Eric Karjaluoto
I’m one of the two people working on Campnab. I like to run, ski, bike, and camp with my family and friends. (I love saunas.)
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Over the past 7 years, I’ve helped new and experienced campers alike find campsites and permits—when doing so may have felt hopeless. This has involved many conversations, emails, and chat discussions. Along the way, I’ve learned a bit about how to find campsites. I’d like to share these tips, today.
A good number of the recommendations that follow are common sense. Nevertheless, a lot of campers miss out because they simply haven’t considered these practicalities. Near the end of the article, I’ll share a few true secrets about booking campsites.
Go camping when and where others aren’t
My first tip is one that almost no one will follow. They’ll go skiing over Christmas break, take in a new movie on opening night, and try to camp on the Labor Day weekend… Just. Like. Everyone. Else. 🤦🏼🤦🏽♀️🤦🏾♂️
I get it. Sometimes you have no choice but to go when others are. Personally, though? I think a little creativity can make a HUGE difference in the experience you might experience. This is why I ski more in the spring, wait until movies are streaming for free, and go camping when the leaves turn orange. (BTW: Have you checked out our Fall Camping Guide?)
Campsites are easier to book on weekdays than on weekends. (Admittedly, this is less so once kids are on summer break.) So, ask your boss if you can take your days off on Tuesday and Wednesday. No flexibility on that front? Consider camping in the off-season. Most folks stop camping after Labor Day.
Or, you could just drive farther. Every hour of driving you add from a major city increases the number of campsites you’re bound to find available. Sure, no one wants to drive more, but going from a 2-hour drive to a 3-hour drive can make a world of difference in the campsites you can book.
Prepare for launch day in advance
Launch day is stressful for most and often quite frustrating. This is only made more so if you haven’t done your homework in advance. That’s why you’ll finish reading this article, and then put in a couple of hours to suss out some new places to camp. Doing so now, in October, gives you months to prepare—unlike those who leave it until opening morning.
I have yet to find a state or province that doesn’t make exhaustive park details available online. Start by visiting your parks’ booking site and browsing their map to see what’s within a reasonable driving distance of your home. Read more about each of these and make notes about the parks you wish to visit. Our park listings allow you to do some of the same—and read other members’ reviews of these campgrounds.
Even better yet? Go for a drive! Wait for a rainy fall weekend, pack a lunch, and drive to a few of these parks. Visit the parks, check out the amenities, and make note of the best campsites. (These notes will come in handy on launch day.) If you don’t have the time for this, consider going on a “virtual drive” or using Google Maps or Campground Views.
Well in advance of launch day, you should know which parks you wish to stay at—and which days. You also should check whether the park operates on a rolling booking window, block release window and the time and day that park starts taking reservations. If you haven’t already, be sure to create an account on your park’s booking website, so, you’re all set once it opens for reservations.
Be ready on opening morning
The worst time to book campsites is opening morning. Nevertheless, it’s when you’ll see the most campsites available for booking—even if this is only for a split second. Here’s the deal. Tens of thousands of campers all land on the booking site on launch day. As there are only so many campsites available, they’ll sell out almost instantly. This isn’t a bot-related issue; it’s just a lot of humans. (Also, some folks have likely booked days that aren’t yet released.)
Should you avoid opening morning altogether? I do this as I just dislike the associated stress. This doesn’t mean you won’t get lucky, though. Someone is booking those sites, and “if you don’t play, you can’t win”. So, you might as well try to book some sites on launch day. Just don’t be overly disappointed if you aren’t successful in reserving a campsite.
The way you approach opening morning can make a big difference. Do your research, so you know which sites you want to book. Check in advance of the launch date, as these can change from one year to the next. Arrive a half-hour early and sign into the booking system, so you’re ready to go. Perhaps have a spouse or friend try as well—just to increase your chances.
Scan parks for canceled campsite reservations
What most people don’t realize about campsite reservations is the sheer number of cancellations that come up over a season. Given the scramble to book anything months in advance, people often overbook or make reservations that they can’t use. As a result, they often cancel their reservations—leaving them open for others to reserve.
You can check the park’s site manually to see when another camper cancels. This is a bit of a drag, though. That’s why Campnab exists. You can set it up to monitor parks you’d like to visit. Whenever the system spots an open campsite that matches your preferences, it’ll send you a text message. If the opening is suitable, you can attempt to book it.
Campsites at popular parks get rebooked quickly (sometimes in just seconds). So, you’ll need to act quickly when you receive an alert and you won’t always get the spot. Setting a custom ringtone for Campnab alerts can prompt you to act quickly.
The way you set up your campsite scan can make a huge difference. I’m always sharing tips with Campnab members. If you’re interested in getting the most alerts from your scan, feel free to watch this video, which has a bunch of tips:
Putting the odds of finding a campsite in your favor
I occasionally receive a call from someone who’s fed up about how hard it is to get a campsite. As we talk, a common story often replays. The caller will explain how great things were in the “good old days” when they could just arrive at a campground and take their pick of sites. (I’m often the same age as these people, but don’t recall this magical time.)
