Campsite Booking Guide: Decoding Campsite Booking Fees

No one likes paying camping fees. Nevertheless, such camping fees do help cover campground operating costs, staffing, support, and online booking systems. These fees also help fund park initiatives. In this installment of Campnab’s Campsite Booking Guide, I’ll go over some of the different types of fees you might find when booking a campsite. Psst! You might also find our recent article on Reservation Policies helpful.

Before we get too far, I’ll start with a brief caveat: This article is a general summary. There are thousands of parks across North America and many more campgrounds. As you travel from one to the next, you’ll quickly realize that campsite fees vary quite a bit. This article doesn’t cover all of those nuances. Instead, it goes over some common fees so you know what to expect.

Recreation use fee

The term recreation use fee is quite broad. It encompasses any fees charged to a visitor for camping, permits, day-use activities, tours, and facility reservations. Given the wide range of rentals/activities these fees apply to, costs will vary significantly. These costs will also vary based on the region and its governing body.

Park entrance fee

Some parks charge a fee to enter the park even if you aren’t staying the night. If you’re just driving through the park you might be exempt from such charges. However, if you plan to spend the day, you’ll likely have to pay these fees. Staying the night? Some parks include the entrance fee in your campsite reservation. Just check the parks’ documentation to see if this is the case.

Pro-tip💡: If you intend to stay at many national parks, an annual pass might save you some money in the long run.

Camping fee

A camping fee is the amount paid for the campsite you reserve. This may include access to a parking spot (in addition to your camping pad) and access to services and amenities at the campground.

Day use fee

Many park guests only visit for the day. They might enjoy a hike, visit a museum on site, join a guided tour, access the boat launch, or park their vehicle. This sort of park use may require the visitor to pay a day use fee. Such fees are typically quite small.

Transaction fee

Transaction fees are a broad group of fees mostly associated with administering camping reservations. Common transaction fees include reservation fees, change fees, and call center fees. Most times, transaction fees are non-refundable.

Reservation service fee

Aside from a few exceptions, most parks don’t operate standalone booking systems. Instead, they use booking systems built by third-party vendors like Booz Allen Hamilton, Tyler Technologies, Camis, Aspira, Reserve America, and others. Some also provide call center support for booking-related questions. Booking systems are complicated technical products that require large teams and infrastructure. As such, reservation service fees are added to most bookings, to cover these vendors’ expenses.

Change fee

If you need to modify your camping reservation, you’ll likely have to pay a change fee. From my research, these fees can range from free to around $12. Some parks charge more for changes over the phone than changes made online. Also, the change fee might vary based on how near your arrival date is.

• Recreation.gov’s change fee: $10
• Reserve California’s change fee: $7.99
• Reserve America’s change fee: $7.25
• BC Parks’ change fee: $6
• Florida Parks’ change fee: $10
• Ontario Parks’ change fee: $7.52 – $9.29
• Washington State Parks’ change fee: $8 – $10
• Parks Canada change fee: $11.50
• Michigan State Parks’ change fee: $10
• Alberta Parks’ change fee: $10
• Wisconsin State Parks’ change fee: $5
• Minnesota State Parks’ change fee: $5 – $7
• South Carolina State Parks’ change fee: No charge – $10

Cancellation fee

If you choose to cancel your reservation at a campground, the park or the booking platform might withhold part of your payment. This is called a cancellation fee. The amount of this fee can vary based on the jurisdiction, type of reservation, and how close you are to your arrival date. For example, some regions don’t charge cancellation fees if the cancellation is made within the first 24 hours. Following are some examples of what cancellation fees various areas are charging:

• Recreation.gov’s campsite cancellation fee: $10
• Reserve California’s campsite cancellation fee: $7.99
• Reserve America’s campsite cancellation fee: $7.25
• BC Parks’ campsite cancellation fee: $6
• Florida Parks’ campsite cancellation fee: $17.75
• Ontario Parks’ campsite cancellation fee: $9.29 – $25
• Washington State Parks’ campsite cancellation fee: $8 – $10
• Parks Canada campsite cancellation fee: $11.50 – $13.50
• Michigan State Parks’ campsite cancellation fee: $10
• Alberta Parks’ campsite cancellation fee: No charge
• Minnesota State Parks’ campsite cancellation fee: No charge – $10
• South Carolina State Parks’ campsite cancellation fee: No charge – All charges

In addition to cancellation fees, some parks will retain a percentage of your payment based on how long you held your reservation. For example, Alberta Parks doesn’t charge a cancellation fee, but does charge a penalty based on how late you cancel.

Late cancellation fee

If you wait too long to cancel your reservation, you might exceed the cut-off window and be charged a late cancellation fee. Late cancellation fees can be quite substantial—potentially even the entire amount you paid to reserve the campsite.

No-show fee

Failing to show up at a campsite you reserved makes you a no-show. Parks see a lot of no-shows, which is quite frustrating—especially for campers who were unable to book a campsite due to the campground being sold out. As such, some parks work to discourage no-shows. One measure is a no-show fee. This fee could be a percentage of the reservation fee, or result in you forfeiting your reservation—and the amount you paid for it.

Call center fee

Most parks rely on third-party vendors for booking services, including call center support. Given the costs of running call centers, these vendors commonly charge a few dollars for services rendered by call centers. Such fees are known as call center fees. Typically you can avoid such fees by booking your campsite and making changes through the park’s online booking system.

Utility fee

Some regions charge utility fees to help offset the costs of providing various on-site utilities. For example, Florida State Parks charges a $7 nightly utility fee for RV, boat, bungalow, cabin, and yurt units. They do not charge this fee for tent camping.

Damage fee

Damage fees help cover costs associated with repairs damages beyond the ordinary. These fees are typically associated with cabin rentals. For example, Florida State Parks assess cabin damage fees for excessive damage or lost/stolen items. At these state parks, the amount of these fees is the reasonable cost of damage or replacement. Such fees are charged to the credit card used when the reservation was made.

Resort fee

Some private parks charge resort fees to cover various amenities. Such amenities might include a laundry facility, pool, hot tub, sauna, gym, garden, and wifi. Sometimes these resort fees even include games, events, live music, shows, and outdoor demonstrations. Resort fees range from a single fee for your stay, a nightly fee, or one applied to each person in your party.

Additional person fee

Some campgrounds charge an added fee for each person in your party. This may come into effect if you exceed a set number of campers. Although some campers get angry about added costs, fees aren’t unreasonable given the increased utility costs for the campground’s operator.

Vehicle parking fee

Most times your camping fees include parking for one vehicle. Parking an additional vehicle in the campground’s parking lot—or at the campsite you booked—might result in added fees.

Group camping fee

Group campsites are sometimes charged a base fee, with an added cost per person occupying the group campsite. Group campsites may charge for a minimum number of occupants, even if your group doesn’t exceed this number.

Recommended reading

• Campsite Booking Guide: Understanding Camping Reservation Policies

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