Campsite's Not Available

JDHarrin · 08-11-2020, 07:51 AM

The wife and I bought an Aspect 28B recently and I'm having the hardest time finding full-service campsites that have openings. I know the RV industry is having a selling surge with Covid-19 and all, but this is ridiculous. It seems most people are parking and staying in place...

JD

Cataska · 08-11-2020, 07:56 AM

We go to the coast in the mid week often never a problem getting a spot but since covid all spots seem to be booked

armullis · 08-11-2020, 08:15 AM

It is Summertime, some have been released from “COVID Detention”, so let the fun begin! You might try RV Resorts for a full hookup site. A traditional campground might not have full hookups, let alone just power and or water.

Goodspike · 08-11-2020, 08:17 AM

I just finally bought some generators to open up my options. I prefer state parks and a lot of them do not have connections or connections at all the spots.

My old generator at 150 pounds was just too heavy to bring with.

Morich · 08-11-2020, 08:18 AM

There are a number of factors which combine and I can see it makes for a shortage. One is that many states have been closing campgrounds due to cutting budgets and that has been going on for years. Some campgrounds are getting flooded too often and not being replaced or rebuilt further from the water. Some sites are closed due to a lack of personnel or crowding which makes them unsafe and then there is certainly a rush of people who have never camped before. We drove through a local campground recently and folks without campers were using some of the campsites for picnics as the rest of the park was closed due to too many people. COE parks are so low cost for camping that some are willing to pay the 5-6 dollar difference to get outside. Too many people or too few sites?
Just a combo of lots of small things which does total up to a problem for many to find sites.

gurroz · 08-11-2020, 09:10 AM

JDHarrin, you did not day what part of the country you are in. Some areas are worse than others. We are presently in Pismo Beach, CA for two weeks and then move to Point Mugu State Park. If you want to stay in the State Parks at the beach in CA you must make your reservation 6 months ahead. Most State Campgrounds do not have full hookups, if they do they are limited. We mostly dry camp and seldom spend time in organized campgrounds.

TJFogelberg · 08-11-2020, 03:16 PM

"It seems most people are parking and staying in place..."

It's different in the Midwest. Mostly transient campers like myself so not that hard to get sites with a little pre-planning. For weekends and the most popular spots, reserve as far ahead as possible. But Sun-Thurs can usually get a site.

Lots of state parks in MN, WI, and Iowa in addition to private campgrounds. MN and WI are big states and great places to explore in the summer months.

We roam the country after Labor Day, and again, have good luck getting sites as demand seems to go down after school starts. I have been able to reserve sites in Thousand Trails parks on the East Coast from mid-Sept thru mid-Dec so far with no problems.

be happy · 08-12-2020, 03:51 AM

I see from your profile that you are from VA. It may be harder finding spot back east then folks in the midwest or elsewhere. I know I had to cancel a punch of FHU sites in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire due to Covid. In talking with the campgrounds they had all sorts of openings. But those states were really tough on out of state travelers. I am traveling the upper midwest now and am finding the FHU campgrounds have openings. Its tough times for all just keep looking and widening your search.

Morich · 08-12-2020, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by be happy

I see from your profile that you are from VA. It may be harder finding spot back east then folks in the midwest or elsewhere. I know I had to cancel a punch of FHU sites in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire due to Covid. In talking with the campgrounds they had all sorts of openings. But those states were really tough on out of state travelers. I am traveling the upper midwest now and am finding the FHU campgrounds have openings. Its tough times for all just keep looking and widening your search.

This brings up a situation which we need to think about and react to as we find it changing almost daily. There is no uniform set of rules nor virus situation but more a set of fifty different state, each doing their own thing without regard for what much of the rest of the country is doing. We are no longer fifty united states but fifty which tend to hang somewhat close together! As we see the remote places like South Dakota still totally open to the virus spread, we will see the situation change if we plan to cross any state lines, so we have to be prepared to change plans as the rules and virus situation dictates.
We have let the virus and politics take over. Sometimes we do or don't agree with the policy but the virus doesn't even care!

**creativepart** · 08-12-2020, 09:38 AM

We start making reservations 30 to 45 days out before a trip. And, depending on the location it can be tough.

We leave Sept 1st for a 4-week trip. But we're headed West. We know ALL the places we're going and we booked everything before Aug 1st. We were turned down at one RV park. It's out in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. But, it's got great reviews and folks are all the time recommending that people check it out.

Good luck and have a good trip. Don't give up, modify your plans. That's what we all do.

Morich · 08-12-2020, 10:05 AM

It takes some time to figure out some of the differing methods that campgrounds use to show openings as there are a number of different little quirks that can throw you way off the truth on some systems. We do the corp parks as first choice, as we don't often feel we need the full hookups as including sewer. That is one compromise we each need to decide what level of hookups we "require" on each trip.
But learning to read past what may be posted on the Reserve America website took us some time to figure out. One big hicky for our use was the way they often show sites all full at the shoulder seasons when it may actually mean the traffic is down and they have simply stopped taking reservations as they are not expecting to ever be full! We have to keep in mind that Reserve America is a "for profit" operation and not meant as a public service, just something they grudgingly do!
One way to filter for this problem is to look at the reservations for earlier or later than your prefered stay dates. If you are wanting a site in November in most of the upper US and the sites all show full, suspect a problem and do some looking at the other dates like SEPT and OCT. If you find there are few full dates on Oct 20 but all totally full for the total month of Nov, it is quite often true that they are nearly empty and don't bother trying to take reservations! There is often a specific unposted date when this happens but it is often at the first of a month as the paperwork sorts often do not think in RV logic but more inclined to do things by the full month!
This is less prone to happen in commercial campgrounds but there are often seasons posted on their websites.
Summer when kids are usually out of school is always a question but other times, it gets to be a bit of guessing game for how to read things and we are inclined to call and check. Sometimes they just figure it's end of season and stop doing much to try to get your business but if you call and ask they may/ may not be glad to find a spot for the night.