As we talk more, they explain their list of wants. Typically it’s a waterfront site at a popular state beach in California. They’ll only take a premium campsite with full hook-ups and an ocean view. Will they get such a site? Possibly, but it’s a tall order. I typically encourage these folks to be a little less rigid in their campsite search.
Camping isn’t about getting the perfect campsite or having all of the conveniences of home. The magic of camping is in doing without some of those luxuries. The simpler you treat your setup the more real the camping experience. Additionally, the more open you are to less-than-perfect campsites, the easier you’ll find campsites you can book.
The fewer parameters you put on your campsite search, the better your chances of going. So, expand your search to less popular campgrounds. For example, at wildly popular Yosemite, you can increase your chances greatly just by considering campgrounds not in the valley. Primitive and hike-in campsites are always easier to get. So are campsites near roads and next to the toilet.
You might grimace slightly at the notion of camping next to a busy road or stinky toilet. In my experience, though, neither scenario turns out as badly as we tend to imagine. The upshot here is a greatly increased probability of you finding a campsite. FWIW, I’d rather be camping at an imperfect campsite than not camping at the perfect one.
Consider your camping alternatives
Most folks look to camp at public (state, provincial, national) parks with developed campgrounds. I get why. These parks are well known, can be spectacularly beautiful, and provide a safe and convenient camping option. Once again, going against the crowd can work to your benefit. I’ll share these with you:
Camp on undeveloped public lands. Most folks don’t realize how many areas you can camp in without needing to pay a dime. Camping in this way is called boondocking, and it opens you up to a world of camping options. This sort of camping does require some added preparation, though. To learn more about camping in undeveloped areas, The Absolute Newbie’s Guide to Boondocking, will help you get started.
Visit private campgrounds. Privately owned campgrounds typically don’t get the same sort of attention that famous parks do. Many of them are great, though, offering unique camping experiences and amenities. If you’re intent on visiting a popular park you might find a private campground just outside of it. So, spend the nights there, and drive into the park for day excursions each morning.
Explore campgrounds managed by other entities. Not all public parks are managed by the state, province, or federal body. There are many campgrounds operated by forestry services, public utility organizations, military groups, counties, regions, and municipalities. The easiest way to find these campsites is to search for campgrounds in an area using Google Maps. When you find new campgrounds, search for them by name to see how these campsites can be booked.
Last-ditch efforts to find a campsite
The most amusing calls I receive are from those who decide to go camping on Friday at 4:00 PM… before a long weekend… at Yosemite. I’ve never laughed directly at a caller for such a request, but I’ve come close. The probability of that person finding what they’re looking for is slim to none.
As your preferred arrival date nears, you’re bound to see more cancellations and new campsite availabilities. This is because folks often change their minds at the last minute. There is a point at which this goes the other way, though. Scanning for campsite availabilities an hour before arrival probably won’t work out that well.
If you’re this late in the game, you might consider driving to the park and seeing about any no-shows. Many parks hold unclaimed campsites until 11 AM the following day. These are then released to anyone on site waiting. (Some will be lined up hours in advance to scoop these up.) No-show policies vary from one park to the next, so, do some research on how your park deals with unclaimed campsites.
Additionally, most parks have some first-come, first-served campsites available. (Some parks only allow you to book their campsites on-site and in person.) In my experience, these are generally highly or fully occupied by the Friday before a weekend. If you’re willing to head to the park on Wednesday, though, your chances of finding an available one are decent. If you zip out early and find one, you can set up camp and wait for your friends and family to join you over the weekend.
Benefit from these campsite booking secrets
Since you’ve read to the very end, I’ll now share a few campsite booking secrets with you. A couple of these might be familiar, but I do find that they’re news to most folks I speak with.
Look for sites that re-release 15 minutes later. On opening morning, campers often enlist others to help them book campsites. If two of those parties get something into their cart, they’ll likely release the one they don’t need. As such, keep a close eye on the park you’re interested in ~15 minutes after it sells out. There’s a good chance that you’ll see some campsites get re-released around this time. This also happens with campsite alerts, as folks often realize that a campsite doesn’t quite work for their needs.
Know that 8 AM on Reserve California isn’t on the dot. Reserve California holds some canceled sites for release at set times—typically 8:00 AM. That said, these sites commonly release a little early or late. So, if you’re looking for campsites set to unlock at California’s state parks you should pull up that page up to 30 minutes in advance, and watch it for a while past the scheduled release time.
Get alerted to unlisted sites. Very occasionally, members reach out to us noting that they were alerted to a campsite availability that isn’t shown on the booking system’s map. In these cases, a campsite alert can be the only way to spot these sites as they’re real campsites, but just not showing in the available inventory. Again, this is a pretty rare scenario, but we’ve seen it happen a few times.
Other camping articles you might find useful
So, that covers my list of tips and tricks for getting campsite reservations. Do you have other approaches that I haven’t mentioned? Email me and I can add your idea to this post. In the meantime, I’ll keep writing camping articles for our camping blog. here are a few other camping posts you might find useful:
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