# Reservations, How To Do Them Right?



## dapozer (Apr 4, 2013)

I have worked through the reservation system for federal and state for a few trips in the PUP when we had it, but now with the 230rs I find myself wanting to have a determined location before leaving the house. I also live in a very active "RV" state (Colorado) and am starting to find trouble landing spots to camp in. So, how do you go about scheduling your camping? It is almost becoming a PITA trying to find a place to go.


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## cdawrld (Jul 31, 2011)

I like the state and Federal camping websites. Shows if a site is available or when it will become available.

Federal Recreation

Your best bet is to plan way ahead.


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## john7349 (Jan 13, 2008)

I find myself having to make reservations 6-8 months ahead of time at popular Federal and State campgrounds. KOA about a month, but usually costs more.


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## Gilligan (Aug 25, 2006)

In many cases, the reservation will need to be made as soon as the time window opens if you are going to a popular destination. Most state and federal tend to run several months up to a year out. In extreme cases, you need to hit the reservation site at "opening bell", such as 9:00AM (or whenever it is) on the first day you are inside the window. And in the most extreme cases, you need to be a "cheater". Reservation rules say that you can't reserve until you are in the time window, BUT that applies to the FIRST day of your reservation, not the LAST. What some people will do, if they are only planning on camping a single week or even just a weekend, will reserve an entire block of 14 days (usually the Fed and State limit), beginning 14 days BEFORE their last planned camping day. After they are inside the window for the days they actually want, they will call the reservation center and cancel that first week, or whatever days they will not be camping, leaving only the desired days. Usually, there is only a $10 fee for reservation modifications, so compared to the total oost of the trip, that is just a mere pittance. I know I am giving up secrets of the reservation system "power users", but thought I would pass this on. I have never employed the "cheater method", but have been the victim of it. I wait until the window opens for a single week, log into the system at "opening bell", and lo and behold, all the good sites are already taken and I have to choose from the ones nobodys wants....ones that are too short, too narrow, next to the sewer lift station, etc.

In case you don't know already, here are the usual reservation sites:
ReserveAmerica -- Good for Federal, State, and in some cases, private
Recreation.gov -- Good for Federal
And here is a site you cannot make reservations, but does have individual site photos, which is helpful when making site-specific reservations. It is not all inclusive, but may have photos of where you are interested in. I have found it to be very useful.
CampSitePhotos

Hope this helps.

Gilligan


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