Community Forums

MEWright · 11-09-2018, 08:08 PM

So we decided to (TRY TO) do a quick trip to Fredericksburg TX for the weekend. Jumped on line to make reservations at Ladybird Park, nope, none, nada.....Tried every combo, 30A-50A, huge space, tight space--Every combo I could think of and NADA.

Now there is really nothing going on this weekend that would be considered "special", so I figured I would call and try that way, maybe they had something.

The lady that answered was very sweet when she chuckled and said they were full,,, FOR THE NEXT 4-6 MONTHS.....

WTH....

So I am asking you FT'ers, how common is this? How far out do we really need to shoot for getting reservations at State or Fed parks.

I know some are years out (Yellowstone, Yosemite and some others).

Since it appears that many state parks around here are comparable to private parks, are state parks worth it (money aspect only)?

It appears that some states (in some areas) only do fist come first serve. How common is this?

I guess this is the next learning curve. Even with an awesome RV you cannot be fully spontaneous.

Looking forward to planing tips from you guys and gals!

WinnieView · 11-09-2018, 08:34 PM

You motorhome is a self-contained RV why not just boondocking?

Isaac-1 · 11-09-2018, 10:52 PM

There are a number of other RV parks in and around Fredericksburg, have you tried all of them? Sure they may cost a little more, but Lady Bird Johnson park is not exactly cheap for a public park.

Ike

p.s. I stayed there for 3 nights last April, booked 3 days ahead it was half empty when I was there, though several sites were close for renovation at the time.

Tha_Rooster · 11-10-2018, 03:45 AM

I’ve found in summer months and holidays minimum 6 month to 18 months, Disney holidays years.

Gary RVRoamer · 11-10-2018, 08:57 AM

Popular destinations are often booked well in advance, sometimes a year or more (if allowed to book that far ahead). And state/federal parks often book first because of lower prices, senior discounts, and often more generously sized/placed sites as well.

Ditto for holiday weekends and special events, and places like Fredericksburg often have events going on that you may not be aware of.

I recall making an overnight stop in a small town in Iowa and being shocked that the only local campground was booked solid. Turned out it was Homecoming weekend at the local college and the nice lady at the campground told me it was booked solid for that weekend for years in advance. But being helpful small town folks, she rigged us a temporary spot where we could get enough power and water for an overnight stay.

redcolorado · 11-10-2018, 09:11 AM

The snowbirds are here. The hill country, gulf coast and RGV are very popular this time of year.

D Gardiner · 11-10-2018, 11:51 AM

Anytime we plan a big trip, we start booking overnight stays up to 6 months in advance. That goes especially for national and state parks.

For Zion and Grand Canyon this year we had to reverse our route due to reservations booked solid in GC.

We are staying in Yosemite NP for Christmas, and booked in August. We did so because Yosemite has few spaces that will fit our 30' Class A. They also close the Lower and North Pines campgrounds, in the winter. Only Upper Pines stays open all year.

BTW,....chains are required to be in your RV, ready to use if conditions require. The park police will cite you if you need them and don't have them for use.

hamfam · 11-10-2018, 12:21 PM

We will start making reservations for all of our summer 2019 trips in Nov/Dec 2018. We live in Northern NV and travel a lot close to home and all over the west coast. RVing is extremely popular nowadays and as a result, campgrounds fill up quick. Good Luck out there!

MEWright · 11-10-2018, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2008Seneca

You motorhome is a self-contained RV why not just boondocking?

Not allot of public land in Texas. Boondocking is not a great option close to home. We will be doing this as we get more comfortable with the MH but we and it are still newbs...Baby steps..

MEWright · 11-10-2018, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isaac-1

There are a number of other RV parks in and around Fredericksburg, have you tried all of them? Sure they may cost a little more, but Lady Bird Johnson park is not exactly cheap for a public park.

Ike

p.s. I stayed there for 3 nights last April, booked 3 days ahead it was half empty when I was there, though several sites were close for renovation at the time.

We have a ranch in Fredericksburg. We wanted to do a " touristy" weekend and stay specifically there close to town so we could play.

powderman · 11-10-2018, 07:42 PM

In 2015 we were in the upper peninsula of Mich when we decided to head West on the spur of the moment. We ended up doing over 6000 miles with no reservations. Never went without a place to stay. You just need to be flexible.

ga traveler · 11-14-2018, 01:43 PM

I never made reservations, except at Disney and fla parks in the summer. Then a few years ago something happened. It is called full timing. So many people have decided to live in their campers, that it is filling up campgrounds on the east coast. We love Skideaway Island state park in Savannah. Up until 5 years ago it was our "go too" park. Never made reservations. Now it is full most of the time. With more people going full time, They are going to have to stay somewhere. It is only going to get worse!

computerguy · 11-14-2018, 02:22 PM

Wow, I just booked a few weeks in January in the Orlando area. I've never had such problems as others describing booking 18 months in advance

I guess I should buy a lottery ticket or something.

GoneToTheDog · 11-15-2018, 08:36 AM

It all depends on your nightly destination these days, and what activities may be taking place in the area at the time.

For instance, we traveled from Arizona to Oklahoma this year, leaving October 1. We started calling and booking reservations in August. We have stayed overnight in Albuquerque numerous times, but with the annual Balloon Festival going on....not a chance of finding an RV park with space available for the duration.
We stayed overnight at the KOA in Grants, New Mexico this time...on our way east and again on our way west returning home. Both times during check in at the KOA, roughly 3:00 in the afternoon, they said to be glad we had made a reservation weeks in advance as they had turning away over 50 RVs every day.

Ran into that same scenario at several other stops along the way. Totally full, every night. You would see rigs pull in late afternoon or early evening, and a few minutes later they were driving out. No space available. We were very glad we had planned ahead, and made reservations for every night.

We find traveling by RV to be more crowded every year.