There seems to be a lot of concern this year about RV parks and campgrounds being booked solid and having no place to go. Yet, the way we travel by RV (and make reservations) hasn’t changed. In this article, we want to dispel some of the hype around campground reservations and provide you with some actionable advice to get out there and make your adventure happen.
But first, it’s important to acknowledge that the conclusions we make are almost always aligned with our beliefs.
What does that have to do with campground reservations? Let’s say someone buys into the idea that “everything is booked,” and their summer plans are doomed. He or she makes one phone call to a state park to learn that they are booked solid. Do they make a second phone call? Doubtful. The first phone call proved their point. It’s over. Pack it up and sell the RV!
Meanwhile, another RVer who does not have the idea that “everything is booked” calls a second campground, maybe a third, or even changes their exact destination or travel dates. They trade the adjustments for the memory of a lifetime.
Certainly there are more RVers today due to borders being closed and limited international travel. We have the distinct advantage of having RV’d semi full-time for the past 5 years and being able to compare 2021 to 2020 and 2016.
Candidly, we can’t tell the difference.
There has never been a time during our 5 years of travel that a reservation was not required at a highly popular place during a popular time of year. The only difference between 2016 and 2021 is what or who we blame.
The strategy we have adopted over the years remains the same: make reservations in key destinations with as much notice as possible and then figure out the gaps between as you go
There are several reasons we like this approach. The first is that we might experience a mechanical issue and need a day or a week to sort it out, without the domino effect changing all of our plans and losing reservation deposits. More likely, we might really enjoy a spot and want to stay another day or two. And of course, there is the possibility that we won’t like a place and will want to move on a little sooner than expected.
Having some buffer between key spots allows for spontaneity, which is where some of the best experiences come from. After all, it’s easier to exceed expectations when you don’t have any!
“How did you get in here??”
We hear this all the time. Popular state parks on the water tend to book 6 months in advance (to the minute). So imagine the surprise of people who called in January to book in June when they learn that we called 2 minutes ago!
When people make reservations 6 months in advance, their plans aren’t real. They’re basically hoping that by the time June comes, the schedule of their kids, grandkids, and other commitments will all work out. Most of the time it does. Sometimes it doesn’t. So when do they call to cancel? The day they don’t get their money back. When is that day? Every day for someone! Figure out when reservations go “back into the system,” and call or go online at that time to pick up a cancellation. This approach is how we’ve stayed at some of the best (and most popular) State Parks during peak times of year.
During Season 9, we recorded a video about the cost of RV Living. The key point in that video is that preparation is the #1 way to save money. In our experience, when there are few sites available, the sites left tend to be at nicer RV parks and the premium lots. Yes, this can be a budget killer, but there are also plenty of ways to keep your RV lodging budget in check by using Harvest Hosts, Boondockers Welcome, dry camping, BLM and of course Walmart. On occasion, it’s fun to experience a luxury RV park with amenities that you won’t find just anywhere. And a few nights of dry camping can sustain your nightly average. And remember that while these RV parks are expensive, in most cases, they are far below the cost of a hotel.
Keep your eye on the big picture!
You’ve heard us say “start small, start now” a million times. The idea is not to wait for that perfect RV or the perfect time to get going. The same is true for RV parks. It might be tempting to think that if you can’t stay exactly where you want, when you want, it’s not worth it… but that’s not true.
The fact is, memories have far less to do with your location than what you did or who you’re with. Think back to the adventures of last year or even a decade ago… is lodging the first thing that comes to mind? Or is it the overall experience?
There will be plenty of twists and turns in your RVing journey, and that’s part of what makes it exciting. Do your best to take your time, remain flexible and mind the dip!
Yep, I got online every day for 4 weeks to catch a waterfront cancelation at Sunshine key.. and we got it. Yes, it’s crazy expensive. But it’s my birthday year and I want waterfront, AND Donnie can’t walk that far, so we’ll dry camp later in the year, in Alaska.
