How storm closures affect campsite availability scanning

Recent storms wreaked havoc on the California coast. This damage resulted in park closures. These range from proactive closures to partial and full closures. Reopening dates after such events are typically unclear as the severity of damage varies. It takes time for park officials to survey damage, and plan remediation and repairs.

This uncertainty after such storms complicates scanning for campsite availabilities. This is in part due to the limited fidelity of our system. Campnab essentially looks for when a campsite changes from unavailable to available. It doesn’t track longer closures or the overall status of a park.

I spoke to this point in the following video:

Our impulse with park closures is to entirely turn off scanning for that park. This isn’t practical, though. Some people are monitoring parks for availabilities up to a year into the future. They want to keep their scans running. Additionally, when closed parks reopen, members will want to be alerted to openings.

To complicate matters further, a park’s closure status isn’t always clear. Some parks will reopen faster than expected. Others parks will reopen some campgrounds while the rest stay closed. Yet other parks might remain closed for years. We don’t know when each park/campground will reopen, in part because this information isn’t yet fully determined.

Given the number of parks we scan and the variable amount of damage sustained by each park, we’re taking a wait-and-see approach. As such, you can still create a campsite availability scan on most parks—even if they’re closed.

If you’re considering visiting a park that was affected by a storm, you should check that park’s website to see its current status. The U.S. National Park Service keeps a list of active alerts in parks. California State Parks also maintains a list of incidents, including updates on the 2023 Statewide Winter Storms.

When we know that a park will be closed for an extended period we’ll turn off scanning for the affected campgrounds/permits. One example of this is Mount Robson Provincial Park. Flooding in 2021 resulted in significant closures, with reopening staged over years. As such, you can only create a campsite availability scan on Mount Robson’s open campgrounds. The rest will be added as those areas are reopened. (We’ve done the same with some parks in Florida, after hurricanes forced some campground closures.)

We’ll periodically check the parks’ alert pages mentioned above. As we learn of parks that will be closed for extended periods, we’ll adjust our scans accordingly. That said, we’re only two people and these situations change by the day. So, if you’re aware of a park that’s closed for a prolonged period—or set to reopen—please let us know.

Photo: Boulders and falling rock on Figueroa Mountain Road, courtesy of Pacific Southwest Forest Service. You can view more images of storm damage to roads, trails, campgrounds, recreation, and administrative facilities at Los Padres National Forest on Flickr.

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