Goodspike · 08-12-2020, 10:09 AM

My question is whether post-Labor day will be different this year with so many kids not being in class. Would people try remote learning from campsites?

Sun_Seeker · 08-12-2020, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goodspike

My question is whether post-Labor day will be different this year with so many kids not being in class. Would people try remote learning from campsites?

In the current mishmash of trying to find an open campsite...like the old child's game of Musical Chairs...I'm glad that I have a size of T.T. that can always be placed on an always open and available spot..

(tongue in cheek...)

...our driveway. We are prepared to roll out the canopy...bring the B.B.Q from around back....put out the 'campfire' chairs...and sing campfire songs, before going into the T.T. for a wonderful night's sleep on our Queen Short, camping on our always, reserved spot....lol. Hey folks...you have to maintain a sense of humor...always!

AJMike · 08-16-2020, 02:28 PM

I just think a lot more people are camping due to the virus, but it seems to vary a great deal by location.

We were recently in San Antonio and stopped at the place we normally use - Traveler's World RV park - and it was almost completely empty other than spots for long term users. But on our way back to the Phoenix area we stopped at South Llano River State Park and it was almost full. Normally during the week we can just stop early and have our pick but there were almost no spots left this time.

But the biggest surprise was our stop in Safford, Arizona. One of our favorite state parks - Roper Lake State Park - is just outside the city and we camp there often in the late Fall, Winter and early Spring, but never in the summer when the temperatures are just way too high. We stopped in Safford for something else and I looked at spaces at the park and they were almost all full. It was perhaps 106 F or so and normally the park is almost empty, but it was almost full.

I think people are just using the state campgrounds to get out of the house with their RVs and keep their distances from others.

AzLady · 08-16-2020, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDHarrin

The wife and I bought an Aspect 28B recently and I'm having the hardest time finding full-service campsites that have openings. I know the RV industry is having a selling surge with Covid-19 and all, but this is ridiculous. It seems most people are parking and staying in place...
JD

We live in Arizona and it has always been hard to get a spot in the Mountains during the summer. Everyone in their right mind gets out of the heat in the Valley. We don't just 'check' the RV Park's website, We call them. In times past, they usually reserved spaces for over-nighters or short stays. With so many people buying RV's now in an attempt to get away from their homes, RV Parks are getting booked up more than usual. Have you tried calling the parks you want to stay at and asking if you can get put on a 'cancellation' list? We've done that in the past too. Good Luck and Happy Camping.

Wyatt · 08-16-2020, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morich

It takes some time to figure out some of the differing methods that campgrounds use to show openings as there are a number of different little quirks that can throw you way off the truth on some systems. We do the corp parks as first choice, as we don't often feel we need the full hookups as including sewer. That is one compromise we each need to decide what level of hookups we "require" on each trip.
But learning to read past what may be posted on the Reserve America website took us some time to figure out....

We had an issue just last week staying at a campground in a state park in northern CA—Saint Francis Beach. We used Reserve California and got a last minute cancellation spot (they book six months out to the hour).

We were only able to stay the one day, as they were booked for the next day. But upon readying to vacate, we called Reserve California to see if any other spots had cancelled.

They told us they only take reservations 48 hours out, BUT, that we could talk with the park ranger and see if they had any cancellations—which we did, and they did have some cancellations. So I said, Great, we’ll just move to a cancelled site. Not so fast, the ranger said. Seems that they can’t take same day reservations. Asked why not, they replied it’s due to the COVID restrictions, and that they don’t want to be handling paperwork, that we needed to go through Reserve California.

I told them that Reserve California told us to talk to YOU, and that since we’re already checked in, there won’t be any paperwork.

Nope. Can’t break the rules they said. So even while sites sit empty, they can’t fill them. Gotta love bureaucracies...

Oh well, here’s the view from our one night stand...

feiter · 08-16-2020, 09:30 PM

I use RV Trip Wizard to find sites. I just finished setting up a trip from California to Michigan and back and had little trouble finding open parks. I think I received the message Park Closed Due to Covid only twice. The trip includes 19 reservations...10 going and 9 returning. Try Trip Wizard every camp in the nation shows up on the map.

dickb46 · 08-17-2020, 10:35 PM

Nice post Sun Seeker,
We've spent this entire year camping in the back yard and it's been pretty nice :}

**macnut** · 08-17-2020, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyatt

We had an issue just last week staying at a campground in a state park in northern CA

We’ve also had more issues with state parks than private campgrounds or county parks. In fact, since CA “improved” their reservation system we have had problems getting a good site in state parks. Instead of opening a month at a time, they open a day at a time so everyone competes for the same sites.