I started planing nine months ago. I had resorts tell me I would not find anything. I did not quit- and got lucky after calling and calling many resorts. We got a site at Key Largo Kampground and the Coconut Cay in Marathon. Now I may of got lucky if I tried a month before leaving. For our trip back up the east coast of Florida- I started calling a month before leaving, some places they were kind enough to put me on their cancellation list – wow they called and were booked all the way to St Augustine. My thought is if we change our mind we can afford to cancel w no refund for less than $30 a night – and hey make another campers day. If you are comfortable boondocking it really isn’t a big deal. If you are not and can’t be flexible get on the phone and prepare to make many calls.
Excellent advice…thank you!
Great advice !!!!
Having a positive outlook and being flexible can not only save a lot of frustration but sometimes those unexpected detours can be the best plan ever !!!
Blessings
Shirley
I had to laugh- we stayed in St Augustine in November and drove our truck (like yours) into town to check out a restaurant. Oops- small narrow roads were not our friends- had to put in our mirrors to get through the street! Heading to the Keys next January so thanks for the recommendations!
I’m a fly by the seat of my pants kind of person. If I had turned back after several reservation denials I wouldn’t have found cheap and even free campsites here in South Florida! SFWM offers free camping and even some with shower houses. You have to get a Special Use License from them for a reservation but that only takes a few minutes. Great advise you two!
what is SFWM? I am guessing South Florida Water Management or something similar? We normally use the State Parks, but haven’t had a lot of luck this year, even 11 months out.
Thank you for not playing into the hype just to get us to click on your articles and videos, like I suspect others are doing. You are our “go to” for all things RV!
Love your videos. My husband and I (seniors) have been full-time for almost three years. Previously we were spur-of-the-moment travelers, but we learned quickly exactly what you have discussed here: planning. Reservations make life on the road sometimes very frustrating, but most times easier on the marriage LOL. I would like to know what resources (apps/Internet?) you use to find the hidden waterfall or spectacular vistas that are on your route.
Wow, perfect advice at the perfect time! We have been working on our 10k mile trip out west, hoping to hit many National Parks and famous sights. I get overwhelmed and the sitting and planning was getting to me. Thanks for the attitude adjustment!
We also took your advice about the big rocks first; we heard that in church years ago!
Glad to be able to read this. We’v been planning a trip with friends going all the way to the Grand Canyon and then through UT and CO that’s supposed to take about 6 weeks. Making reservations has been the hardest part of it so we will kind of wing it as it were in some of those places. It’s all about the adventure, right?
Larry there is SO MUCH available for dry camping in Utah, especially just outside of Moab. Have a great trip!
We have a ton of BLM and forest lands in Colorado, that you should have mostly free here as well.
The fun part of not booking is finding a small community’ that offers some delightful surprises and you can help by buying a coffee or a nice lunch or fresh food at their market. In Australia we stay in country Showgrounds or free camping sites with the occasional RV parks in popular areas but make sure we are not there in school holidays
Love your notion that conclusions are aligned with beliefs, that’s a universal rule we all should keep in mind in all contexts.
So far, your strategy for campsites worked for us as well. When we travelled with small 22ft class C we drove up to state parks with „we are full“ signs on the street and almost all the time got a spot. Didn’t try it with our larger rig now.
Do the state parks not update those signs? I assumed they’d be accurate.
Plans………….. we don’t need no stinkin plans : )
I would say this year (winter) may be an anomaly in FL, especially south Florida. We have been snow-birding a few years in SWF and this year is different because many Canadians cannot cross the border. Which has left a few lots empty in our resort and more lots available for rent for short periods. Our experience before Covid was; unless you were willing to take a site for three months, most people laughed at us.. A three month commitment got you on the “wait list”.. Just wanted to put that out there, so as we return to normal, planning ahead, way ahead I believe will be a necessity unfortunately.. Big fans and love your attitude and commitment!
Agree that we didn’t notice anything different. Popular places book up. There’s a million other opportunities. You just have to find/alter course slightly if places are booked
We do the exact same when planning our longer summer trip…book the one that’s hardest to get first, then work around it. And check every day for cancellations at places like beach front State Parks. But living in California we have seen the effects of Covid…many SPs were closed (some still are closed or were for quite a while….FL is very different!), similar situation in Oregon, so we have to keep checking. We’re now 4 months out from our June trip and some are still closed in both states.
