Here in CA. at the state parks you can't book any more than 6 month's in advance. My brother-in-law and I are waiting for Feb. 1st to book our annual 4th of July trip and March for our Labor Day trip. For other trips we try to book as far in advance as we can, but sometimes spur f the moment is good too!
I book a trip when I get the itch, usually 1 trip in advance. Right now I am looking forward to the Mid Winter Rally at French Creek in January. That will keep me satisfied until......The day after I get home.
I am actually looking into planning a camping trip in 4 years for the Boy Scout Jamboree. But they are moving it to West Virginia and I need to find a campground near there and for the dates that it will be. I don't think the dates have been released yet.
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
out here in California, there's extreme competition for state park campsites, especially for summer and holidays. there just isn't enough to go around and people are on multiple computers the first day for reservations. and with cutbacks in the state park system, it's going to get even worse.
we rarely camp in the summer and never on holiday weekends. off season weekends are booked up year-round and off-season weekdays still may require reservations, especially for coastal campgrounds or popular parks.
here, reservations are a must unless you camp in out of the way places. you just learn to live with it.
A couple weeks in advance is "about" the norm for us. Lots of times we'll just toss the tent in the truck, load up the paddleboat and find a place that's got room. We've only hit one stumbling block before, so that's not too bad. Now with the :chief: Apache :chief:, I'm not certain. I guess booking in advance is the only way to ensure an appropriate spot.
:chef:
Here in Oklahoma they are just now starting up the reservation system. Prior to this it was all first come first serve. Which made planning a rally here very, very difficult. I'm in the process of trying to get the Mid-Con 2011 rally sites set up but am fighting with Cookson Bend and ReserveAmerica.
Cookson Bend has all the sites turned in but ReserveAmerica doesn't have them loaded up.
We have people traveling many, many miles to come to this rally but (and I don't blame them) don't want to make the trip if there not sure they have a site. Soooo hopefully everything will come out all right!
I have had only one bad experience so far where I have pulled into a campground and was told they didn't have any sites left. Luckily the host told us to drive on thru and if we found one to just come back and pay and let her know what site we had taken. This generally doesn't work during major holidays which is why we usually just stay home or go to a smaller not well known park.
I am really hoping with the new reservation system booking sites in Oklahoma will be much easier!!!
For the three summer holiday weekends, I book 11 months in advance so I can get in at the local state park. Once I know my vacation schedule at work I make my vacation reservations as soon as the park/campground take reservations. I also do last minute weekends, but most of my trips are reserved 6 to 11 months in advance. I have 9 reservations for 2011, and I still have to wait for the late summer and fall trips. 😀
Here in New York you almost have to advance book at least 6 months and for a holiday weekend book at the 9 month opening window. We have a couple of family reunions and I will book them 6 months ahead. We have a couple of parks within an hour of us that we can book a month in advance if it is not a weekend with a car or dog show nearby.
Happy Camping
Ken
I have decided at noon on friday I wanted to go camping that day and was able to make a reservation, and also up to a couple of weeks ahead of time.
This year we are planning out some trips ahead of time though and will be making the reservations as soon as we get some dates in stone. The big weekends book up quick around here, so I want to ensure we have a decent spot.
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