do not care for surprises and after a long day at the wheel I like to set up and relax.

[Ivylog]

We average three months out West every other year without reservations. Last summer we went to S Lake Tahoe on Labor Day without a reservation and found a site at our first choice BUT it was on Monday not Friday. Being self contained helps and thinking outside the box on places to overnight...one of my favorite is small airports, helps.

We usually only have a general idea of where we want to go. Last summer it was WY and CA ending up at the balloon fest where we did have reservations. If we need FHU we will call midday and make a reservation since we have a good idea of how far it's to our next stop. We had hoped to get to the S Rim on Thursday but we stayed at the N Rim a day longer because of weather so all of the CGs that take reservations were full BUT our favorite type... USFS that do not take reservations a couple miles south of the Rim had plenty of sites. By Saturday it was fairly full.

[ncrowley]

It depends on where you are going. For example, I reserved a site for July in Estes Park in February and the RV park was just about full when I called. There is a very popular RV park in Heber City UT that you need to reserve far in advance. If it is destination area, then you will need to make reservations far in advance. Otherwise, if you call sometime around noon, you can usually get a spot where you plan to stop that day.

[wa8yxm]

TO a very great extent it depends on when you are traveling.

Example: Next weekend is memorial day.. July 4, Labor day.. All busy days

This weekend within 50 miles of Xenia, OH.. Very busy (I just got back from Xenia) In fact I was unable to get a reservation for the full weekend. (Changed when I got here and down-graded my site needs.. NOTE: Not a hardship at all.. I don't need sewer for this short a stay)

OH, The main crossroads in Xenia in the morning.. Forget it, parking lot, as thousands of folks like me descend on the fairgrounds.

(I had a very good day there today. Beat most of the traffic because I had a plan that worked very well.. Got everything I wanted to do done, Spent the money I planned to spend. Very happy.)

For fellow Ham Radio Operators reading this.. As I said, for most traffic was a witch. Thanks to good maps and a willingness to "Adventure" and my plan (Eat breakfast in Xenia was the plan by the way... Linda's Cafe, about half a block east of Detroit on the south side of Main) Dinner too. The specials this evenign were 3 for 3 on my favorites list) I avoided most of the traffic jam.

The fairgrounds layout was fantastic.. I got to EVERY exhibitor's booth, Ever Flea Market spot. And more... NO problems, all in one day. WIth the old arena you got lost more than anything.

[Crowe]

The biggest mistake you can make RVing is having to be in a certain place at a certain time.

Disagree. For those of us with limited time it's sometimes the only alternative. While it does make for some stress at times, arriving at a destination and not being able to find a place to stay can be more stressful. "Structure" for some when traveling is not a dirty word.

I'm a planner so I always made reservations. I don't like surprises, especially bad ones! I also didn't have the luxury of traveling much other than peak season. If you are traveling off-season or in a not-so-sought-after area then reservations probably aren't necessary. During peak seasons or in popular places reservations are probably recommendated.

[darsben1]

Make a reservation for your destination specially if in a popular area. On the road anyplace will do for 1 night even a rest area is fine

[Lwiddis]

Me too, Sadie. Always somewhere to stay if the parks are full. Too much structure takes lots of the adventure away.

[midnightsadie]

I like your idea we just go some thing will show up,if not theres all ways wal mart. I,m retired don,t like a have to do list.

[Dr_Quick]

What I do is go to the campground reservation site, and see what is available for my date a few days to a week in advance. If there are a lot of places open for the date that I want, I don't worry about a reservation.
If however it is a destination site or a holiday weekend, then I will make a reservation while on the road.

[STBRetired]

Usually make reservations for the first overnight stop(s) and the first destination. After that, we call for reservations from the road as we decide where we are going. Usually get our first choice of campgrounds, but occasionally have to fall back to second choice. DW does that from the nav seat while I drive.

[Sandia_Man]

As you indicated, making reservations during popular summer weekends, busy holidays, or peak tourism seasons is advantageous. There are times we reserve ahead if we want a specific site for a location we have visited before, other than that we wing it knowing where we are going will have some availability. As mentioned above, RvParky app on our smartphone has every type of RV listing available for the region we are currently located. Being 100% self-contained if we luck out we can overnight anywhere and still enjoy all the creature comforts our rig provides.

[jplante4]

Our rule is if we want to be in a certain place at a certain time, we reserve. Otherwise, we try to have the "next place" lined up and looking for where we go after that. The biggest mistake you can make RVing is having to be in a certain place at a certain time.