How much harder and/or stressful is it finding campsites now?

[bigjim]

I saw this years and years ago as volunteer to certain campgrounds. We would sometimes have long lines waiting down the road outside the gate for the cut-off time to claim your site the next day. As has been said at that time they only forfeited one night's fee. To many people that is an insignificant cost to guarantee a spot for the more popular times like holidays and weekends.  It didn't happen much in the winter. Why should they care who they put out as long as they get what they want. Nice to be important.  Some would call in at least on the day they were to arrive to give us a heads up so someone else could get a site.  I don't remember for sure but I believe if we were able to rent their site by closing they could even avoid forfeiting the one nights fee. One reason we could not rent a site by closing is they could even come in after hours so we had to hold a site for them in case they showed up.

[trailertraveler]

We have been RVing about six months a year (March-May, August - October)  since 2004.  My experience is that it has been getting more difficult to find campgrounds/RV parks for the past few years. We prefer not to make reservations more than a couple of days in advance, but the past two years have found that for week or longer stays in a specific location it is a good idea. Our current trailer included a Thousand Trails Zone Pass. Getting a spot in their parks in Florida and Arizona seems to require making reservations as soon as the sixty day window opens. Although, we were able to change dates at 2 out of the 3 parks this year as repair issues with the trailer and Covid issues delayed our departure for a month.  We normally only travel 200-250 miles a day when on the move. So far we have still been successful in finding overnight stops during the week by calling ahead before noon and making a reservation if necessary.  We prefer to travel the Blue Highways and it seems that the campgrounds/RV parks are less crowded during the week than those along the interstates. Fairgrounds are often a good choice for overnights if there is no event scheduled.

This year, we travelled to Central Florida starting the beginning of April. We took the coastal route (US-17) instead of I-95. Overnight stops during the week at our preferred locations were not a problem. Some campgrounds were pretty full, others not so much. We stayed 2 weeks at the Three Flags Thousand Trail Campground in Wildwood, FL. There were quite a few vacant spots the entire time we were there ( I think mostly due to the inability of Canadians to travel). Heading back North, the county park in Brunswick, GA that we like to stay at was booked for the weekends. It was the same the past 2 years. We stayed Sunday- Thursday nights. The campground was about half full during our stay. Searches of the Florida and Georgia State Park websites showed few vacancies for more than one night and often only for the shortest sites (25-30'). Going North we stopped at the Carowinds campground in Charlotte for the weekend. The amusement park was closed so there were lots of sites available which I doubt is normally the case. The Thousand Trails park in Lenoir, NC had vacant spots every night.

Every area is different and sometimes hard to predict. Knowing when big events like Bike Weeks, Nascar, state fairs and festivals are scheduled is helpful to avoiding issues if you are not planning on attending the event. Big construction projects can fill up campgrounds/RV parks in an area for up to months at a time. We have been surprised by a few of these over the years. In those cases, government parks that had short stay limits were usually available for overnights during the week.

 The internet has made trip planning and finding stopovers so much easier than the days of the Woodall Directory and looking for signs along the side of the road.  When planning and researching a trip, I search for the possible overnight stops along our most likely route. I bookmark those that have real time online reservation systems (many of the smaller parks do not). As our trip progresses and plans firm up, I will check these websites to see if sites are getting in short supply. This lets me decide whether to make a reservation or even rethink the route or timing. Reserve America now includes some private campgrounds. The few I checked out seem to show the same information that they do for the public parks in their system letting you see site by site and day by day availability.

Edited May 24, 2021 by trailertraveler

[Kirk W]

13 hours ago, Jinx & Wayne said:

School is still in session. Most of the new Rvers appear to be families.

 

13 hours ago, TXiceman said:

Just wait until school is out. 

I am sorry, but I simply reported what happened, nothing more. Both Saturday nights we were on a major lake where many boaters go. Will it get more busy in summer? Of course but that isn't new, as it was always that way. There is no doubt that new RV purchases are happening more rapidly than construction of new RV sites. There has always been more challenge to find a site that you want in the busier periods, but cell phones have made doing so far less difficult. With covid-19 restrictions lifting there will also be increasing sites available and also those who bought because of covid will have more options again. 

I do expect that it will be at least somewhat more challenging to find places that you wish to stay, but so far the sky has not fallen. 

Edited May 24, 2021 by Kirk W

[bigjim]

might want to reread it maybe after more coffee.  I don't read it as being offended.  Sometimes misreading is called doing a Jim at my house.

[Kirk W]

1 hour ago, bigjim said:

might want to reread it maybe after more coffee. 

Maybe not offended, just correcting me, for whatever reason.   😊 

Edited May 24, 2021 by Kirk W

[Barbaraok]

23 hours ago, Twotoes said:

Escapees have several parks in AZ. Congress, just north of Phoenix,  Casa  Grande, just south of Phoenix. Benson and Yuma also have a camp ground but may be too far for you.

Escapee parks in Casa Grande, Yuma, and Benson are Co-Ops and 55+ parks.

[Jinx & Wayne]

4 hours ago, Kirk W said:

Maybe not offended, just correcting me, for whatever reason. 

No offense or correction was intended.  I had no doubt that your information was accurate.  I was simply adding a caveat that this situation may not last much longer.

Wayne & Jinx
2017 F-350 diesel, dually
2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

[Twotoes]

3 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

Escapee parks in Casa Grande, Yuma, and Benson are Co-Ops and 55+ parks.

