Community Forums

Issaquahiker · 05-13-2022, 12:29 PM

I want to be at Acadia national park campground on September 16. The reservation window does not open until July 16th. Does anyone know what time of day that window opens up? Like is it a stroke after midnight eastern time on July 16th?

Backcountry1 · 05-13-2022, 12:32 PM

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE...eprd535706.pdf

10am Eastern.

Issaquahiker · 05-13-2022, 02:28 PM

I searched but did not find that information. Very much appreciated

burgmark · 05-21-2022, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Issaquahiker

I want to be at Acadia national park campground on September 16. The reservation window does not open until July 16th. Does anyone know what time of day that window opens up? Like is it a stroke after midnight eastern time on July 16th?

I tried to book a campground in the Tetons in September, I was trying to reserve a site the second it became available and there was so much competition that I was not successful, and there are not many places in that area for a Class A.

Not sure how long you are staying, but if less than the 2 week maximum you might start trying to reserve for dates before September 16th and just book extra days upfront. I believe you can then modify your reservation to remove the upfront days without a charge, but you should verify. That way you have more than one day to participate in the campsite lottery.

I'd like to go to Acadia in the fall of 2023, are you planning to visit other attractions in the northeast? Its such a distance from the midwest and so I like to spend some time when I travel that far, but can see spending more than a week at Acadia.

Mike8253 · 05-21-2022, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Issaquahiker

I want to be at Acadia national park campground on September 16. The reservation window does not open until July 16th. Does anyone know what time of day that window opens up? Like is it a stroke after midnight eastern time on July 16th?

If I were you, I'd book a commercial CG near the NP now as a backup, and hold onto it in case you can't book anything nearby on Recreation.gov. Acadia is a must see, and if you have to pay commercial rates to see it, so be it. In the meantime, if you have a specific CG of interest that requires a recreation.gov reservation, and you are unsuccessful getting a site when the reservation window opens, then I would get a subscription with Campnab to be notified when a cancellation comes up that meets all or most of your date requirements. You'll have multiple subscription options to choose from. It's amazing to see how many cancellations are processed for sites such as these. Just remember, Campnab advises you when a site becomes available, BUT then you have to jump onto recreation.gov to make the reservation. If you get lucky, you can cancel your commercial reservation and probably save some money. If Campnab doesn't work out, you're not out that much money for trying. Good luck.

Tomahawk · 05-21-2022, 04:24 PM

I wasn't sure where this was so I looked it up and looked at one random campground (blackwoods). It doesn't seem crazy crowded, right now there is availability in early June (before kids get out of school) and at the back end of the window (July 22). The backend openings tells the campground isn't really difficult to get into. I think with kids going back to school in early September, you have a good chance of getting what you want. I like the advice of reserving something private as a fallback just pay attention to the cancellation policy. I was unaware of the Campnab thing but that sounds good too. I think you odds get drastically better if you can be a little flexible in your dates. Earlier this year I was able to grab a place in Yosemite, I just had to have some wiggle room in my first and last day. Unfortunately, my Father-in-law had an emergency and I had to cancel my Yosemite trip.

Issaquahiker · 05-22-2022, 12:58 PM

Departing from Arkansas to Adirondacks, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina (for MIL's 80th birthday), home!

Hate booking in advance but it seems necessary these days. I am about halfway thru making reservations, its a lot of work because we are staying in multiple places in most of these states. I do have some flexibility at Acadia but want around 7-8 days there, split between Schoodic Woods & Blackwoods campgrounds. I looked at commercial places but they are pretty booked and many of them require payment in advance and are not refundable.

I will definitely research campnab. Thanks!

Issaquahiker · 07-21-2022, 01:50 PM

I was able to get Acadia booked but it was ridiculously difficult. I had flexibility so it took me 3 days, poised at my computer at 10am EST.

For others trying this, make sure you are logged in, dates entered, campsite picked and ready to push the "book" button. For my 3rd day attempt, I pulled up a timer that went down to the seconds. Held my pointer on the "book" button and hit book the exact second it went to 10am. Not sure that made a difference but it worked for me.