# Lots And Lots Of Campers...



## rames90 (Feb 28, 2009)

Today (March 1) at 9 am was the first day to make reservations at one of the nearby family friendly RV parks (Mount Kidd), which is in the Rocky Mountain foothills near Calgary.

I was all geared up to reserve my spot at 9am, I had the computer on had my site picked and my Visa ready to pre-pay.

A few notes about the booking process:
1) On March 1 you can reserve any where from 4-16 nights between June 26 and Sept 8
2) There are only ~200 sites
3) You can book either by telephone or online

One of the features of the online reservations is it shows how many people are currently online. At 8:45 am there were 850 people waiting to reserve spots for the summer holiday season! Wow!

When i noticed how many people were on line I got my reservation as filled out as much possible and just kept hitting F5 to refresh the page so as soon as the reservations opened at 9 I would have everything filled in and just have to choose a site. Luckily I got the week I wanted in the site I wanted.

By 9am there were 1200 people online and all sites were gone for the June 26 and Sept 8 period before 10am!

That's crazy! When I used to camp with my parents we just went where ever, whenever and always got a good spot.

BTW the site was $41/nite for power only.

Is that what it's like everywhere?


----------



## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

That sounds very familiar around here if you want a state park campsite on the beach in Southern California anytime between April and October. You've got to be online at the earliest possible date and then hope for the best. I sometimes make reservations just in case and then if it doesn't work out I cancel. The private campgrounds seem to be a bit better if you can't make plans that far in advance but they cost more and are usually further from the ocean.


----------



## Morgueman (Dec 3, 2006)

My DW tried to get South Carlsbad State Beach and San Elijo State Beach in Southern CA. At 8:00 AM today, they opened both parks up for online booking for dates in September. By 8:03 AM, both parks were full. We got one of the parks (South Carlsbad), but not the other. Eeeeeeeeeesh!


----------



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Some areas are that way. IMO, that either means there are too many people there or not enough sites (usually the former). I'm not a crowds guy so I do that when I need to (to see some special attraction), but as much as possible hit the less crowded campgrounds for a more relaxed experience. On this summer's trip, we will have reservations at 3 campgrounds. The rest won't need any.


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

We stay at a lot of USFS camp grounds that are first come first served and just arrive on Thursday and get more or less what we want. On the big weekends you will see people show up on Tuesday and then put a play tent or a few chairs at some sites to hold for friends that will arrive on Friday. They pay for them but it is frustrating, most of the campgrounds also require that the site MUST be occupied the first night to cut down on this type of site grab but it is not very well enforced.

I have heard the the USFS campgrounds that do take reservations will be going to a rolling 90 day window. So you can not book a site until you are within 90 days. I wonder how well that will work.


----------



## mike (Dec 17, 2006)

We tried to book the valley in yosemite with two computers and two phones with no luck. We were able to book toulmene in yosemite which is about ninety mins from the valley.


----------



## Colorado Outbacker (Jun 6, 2005)

Here we drive into the mountains, find a nice spot next to a creek or lake, set up, build a campfire, mix a perfect margarita, no crowds, no reservations, no fees, wild critters everywhere, Life is Good!!!! Camping Season is here, nothin but smiles from the kids!

Have a great Spring!!!!
Tony


----------



## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

CamperAndy said:


> We stay at a lot of USFS camp grounds that are first come first served and just arrive on Thursday and get more or less what we want. On the big weekends you will see people show up on Tuesday and then put a play tent or a few chairs at some sites to hold for friends that will arrive on Friday.


it's strictly enforced at my dad's usfs campground....


----------



## raynardo (Jun 8, 2007)

This "instantly full" campground reservation system says something about the economy, and the RV industry. What it says, I'm not 100% sure, though.

Maybe a lot of people are only camping a few miles from their respective homes, I'm guessing that's the case in two campgrounds within a few miles of my home: Carlsbad State Beach and Cardiff State Beach. Maybe Arnold (The Governator) should raise the rates (supply and demand) in these popular campgrounds in California?









It is frustrating to find campgrounds 100% booked so far in advance. I plan to take a 6000+ mile trip this summer, and I just don't like to travel on such a rigorous schedule: if this is Tuesday, it must be Yellowstone! I prefer to camp when and where I like, and maybe meet someone who tells me about a campground in a gorgeous place I've never of.

I do, however, travel with full Internet access via a Verizon broadband card, so I can scope out places and make reservations on the fly. That helps.


----------



## SmkSignals (May 2, 2005)

This is one of the many reasons we joined a private campground, Silent Valley Club, here in So.Cal. Believe it or not, you can only make reservations up to 48 hours before arrival. We are going on 3 years here, and have always been able to get in, sometimes calling for a reservation the same day. They have 850 sites, so we are always set up somewhere different within the park. It is truly a great place for families and they have a ton of amenities. The park is up in the San Jacinto mountains, near Idyllwild. About 90 miles from OC and LA counties.


----------