Yes but the OP may be over 55. They did not state their age and while in Benson last winter I saw several families staying for a month or less in the rental pool. 

[2gypsies]

48 minutes ago, Twotoes said:

Yes but the OP may be over 55. They did not state their age and while in Benson last winter I saw several families staying for a month or less in the rental pool. 

That's surprising.  Used to be children weren't allowed. 

[Kirk W]

5 hours ago, Jinx & Wayne said:

I was simply adding a caveat that this situation may not last much longer.

It does remain to be seen. We will be heading west in a few weeks so will see what happens when school gets out. There have always been areas that get more difficult in the tourism season and that hasn't been getting any easier for a long time. It will be interesting to see how many of the new RV owners since covid actually keep and use them as things return to normal. Let's hope that people do continue to get vaccinated so that things do stay better. 

[Kirk W]

20 hours ago, Kirk W said:

We will be heading west in a few weeks so will see what happens when school gets out.

Based on the advice here, I asked for opinions on Escapees Facebook, listing our route from TX to KS then CO and on to WY to start about July 5. Colby, KS seems to be in pretty good shape but does have about 1/3 of their sites booked already. In the Denver/Loveland CO area I found no openings at all in the north part of Denver but managed to snare 4 consecutive nights in Loveland on the 4th park that I called. I am presently working on Rawlins, WY but that looks to be OK too. 

I must say that I am glad that some of you insisted so that I checked further as our Branson experience clearly gave us a false sense of security. I am joining the chorus that suggests at least checking the availability of sites if you want to stay in a commercial RV park or even public parks that are near any major city, ASAP. It would seem that Jinx and Txiceman were absolutely right. 

Edited May 25, 2021 by Kirk W
typo

[mptjelgin]

We just spent three weekday nights (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) in a semi-popular Texas state park, as that was all we could get on short (3 week) notice. We observed the coming and going of others in the park, and realized that many folks were spending only a single night. But they had reserved that specific site for the one specific night.  And the distribution of sites being occupied seemed pretty random.  

So while it would be somewhat easy for a person to get a single night reservation on short notice, it would be significantly more difficult to get two nights, and even more difficult to get three nights, etc. We talked to one lady who had gotten three nights on short notice, but she was having to change sites each night!

In the "old" days when sites were assigned only upon arrival, it was more likely that you'd be able to drop in and be able to stay for several nights, as the park office people could work people into any available sites as they arrived. But with the "choose your site in advance" method currently being employed in Texas (any many other) State Parks, the odds of having a site sitting open for several consecutive nights, even during the week, is growing pretty slim. If a site shows a 3-night opening and someone reserves only the middle night, that site is lost to anyone wanting to spend two or more nights. 

Speaking for ourselves, we like to stay 2 - 3 night minimum in an area as we travel, so we'll be making reservations in the future. The odds of being turned away entirely, or limited to a single night, or required to change sites  for multi-night stays, seem to be pretty high, at least in parks using online reservation systems. 

[Jinx & Wayne]

On 5/25/2021 at 3:52 PM, Kirk W said:

It would seem that Jinx and Txiceman were absolutely right. 

I won't let it happen again.    🎃

BTW, Jinx (DW) doesn't post here yet.

Wayne & Jinx
2017 F-350 diesel, dually
2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

[fpmtngal]

Well, I don’t know what I’m doing, if I’m going to feel well enough to travel much.  So I’m reluctant to make many reservations.  Maybe I’ll get stuck finding a place, but I don’t want to give up the possibility that I’ll feel well enough to travel.

Right now I’m set up in a probably well-known BLM area which I found on Campendium, and there’s only 3 of us here.  I’m going to stay a second night since I don’t want to travel Friday of Memorial weekend - it’s going to be interesting to see if this area fills up tomorrow.  It’s out of the way and probably used as an overnight for people going from one place to another, so it might be crowded tomorrow but empty Saturday night (I’ll be gone).

[Jinx & Wayne]

I posted this on another thread, but It applies here, too.  Escapees Branson was full over Memorial Day Weekend.  I know some are leaving today (Monday).

Wayne & Jinx
2017 F-350 diesel, dually
2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

[Kirk W]

40 minutes ago, Jinx & Wayne said:

I posted this on another thread,

Quote

With the exception of 2020, that has been the case for most RV parks and campgrounds for Memorial Day weekends for a long time. 

😏  The key will be in predicting the future. I am wondering what we will see over the next 2 or 3 years? Will slightly used RVs flood the market, or will RV sales continue to increase? Will there be more RV parks built, or will the existing ones continue to be replaced by real estate development?

[sandsys]

6 hours ago, Kirk W said:

😏  The key will be in predicting the future. I am wondering what we will see over the next 2 or 3 years? Will slightly used RVs flood the market, or will RV sales continue to increase? Will there be more RV parks built, or will the existing ones continue to be replaced by real estate development?

Are RV parks the new drive-in movie places--there just to hold the property until development reaches that far? Here in the Minneapolis metro area we have several malls named after the drive-ins that used to be there.

Linda

[trostberg]

Wandering Labs is a free search tool for RV cancellations in parks that I am trying.  There are others that are rated higher but I did not want to pay for the service.  I think part of the issue with parks that do not have a limit on the length of stay is that they are becoming residential mobile home parks with RVs.  That I do not see changing with the cost of housing.