Thanks for all the responses. There seems to be different strokes for different folks, as it should be. I'm finding my 40 footer is not welcome at some public parks in the west. I kinda knew that before we got into this RVing having hung around the forums for a year.
Last summer we stayed at state campgrounds in Michigan and NY. The parks for the most part were great, but I did reserve back in April. We would not have gotten into many of the parks had we not reserved. Michigan and NY have a short camping season so the parks fill up early. The BIG downside to reserving so far in advance is the loss of flexibility. We would have stayed longer in many of the parks if we had that flexibility.
Right now I'm waiting until 0001 hours on Feb 7 to reserve a site in Kodachrome Basin - 4 months in advance. We want to stay 5 days, I wonder if I'll have to book every morning for the 5 days.
Thanks for the responses about Yellowstone. We plan on staying outside the park, I think our 40 footer will not be welcome plus it's probably to late to book inside anyway.
For me personally I would not feel comfortable leaving a campground without a reservation the following evening. That's just me and maybe I'll get more comfortable if that happens, but trying to find a parking place for the evening for our 40 ft beast would be stressful for me. Plus staying in a nice campground even if it's in transit to another destination is very enjoyable after 6 hours of driving. That takes research and planning and I've been rewarded with some very nice state parks enroute to our destination. We haven't stayed at Walmarts, truck stops, or Cracker Barrel and I won't plan on that. As a last resort I would however consider them.
Last summer we stayed at state campgrounds in Michigan and NY. The parks for the most part were great, but I did reserve back in April. We would not have gotten into many of the parks had we not reserved. Michigan and NY have a short camping season so the parks fill up early. The BIG downside to reserving so far in advance is the loss of flexibility. We would have stayed longer in many of the parks if we had that flexibility.
Right now I'm waiting until 0001 hours on Feb 7 to reserve a site in Kodachrome Basin - 4 months in advance. We want to stay 5 days, I wonder if I'll have to book every morning for the 5 days.
Thanks for the responses about Yellowstone. We plan on staying outside the park, I think our 40 footer will not be welcome plus it's probably to late to book inside anyway.
For me personally I would not feel comfortable leaving a campground without a reservation the following evening. That's just me and maybe I'll get more comfortable if that happens, but trying to find a parking place for the evening for our 40 ft beast would be stressful for me. Plus staying in a nice campground even if it's in transit to another destination is very enjoyable after 6 hours of driving. That takes research and planning and I've been rewarded with some very nice state parks enroute to our destination. We haven't stayed at Walmarts, truck stops, or Cracker Barrel and I won't plan on that. As a last resort I would however consider them.