Is it just me or finding campsites a pain?

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fatnfur

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Joined
Nov 15, 2010
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11
Hi everyone, i recently started my 2nd fulltime rv adventure which began in south florida, and to date finding availability at campgrounds as i make my way out of florida has been a real challange. I get that there are simply No sites available in Florida December through march, but i am having very limited mobility trying to make a slow trek north. What gives??? Last time i did this in 2007 we did not have such an issue finding spots, and now most choices are over 40 bucks. Nothing available in state parks for more than 2 days either. Is this a new normal or just me??
 
I'm not a fulltimer so almost every campground is a "destination campground" so I'm very picky. Planning includes multiple apps, sites and reading reviews, finally including satellite views and choosing specific sites based on orientation and space around the site. I spend way more time than I should but in the end I cobble together some nice trips. There are many times however that my first and second choices are full because I didn't start planning far enough in advance. On rare occasions routes and or days have to be juggled when I can't find anything suitable within a large radius of an intended overnight.
 
Sun2Retire said:
Planning includes multiple apps, sites and reading reviews, finally including satellite views and choosing specific sites based on orientation and space around the site. I spend way more time than I should...


LOL - I do the same, Scott. DW always laughs at me! A couple of months ago I was booking a spot in a NY State Park and actually found Google street view inside the park!
 
Florida "season" is considered to be in full force until May. During the summer months, you'll be hard pressed to find a spot in any campground on the spur of the moment. Most of these parks will require reservations, sometimes a year in advance, although most of the time, you'll be safe if you reserve a spot by the time season begins in December. Something else you'll find out is the further south you go in the state, the more expensive the campgrounds become.

So no, it's not just you. It's the way it is in Florida.
 
  You need to ignore state parks and interstates and look for campgrounds along US-19, US-41, US-301 etc. I've been here in Florida since October and have had no trouble getting into CGs and RVPs with reservations made no more than two weeks prior. Also at every CG I've been has had at least one or more large sites available all the time I was there.

  Of course "destination" areas such as Orlando, St. Augustine, Savannah, Charleston are full-up in the spring between visitors and snowbirds passing through.
 
The last couple of years camp grounds out west have been full most of the year.  More people buying and camping.
 
We just did the month of February and 6000 miles. Never had one reservation. We had no trouble finding spots to camp. I prefer to travel with no reservations. Sometimes you have mechanical issues, or something that delays you. Maybe you find that perfect spot ,and you want to stay a few extra days. Not having reservations gives you the freedom to change plans anytime you want. Thats the way I like to roll. Sometimes if you have reservations you have to skip past things if you get delayed just to stay on schedule. You might miss the highlight of the trip. You never know. Happy trails.
 
muskoka guy said:
We just did the month of February and 6000 miles. Never had one reservation. We had no trouble finding spots to camp. I prefer to travel with no reservations. Sometimes you have mechanical issues, or something that delays you. Maybe you find that perfect spot ,and you want to stay a few extra days. Not having reservations gives you the freedom to change plans anytime you want. Thats the way I like to roll. Sometimes if you have reservations you have to skip past things if you get delayed just to stay on schedule. You might miss the highlight of the trip. You never know. Happy trails.

X2, X3, X4 etc.
 
What you experienced in 2007 has no relationship to what the RV market is like today. In 2007, the economy was heading down the toilet, gas prices were up, and fewer RV'ers were traveling, or at least traveling as far. Today, the economy is on the upswing, gas prices are down, and the RV industry is booming with far more people traveling, buying/easing long term sites, etc. We spend 3+ months in Florida each winter, and in 2007 we didn't make any reservations more than a few days ahead of time when we made any at all. Today, I'm working on finalizing our reservations for next winter as fast as the reservation windows open up for each time slot and park we want to visit.And the more popular parks are still tough to get a space in. The only ones I'll leave up in the air until much closer to departure time are the one or two nighters on the way south after we spend the holidays with our kids in upstate NY.
 
  That's true NY_Dutch, I'm seeing parks full or close to full tremendously more than back then. I'm lucky that I prefer obscure parks in obscure places.
 
I guess if you plan on staying for an extended period in one area, you would be advised to make reservations. If you want to move regularly, I wouldnt. I used the free RVPARKY app on my Iphone 6. Never booked more than a day ahead for the following night. Most times I would look up possibilities the night before on the camp wifi, then make some calls the next afternoon when I had a better idea where we were going to get to that evening. Worse case scenario you have rest stops, Walmarts, ect, but we never had to resort to these unless we wanted to.
 
I don't have a problem finding campsites (thanks to the internet and AllStays), but i do sometimes have problems finding campsites where I want to go that have openings! It is definitely true that campgrounds are more full than they were a few years back. Add in a popular location in its prime season, and it can get a bit challenging. Sadly this is the reason I sometimes resort to Walmarts and Cabelas. Even that doesn't help in Florida I hear due to lots of local restrictions. We are travelers, not stayers, and we generally plan our trips around a specific destination. We try to make reservations for the main destination, but we try to free-form there and back, checking out local attractions on the way. If those spots are weekends near popular tourist areas, we end up making reservations, sometmes well in advance, or we know we wont find a place to stay that we like. It isnt as mich freedom as i wouldmprefer, but better than sitting in a Walmart parking lot on a hot afternoon.
 

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