How to handle the "camping boom"

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scale obsession

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Hey guys! Love the new software on the forum!

How have you guys handled the "camping boom". We are weekenders, and typically will camp Friday, Saturday and come home Sunday. We receive my wife's work schedule 6 weeks in advance. This used to be plenty of time for us to plan camping trips. These days not so much. It's a constant battle to get a site. Here in Ohio, there aren't many options for boon docking. Private campgrounds locally all seem to be "party campgrounds" and not quite what we are looking for. Anyone else running into this? How do you handle it? Any suggestions? Our little weekend get-a-ways are becoming stressful, just to get a campsite.
 
If you book in advance for State Parks, don't they allow date changes? I know that means booking way ahead then changing to another date way ahead but would possibly give options. And changing 6 weeks out still gives others an opportunity to book the spot if you can't use it.

I know cancellation will cost money.
 
I don't know about Ohio, Jackie, but in Colorado State Parks, where reservations are required (no walk-ins any more), getting a weekend site after the first day or two it's available to reserve (6 months in advance) is nearly impossible. Used to be you could get a weekday site (Sun-Thu nites) almost any time, but even those dates are filling quickly now.

So a date change is very unlikely to be available.
 
We are in a similar situation as weekenders. Yes, it's been MUCH tougher to find sites at our usual state parks. They fill up quickly!

We have been booking likely dates months in advance, and eating the occasional cancel fee if things change and we can't make it. IMO, that's a small price to pay, and is certainly preferable to not camping at all. We already have around 6 weekends booked, and are looking at a few more.

One positive result of all this is that we have greatly expanded our searches, and have found a few parks we may not have tried otherwise.

I expect things to continue in this way for a couple of years, until the world begins to return to "normal" and the novelty of an RV wears off of those who are not "die hards". Then it's going to be a really, really good time to be looking for a gently used coach, and I expect bookings will ease a little.
 
I just got used to the idea I don't need to camp friday, saturday sunday. Yep, I burn more vacation time but it's so much more relaxed and peaceful to avoid that madness. Our usual trip is sunday monday tuesday, sometimes wednesday. It's amusing to arrive at our spot on sunday and watch everyone packing up and heading out like crazy, then by dinner there's just a few of us left and it stays that way the whole time we're there. Last year reserving a weekend was impossible but we had no issues reserving early in the week.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
If weekends are the only choice available to you, book far in advance and risk the cancellation fees if your wife's schedule doesn't work out. You can also try to change dates, of course, but the date you need may not be available, thus leaving cancellation the only option.

This has been a growing problem for years, with ever more RVers and a dwindling number of campgrounds in many areas. As retirees, we were able to go where & when we wanted and thus avoided weekend woes, but not everybody is that lucky.
 
We are in the same boat. uh.... RV? Something like that. Washington State here.

Even off-season camping at State Parks is all booked up. Weekends are nearly impossible, and weekdays are a challenge. The influx of RV-curious and Covid vacationers has overwhelmed the State Parks. Doesn't help that people use the site to book their whole year whether they plan to go or not, hang on to the sites, and then cancel last-minute if they don't want them. It also seems that State Parks are withholding some sites. We went to a popular campground a few weekends ago. Reservation site said all sites full/reserved. Out of about 5 spots in our loop, we were one of 2 campers in that loop the entire weekend, and same story for the rest of the park. Maybe people never showed up, but that seems pretty weird. Usually when the site says the park is full, it's full! Perhaps a staffing shortage?

We've had limited success checking the reservation site a few days before a weekend. If a cancellation opens up a site within reasonable driving distance for a weekend, we grab it right away. We keep the RV ready to go. It sucks, but, we've managed to get out 4 times already this year. And we've tried a bunch of new parks that we wouldn't have otherwise considered. An adventure is an adventure!

We are expanding our searches to private RV parks. Lots of good parks out there, but finding good ones (and getting in!) can be tough, just the same.

I think many of us who are poised to continue doing this long-term are eagerly awaiting the moment the RV-curious and Covid-vacationers decide owning an RV is too expensive/ too much work or give up because they can't find a place to take their RV. My sister bought a brand new travel trailer last summer, used it twice, and it has been sitting ever since. Storage is almost as much as the payment. Ouch.
 
When we still worked (a looong time ago), we used the coach to tow a fishing boat. Arriving at our favorite CA state park one Friday evening, their campground was full. The rangers offered us one of their "Olympic sites".

Around the time of the LA Olympics, the state had put in gravel sites (no hookups) at state parks down the coast. They were originally intended for overnight stops for folks travelling down to the Olympics. Since we spent the days on the water fishing, and only needed a place to sleep Friday and Saturday nights, the Olympic sites became our regular choice. At $5/night, they were a great deal.

The Olympic sites overlooked the park's small marina and, if we took a slip at $5/night, they threw in the Olympic site free.

I occasionally wonder if other state parks have similar sites, and if they're still open for the occasions someone can't get a regular site.
 
I camped about 10 times last year, in southern Ohio. All State parks and all bookings about 4 weeks in advance. Didn't always get the space I wanted but don't remember "not" being able to get a reservation.

My plans did change once and I had to cancel a reservation late and paid quite a bit to do it. I don't blame anyone. It was my plan and my plan changed and clearly someone could have had that reservation had I not had it.

The Ohio State Parks system is super easy to navigate and use.

I guess if I had any complaint at all it would be that there should be a "late check out" option for Sundays. Clearly the biggest demographic in the summer is the 3 day folks. I just got in the routine of paying for Sunday night. It's dumb to have to get the boat out of the lake and pack up for like an 11am departure. I'd definitely pay 1/2 day fee for a 6pm Sunday departure.

It's not like there is a line a mile long on Sunday noon of people waiting to check in.
 
......I think many of us who are poised to continue doing this long-term are eagerly awaiting the moment the RV-curious and Covid-vacationers decide owning an RV is too expensive/ too much work or give up because they can't find a place to take their RV. .....
sadly, we have been struggling with this issue since long before the wuhan flu. Seems like things were shifting for the worse more than 10 years ago here in Florida, and have gotten noticeably worse maybe in the last 5 years or so....
used to be that only the premo stuff on the coast were hard to get into last minute...Now everything seems to be.

I hope you are right that things even out back in the other direction, but I'm thinking they likely won't go far enough.

I'm a bit jealous of folks out West, with so many more wilderness boondocking options available.
 
Some great ideas here. Really like the idea of Sunday through Wednesday. May have to dig into this idea a bit more.

As for changing dates, easily. It doesn't seem to happen. When you check on the Ohio website, things are just booked solid.
 
We booked sites through the middle of October back in January, and things were getting tight then. My wife has the same issue with little advance notice on her work schedule. I signed up to leave our motorhome at our favorite campground for six weeks, and we’ll drive up on weekends. It’s about a 90 minute drive, and she’ll come up after work to join me. It was a little expensive, but we’re guaranteed a spot and it works with her job situation.
 
Some great ideas here. Really like the idea of Sunday through Wednesday. May have to dig into this idea a bit more.

As for changing dates, easily. It doesn't seem to happen. When you check on the Ohio website, things are just booked solid.
Changing dates inside 3 or 4 weeks was pretty impossible last year too, Especially the holiday weekends. I didn't go camping on any of the holiday weekends.

I tried to go out every second weekend and booked outside 4 weeks in advance. Maybe in hindsight I was more flexible on my weekends. There could have been a booked out weekend or two and I probably just shifted a week. I am pretty easy going and flexible on my dates.
 

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