Community Forums

jmcannonball · 03-26-2017, 07:05 PM

We have traveled throughout the lower 48 and Alaska and rarely have we made a reservation. However, we do usually start "looking ahead" around 1pm and guage where we think we will be around 4pm. During the high travel season, we will make a call around 1-2pm to a campground in the vicinity where we plan to be for the evening.

**TonyDi** · 03-26-2017, 08:13 PM

We like to use rvparkreviews and rvparky. My DW is great with this stuff and she can locate CGs while I'm driving. There are quite a few apps for CGs you just need to see which ones you prefer to work with.

Dutch Star Don · 03-26-2017, 08:28 PM

Well......we travel quite a bit and just did a 9 week coast to coast last summer. I think some are remembering the "old days" when they say they never get reservations, or they must camp at some really crappy spots or have tiny RV's. The RV industry is BOOMING, consequently, finding campgrounds is getting harder and harder.

You won't touch the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone or Yosemite without booking a YEAR in advance. I'm not saying everyplace is like that, but waiting until 1pm to find a spot at 4pm, good luck.

We do the same as others. The night before, we pick the city where we plan to stop the next day, use RV Park Reviews to select the two nicest RV parks, copy down their information and then call them the next morning when we hit the road. Again, this is good for places that aren't destinations or in big cities.

Larry · 03-26-2017, 11:27 PM

If just traveling for several days we usually run until about dark then check the WalMart atlas and WalMart Allstays for a good WalMart for the night.

docj · 03-27-2017, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Well......we travel quite a bit and just did a 9 week coast to coast last summer. I think some are remembering the "old days" when they say they never get reservations, or they must camp at some really crappy spots or have tiny RV's. The RV industry is BOOMING, consequently, finding campgrounds is getting harder and harder.

I'm glad to see someone else experiencing what we've been finding. If you want a full hookup site in the "best rated" park in a particular city, more and more you need at least a reservation made a day before (or a lot sooner in "destination" areas.) We don't use a lot of a park's amenities when we stop since it's just the two of us and we have everything we need onboard. But we do like to stay at safe and pleasant parks.

GoneToTheDog · 03-28-2017, 01:50 PM

I'm with you, docj. We have never been boondockers, and prefer a full hookup in a decent park each night. We typically make reservations, days if not weeks ahead of time....when possible. I do realize, that doesn't always work for some folks that do more spur of the moment travel.

winniman · 03-28-2017, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiawah

RVParky is a free phone app that knows where you are, and shows you all the places you can stay (Campgrounds, walmarts, rest stops, etc).

You also can preplan, by putting in a city/address of where you may be, and it will show you the places around that location instead.

x2 for me

docj · 03-28-2017, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiawah

RVParky is a free phone app that knows where you are, and shows you all the places you can stay (Campgrounds, walmarts, rest stops, etc).

You also can preplan, by putting in a city/address of where you may be, and it will show you the places around that location instead.

campgroundreviews.com now has both Android and iOs apps. It isn't as all-inclusive as RVParky, in that it doesn't show Walmarts, etc, but it gives you direct access to all the reviews in the RVPR database.

SkiSmuggs · 03-29-2017, 01:58 PM

Once we find a place with AllStays or RVParky, we call ahead to see if they have a spot for us. If they are filling up, we reserve a place. We also have the GSC Campground Guide for when we can't get data on our smart phones.

Sheriffbubba · 03-31-2017, 10:47 AM

I admire all of you guys that hit the road without reservations. My wife and I mostly camp closer to home because we are still working... almost every RV park / campground around here is booked solid all summer long. Even on weekdays. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough but it seems that lately if you don't have reservations months in advance, you are out of luck, especially if you have a big rig and want full hookups.

winniman · 03-31-2017, 11:03 AM

I have about 25000 kms of unreserved travel in an rv. Wont travel any other way. Sometimes stuff happens and you dont get as far as you thought. Sometimes you find the area is not very interesting and you would rather move on and spend the time somewhere more interesting. You can always boondock or do Walmart if you are stuck. Never had a problem finding somewhere to camp so far.

nothermark · 03-31-2017, 11:49 AM

If you are going to be somewhere for very long I'd do reservations. Saves hassles. Weekends can also be a hassle in many places. Mid week not so much. As folks say, the good spots fill up first. We tend to travel without reservations but call ahead around lunch time as we can usually manage another 50-100 miles if traveling. That is usually enough to get away from an event or location based crowd.

parkerbill · 03-31-2017, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheriffbubba

I admire all of you guys that hit the road without reservations. My wife and I mostly camp closer to home because we are still working... almost every RV park / campground around here is booked solid all summer long. Even on weekdays. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough but it seems that lately if you don't have reservations months in advance, you are out of luck, especially if you have a big rig and want full hookups.

As stated above (or below) we are one of those "no way ahead of time" reservation makers when on long distance trips; however, we live in Florida and the sad truth is if we want to stay in a lot of places here in Florida we do tend to have to make reservations. For example, prior to leaving for Alaska in late June we have short trips planned within a few hours of our home next week and in early May. Last week we made reservations for both places.

But when on the road on a long trip part of the adventure to us is seeing what we can find each night. We have stayed in some really nice places and some not real nice places. We discovered my all time favorite campsite in Wyoming that way and it was free. Again, it's part of the adventure for us. Occasionally we end up in a rest area or a Walmart, etc.

Typically what we do is in the early to mid-afternoon when we have a better idea where we may be by say 4-5 PM my wife fires up the Allstays Pro app and starts looking for places a bit further down the road and she will bounce what she finds against some review apps such as RV Park Reviews, Campendium, RVParky, etc., and drill down. Then she will call to see how busy they are and may or may not make a reservation for a site. If we really find the area interesting we may stay a few days.

On the upcoming Alaska trip we plan to do a lot more free parking on the way, so it may get really adventurous for us. :-)))

Now, a good friend of mine takes a totally opposite approach. Part of the fun for him and his wife is to completely plan their trips about a year ahead of time and make reservations for every night. It's what they find most comfortable, but to my wife and me it takes most of the spontaneity and much of the adventure out of the trip. To each his/her own.

twogypsies · 03-31-2017, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parkerbill

On the upcoming Alaska trip we plan to do a lot more free parking on the way, so it may get really adventurous for us. :-)))

I think you'll find your Alaskan trip will be easy without a lot of reservations - and more pleasant.

Some days we'd only drive 50-100 miles and see a great area so we'd stop. There are gorgeous boondocking sites along rivers and lakes.

Get Mike & Terri Church's book 'Alaskan Camping' which includes Canada and the Yukon. Along with RV parks, public campgrounds she also gives good boondocking spots. All of these are with GPS coordinates - easy to find. Most places along your route won't have addresses.

For a whole summer driving to and staying in Alaska we only made two reservations - one for the July 4 weekend because we were going to be in a prime area. The other was for 5 nights in Denali NP in Teklanika campground - the farthest you can drive in the park. We only made those reservations a couple weeks prior when we could better judge when we'd be there. As it turned out we were a little early for Denali so on a whim we boondocked nearby at a lovely spot and drove into the park early morning. We easily secured an additional spot in Denali's front campground - Riley Creek - for 5 more nights. We spent 10 nights in Denali and saw 'THE' mountain 7 of 10 days and saw every one of the big animals living there - more than once.