Love, love, love what you said. We just bought our motorhome and I have bought into the hype of “all parks are booked”. We did some calling around (as we spontaneously sold our house-a neighbor asked if we would consider selling and we did!) We found a place for a month in Florida, with no problem.
W.e RV in North America during the normal seasons but every spring or fall we RV in Europe. We rent a motorhome and go wherever we feel like going without making any reservations except for our first few nights and last night. (key nights) We almost always love the places we end up in. If its bad weather where we intend to go we’ll head off in the opposite direction. We highly agree with your philosophy of reservations and highly recommend that as the way to RV.
We are from Arizona and retired in July of 2020. This entire past year has been all about learning the full time RV gig. Everyone has their own “appetite” for what they are willing to do, and as I said, we are learning. While on the road “up North”, we waited until November to book a popular AZ regional park for January. First try I was able to get ten days (lucked into a cancelation) on the very dates I needed. We then decided we wanted to stay five weeks, so we kept working the cancelation plan. We ended up with the five weeks we wanted, but had to change sites 13 times! We have an Airstream, which is easy to set up and break down, so it wasn’t terrible. Next year I’ll be calling for reservations at the stroke of midnight six months in advance…but it can be done and we absolutely loved the park. Got to meet some great host families too. Where there’s a will…
And thanks to Marc and Trish for creating this platform!
I love all your videos and love reading your info you share. I did want to know how you are dealing with budgeting in the rising gas prices. We gave a class A RV with a diesel pusher and feel like the gas prices are getting so high that we may have to sell it. Please give me your opinion. Thanks! Janet
I enjoy you all very much and love Sunday nights! We purchased our first TT in August and made so many special memories this fall! Here’s my question… Are you all practicing social distancing and mask wearing? I love your videos but have noticed you are often in the company of others without masks on (for ex. the rig tour this week). I don’t ask to put you on defense, just wondering as you have a large audience and are traveling through a health crisis. I don’t want you to stop but also wondering if you might consider bringing viewers attention to the cautions I hope you are taking… Still today almost a year into this pandemic. Thanks!
I so appreciate your videos. We have a tiny Coleman with a Murphy bed that I love as we camped close by home up until now (Lake Keowee and Jocassee, SC are gorgeous), often with friends but it’s time to expand as we’ll both be retired next month. My husband didn’t want to travel cross country without his toys and I convinced him we should head out with what we’ve got and figure out if we even like it (we suspect we’ll love it). Thanks for your advice. I have my eye on a smaller Momentum toy hauler rig than what you had as there are only two of us and we have a F350 that is not a dually, but I am definitely loving how well the Momentum’s seem to be built. You both also look like you eat so well on the road, so Trish I’m so looking forward to your cookbook!
Your article helped calm my nerves about this summer. Thank you!
Agree….but hate giving away this truth. We are at Topsail SP currently & got in last minute. Leaving today for Grayton Beach SP (last minute). We’ve been traveling the gulf coast & also scored Fort Pickens SP & Henderson SP last minute!
Tip: if rain is forecasted in an area, there’s gonna be cancellations. 😉
I absolutely love you both. Your mindset. The help you provide. All of it.
Thank you. Sincerely.
Robbie Law. First time Full timer.
Love this post and al the positive comments.
We’re just beginning our full time journey & have been somewhat concerned with availability. We started working through some reservations (especially with Memorial Holiday coming up).
We’ve found so far that we’re able to “connect a dot” from one site to the next if we just work through it a little. We found availability at a horse ranch with options for full hook ups 3 nights, semi full hook ups 3 nights, & no hookups 3 nights. We’re pretty sustainable we think. It will be good to experience all aspects. As you all have said just have to be flexible & keep a positive open mind set. That is the part of KYD that we enjoy the most!!! Try not to sweat the small stuff! Blessings & Happy RVing