Camping state sites.

[R.J.1]

Planning my second cross country trip for late summer/fall. Last trip was a blast but big $$$. Mostly private campgrounds with all the amenities. This time I'm thinking about state sites. Nervous about availability and reservations. Also flexibility. (things sometimes don't go as planned)
Any tips and tricks?

 

[Boat Bum]

Book early. Consider places like Harvest Host.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

In my travels, the state parks have their own sites and some number do their own booking, some will use a national pay site like reserveamerica. Last year I ran into a catch 22 where I went to a Kansas park that advertised first come first serve but the only way to pay for it was online (ranger station closed) and there was no cell service from the campsites. Generally though it's navigable, really no worse than reserving at RV parks that have their own booking sites. Accommodations were all pretty good, even as random picks. Some of the best spots were COE parks, easily booked ahead of time and with the senior pass were often half price, sometimes less than $20 a night with electric. We leave the majority of our trips unreserved for maximum flexibility and have yet to be stuck without a place to stay. There's always cracker barrel, bass pro shop, wally world, etc if all else fails. I use a garmin RV gps that can do area searches at my destination so the day before I'll scope out what's around, we always end up somewhere...

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Isaac-1]

I say go for it, there are a LOT of first come camping options still out there, particularly in middle America. In May 2023 we took a circa 3,000 mile loop trip from Louisiana Badlands NP, and back by way of Missouri and Arkansas. In total we traveled through parts of 9 states, making no advanced reservations for any of the trip, at most we made a reservations 2 days in advance for a lake front Arkansas state park on the Friday night of Memorial day weekend. The rest were a mix of public campgrounds and private rv parks, including one local fairground in Kansas, and almost a second one in Iowa (we arrived to find out car races were going, on, there were sites available, but we did not want to deal with the noise.

 

[Jackiemac]

We hardly ever book (since starting in 2016). We book for a National Park if in park and maybe a holiday weekend or get there a few days early.

State Parks are usually booked at weekends. Often there are lots of empty spots with people not turning up but as far as I know you can't use them if booked unfortunately.

Look at forest camping, city parks or boondocking. We used to be nervous about this but it's been a great camping experience for us.

We've only had to change plans a few times. Just plan to be at your destination at a reasonable hour so you can do a plan B if necessary.

And remember places get cancellations all the time too.

 

[Isaac-1]

People keep saying this about places being booked, and while it is somewhat true, twice in the last 6 years we have booked a site at lakefront State Parks (Arkansas and Texas) on Memorial day weekend less than 2 weeks in advance, in one of the cases only 2 days in advance)

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

The other 'trick' is being flexible to move sites in a park if staying more than one night. Often parks won't have a single site available for your intended stay duration but there will be one night openings at different sites each night. Not the most convenient to have to pack up and move 2 sites down or whatever but you do what you gotta do.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Larry N.]

Colorado recently changed to requiring that you make reservations in advance, PERIOD, and using their own website: State Park Finder

Reservations fill up quickly for weekends and holidays, often within seconds after first availability (6 mos. in advance), but there are often spots during the week, and often you can find a day or two, possibly from a recent cancellation, closer to your desired date. Unfortunately there are those who fill up many dates they won't use, "just in case" they might want them later.

Most states seem to be getting tighter than they used to be on various requirements.

 

[Kirk]

If you are 62 years of age or older, get the America the Beautiful Senior Pass as it gives you free entrance into the federal parks and half price camping in them. We use it frequently at the Army Corps of Engineers parks which can be found on many lakes and waterways.

 

[Jackiemac]

Or if younger for $80 you can get the America the Beautiful Pass for a year which gives you access to National Parks and Monuments.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

I try my best to use community, state, and national parks as well as COE and forestry service sites.
Google "Campgrounds", "government campgrounds", COE, etc, etc.You have to be fairly creative in your searches and diligent in your fact-finding.
To me, a little more effort is well worth it. Gov't campground are usually more spacious, quieter, and prettier.

 

[MN Blue Skies aka Max]

DH and I just got back from a 2 1/2 month trip touring the SE. During the first part of our trip we tried to make advance reservations near the popular areas. We were more flexible with the second half of our trip. We never ended up without a place to park but came close a few times.

