Cedarhill
Deep South
Senior Member
Joined: 09/20/2011
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
 Offline
|
Like most people, I don't usually make reservations. However, I recently planned to camp in an obscure NFS campground in a very rural area of the Talladega National Forest in Alabama called Coleman Lake. We were planning to arrive mid morning on Thursday. Just to be on the safe side, we called the Forest Ranger to get the status of the park. He told us that the campground had been full every single day since it had opened and we would be taking a big chance to go there and hope someone would leave. He said he heard similar reports of full occupancy from NF campgrounds all over the Southeast. He told me he had never seen anything like it. I did a little more checking and found that State parks are also experiencing greater than normal traffic. If this trend continues, it will alter the way we plan camping trips.
|
fla-gypsy
North Florida
Senior Member
Joined: 04/19/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
In popular areas of Florida the state park system is experiencing very good occupancy rates. I always recommend reservations to any that want to use the excellent system here.
09 SuperDuty Crew Cab 6.8L/4.10(The Black Pearl)
06 Keystone Hornet 29 RLS/(The Cracker Cabana)
|
revump
Las Vegas
Senior Member
Joined: 07/02/2005
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
It depends on the area. We travel FT without reservations most of the time. When we have an idea where we might stop for the night, we call the CG and make sure that they have room for us. If not, we call the next one. We stop early if we need to.
Bob
|
rockhillmanor
On the Road
Senior Member
Joined: 12/06/2003
View Profile
|
SteveRuff wrote:It is just like investing. What is your tolerance for risk exposure? My wife has this thing about always needing to know where we are going, when we are getting there, and how long we are staying. Even with that being said she usually starts scanning the books and the computer programs around noon or so to lock us in a place for the night.....
When I started out I did this too. Had the anal need to know where I was going to stay assurance. It is a little difficult to get used to driving not knowing where you are going to stay! But in time you will get used to it once you see that there will always be a CG somewhere anywhere you go.
Early on in my travels I didn't know you can pull into a closed CG late at night! You just pull in find a site and pay in the morning. Many even have a box up front with a site map where you can drop your money into, find a site and you are good to go no matter how late into the evening it is. No more worrying about making sure to arrive in a town with a CG before their closing time.
Once I learned this, my RV'ing driving experience became much more pleasurable. 
"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us".
|
Veebyes
Bermuda & Maryland
Senior Member
Joined: 11/24/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
Mostly no reservations here. Reservations are only made for holiday weekends in high demand areas or for special events. In all other cases we may have a CG, usually a SP, of first choice but are prepared for plan B or C.
Showing up at a CG before mid afternoon without reservations usually produces good results.
Boat: 32' 1996 Albin 32+2, single Cummins 315hp
40+ night per year overnighter
2007 Alpenlite 34RLR
2006 Chevy 3500 LT, CC,LB 6.6L Diesel
Ham Radio: VP9KL, IRLP node 7995
|
|
|
NCWriter
North Carolina
Senior Member
Joined: 10/05/2011
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
So far with a little more than a year of camping, we've always made reservations. For me it is part of the enjoyment of our trips to read up on the most scenic and best reviewed campgrounds as we plan our routes and nail down the plan.
Often we've stayed in popular state and national parks and wouldn't want to take a chance on not getting in. And I find it relaxing to just pull out the next day's address and type it in to the GPS when we're on our way in the morning.
But then, I spent about 20 years working in the travel industry so I guess I'm destination and reservation oriented.
We're going to try winging it heading south from Newfoundland at the end of the summer. We drive a Class B van so just about any site anywhere works.
2006 Leisure Travel Van Free Spirit 210B Sprinter
|
elkhornsun
Monterey
Senior Member
Joined: 11/29/2011
View Profile
Offline
|
It depends upon the size of your RV, whether you need or want a hookup, the area, and the time of year. The Grand Canyon is not a problem during the winter months nor is Yellowstone. The more primitive the campground the less likely the need or even ability to reserve a space. There are campgrounds that have several others in the area so if one is full there are other options and in other areas there may be only one campground within a 100 mile radius and a limited number of spaces into which your RV can fit.
It also depends upon how flexible you are with your schedule. A friend of my wife is making a 5 month trip with her husband and has every night scheduled at a specific campground and has made reservations 6 months in advance. They have a time table that they want to keep. Others may not mind spending extra days at a location until there is room at the next place on their route or may not have a fixed route in mind.
|
wbwood
Mooresville/Troutman, NC area
Senior Member
Joined: 05/01/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
camperasbobandbonnie wrote:We are planning a trip across the states but have no planned itinerary. Can we just arrive at a campground and usually get a spot to park for the night.
That's a loaded question. What are your standards? Where are you going? You will need to do some planning on where you will be and at what time of the year. Some places get really busy at certain times of the year. Depending on your standards. And budget also.
Brian
RVing Illustrated
2010 Keystone Sprinter Select 31BH
2001 Coleman Santa Fe
|