What we discovered on several occasions was that even if a CG's reservation system said it was full, we would call anyway and they were able to find us a site. We definitely wouldn't recommend that people count on this method, however it was surprising how often it worked out for us. (Makes me wonder if there are quirks in the reservation systems.)

 

[jymbee]

What we discovered on several occasions was that even if a CG's reservation system said it was full, we would call anyway and they were able to find us a site.

Some parks have no way of making a reservation in person as you have to use the online site.

However, in many other cases IMO it's always a good idea to call and speak to someone at the actual park given that they, as you mentioned, often have a much better sense of what's going on as opposed to someone taking reservations in a distant call center of some kind.

For example, they might know of someone that for one reason or the other will be leaving earlier than expected but haven't updated their reservation online.

 

[JudyJB]

If you are 62 years of age or older, get the America the Beautiful Senior Pass as it gives you free entrance into the federal parks and half price camping in them. We use it frequently at the Army Corps of Engineers parks which can be found on many lakes and waterways.

I was going to suggest this. Do you really want or need a full service campground with full hookups, especially when you are just driving to a destination? However, there are more of these in some states than others. For example, there are several along I-70 in Kansas, but almost none in Michigan.

Check recreation.gov for COE campground, and also check rvparksreviews for county or local city campgrounds, which tend to be cheaper.

And by the way, you can get a one-year America the Beautiful senior pass, and then use it towards the lifetime one that costs $80.

One tip if you are driving along the Ohio Turnpike--there are RV parking lots with power hookups every other rest area on it and for $20, you can spend the night, get a water fill, and dump your tanks.

 

[silversport1]

Things we have done to help us find sites is join an Elks Lodge, there are many lodges that have RV sites or let you boondock in their parking lot. Moose Lodge also has some RV lodges but not as many. Joined Harvest Host and Boondockers Welcome, this is working out very nice for one to two night stop over (love the breweries and wineries). Yes we use State parks too and some private RV parks but not many.

 

[Ohiosnowbird]

We use mostly State Parks and COE. We reserve early, we’re still newbcakes. We just got back from a 3 month winter trip a loop from Ohio to South Carolina, Georgia, Florida via KY, TN, NC then home via AL, TN, KY. In the future we’re going to try to avoid KY state parks they cancel at the last minute and the parks we’ve stayed at aren’t so nice. COE parks have been pretty good too.

 

[tanglemoose]

We used to stay at Arizona State parks but their rate hike Feb. 2025 finished that. 50 bucks... is too much, I don't have to have hookups.. and dry is 35...

 

[Jackiemac]

Yes some State Parks have become extremely pricey and we won't use those ones either. Of course many now charge much more if you aren't from that State, even if it means they have empty sites.

 

[grashley]

GO FOR IT!!
We have been on 2000 - 4500 mile trips each of the past 3 years. We have stayed at a mix of private FHU sites to HH and a Taco Bell. We do not need FHU every night. Our favorite place to stay is a COE campground. They almost always have electric, and frequently water at the site. They always have access to water to fill your tank and always a dump station. If I am staying somewhere less than a week, if I start with full fresh water and empty gray and black tanks, i'm good. I can dump when I leave and fill at the next location. With the America the Beautiful Senior Pass, the price is GREAT

City and state parks are frequently similar accommodations.

We have always traveled with reservations, but I may try the one night ahead system this year.

 

[DutchmenSport]

Availability of campsites all depends upon where you are attempting to get into. More popular geographical locations are always harder to find a campsite and they do require months in advance in reservations. A case in point is the campground at Santa Clause, Indiana which is right next to the Holiday World and Splashin' Safari Amusement park. You have to book a reservation almost 2 years out. Then, other State Parks, in not so popular areas are almost walk-in available.

If you are traveling a known path, then plot that course out and plan your campsites accordingly for each night of the journey. As many as possible, book reservations and then stick with your plans. If something happens along the way and you are not going to make your destination, yes, you run the risk of loosing your pre-paid fees. But, finding yourself in a new geographical area with a full campground, and boondocking is impossible, and WallMart parking lots forbid overnights, you'll be kicking yourself for not planning a reservation.