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Old 01-16-2019, 03:23 PM   #1
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What's the trick to getting good sites in state parks?

This will be our first serious summer of RVing. We have picked parks in New York and Michigan. Both require you to wait to book until 6 months before your arrival date. When I log in the first morning that I can book, all the good sites are gone. What do other campers know that I don't. Is this like booking for concerts where there is a secret preferred camper list?
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Old 01-16-2019, 03:27 PM   #2
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They're probably booked for the day or week before you plan on arriving. Many people book days they don't want and pay the change fee.
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Old 01-16-2019, 03:32 PM   #3
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Get up at mid-night. Seriously, that's what people are doing.

It also depends on the rules. In WI they allow booking a maximum of 21 days. People would want one specific weekend, book the entire 3 weeks prior to what they really wanted, but leave the site vacant until they arrived. Yes, people actually paid that much to camp for a 3 day weekend. WI DNR changed the rules so that you must occupy the site by the second night or you will lose it.

That said the times you want may be booked legitimately by people who are arriving prior to you.

When all is said and done this is why many people, including us, seek out good private CGs. More expensive but easier to get sites.
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Old 01-16-2019, 03:39 PM   #4
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When all is said and done this is why many people, including us, seek out good private CGs. More expensive but easier to get sites.
X-2 usually more amenities and in some cases, unfortunately, better clientele and rule enforcement.
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Old 01-16-2019, 04:32 PM   #5
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Depends on the state. Here in MN, you can book 1 year in advance, and out for however many days from there you want, up to 10 consecutive days.

More people now are starting their prime camping weekends a day or two early, so the arrive say on a Thursday.

Another thing already mentioned go online at midnight. Some systems have day light savings time turned off, hence you can register at 11pm, aka an hour early.
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Old 01-16-2019, 04:37 PM   #6
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We book 364 days early. We just got back from Buckskin in Parker Az and already booked for next year. Unfortunately these days its what you have to do.
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Old 01-16-2019, 04:42 PM   #7
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[QUOTE=DocBrown;720027]Get up at mid-night. Seriously, that's what people are doing.

Exactly right! In New York, it is 9 months prior to your desired date that you can book a campsite. My wife usually handles this task right at the stroke of midnight.

At some state parks in which we visit about the same time every year, a few fellow campers have asked why we seem to get the most desired campsites every time. I say "my wife is a little quicker on the mouse than your wife."
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Old 01-16-2019, 05:44 PM   #8
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Midnight. For the state parks here, that means midnight 365 days in advance, for our county parks it means January 2nd. Last year we bought a travel trailer in March and were totally shut out of the nearby campgrounds. A lot of 2018 was spent planning and reserving 2019.
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Old 01-16-2019, 06:32 PM   #9
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What they said! We camp the last week of the year at a local county park. When we check in, we reserve our site (and pay in full for it) for the following year.

Another thing is if the park is full, often many make reservations for more than they want and then cancel and pay any cancellation fees. Those sites are then available for reservation. The early and observant bird gets the worm.
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Old 01-16-2019, 06:49 PM   #10
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Mine in Florida send out a reminder email 2 weeks before. That's when people cancel and we swoop in and grab a site.
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Old 01-16-2019, 06:50 PM   #11
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We went through a similar experience for Florida (leaving in two weeks). We used two laptops and a mobile app all set to atomic time. In FL they open at 8 am so we were up and fingers ready to click at 7 am our time. It worked; then we had to wait two weeks to do it again! Eleven months in advance. Then we had to wait 6 months out to reserve COE campgrounds - it all worked out and we are set to go.
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Old 01-16-2019, 06:58 PM   #12
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Many States like Utah have an alternative method along with the Reserve America system. I can call the State Park and reserve a spot, we don't have to go thru the 6-month in advance at midnight lottery that you have to on RA.
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Old 01-17-2019, 04:15 AM   #13
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A lot me included have given up on state parks for prime times and are booking private campgrounds. You do pay more but you do get more for your money.
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Old 01-17-2019, 05:17 AM   #14
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As a Michigan State Park Campground Host, I've had many campers ask the same question. I tell them they can book 6 months in advance - at 12:00.01 a.m., and many campers will check the reservation site several times a day for cancelations. I've noticed a sharp increase in the number of weekday campers. More and more people are camping Monday - Thursday . . . especially retirees. And more people are camping the weekend before or after the big holiday weekends.

Perhaps I'll see you at one of Michigan's fabulous State Park campgrounds. Good luck with your booking, and Happy Camping!
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Old 01-17-2019, 09:39 AM   #15
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As others have said being online when the date becomes available. Some people have multiple computers going to try to get one of the preferred sites. The county parks have a seven day maximum and you can't book back to back weeks. That cuts down on people trying to book a lot more time than they will use in order to get a preferred site. There may be some "who you know" going on also.
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Old 01-17-2019, 10:26 AM   #16
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A lot me included have given up on state parks for prime times and are booking private campgrounds. You do pay more but you do get more for your money.
We have given up on most any campground that you have to have reservations... We find the best campgrounds are the ones that do not take reservations at all! Like these....
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Old 01-17-2019, 11:07 AM   #17
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As a Michigan State Park Campground Host, I've had many campers ask the same question. I tell them they can book 6 months in advance - at 12:00.01 a.m.,
Brownie you are correct Mich State Parks can be booked 6 months out. But the time for the reservations to open is 8am M-F, and 9am on weekends. If I want July 4-10 I backup 15 days from the 10th which is the max allowed and start looking for openings, sometimes I get lucky the first day other times not, If I wait until Jan 4 to start looking I will never get anything. Then I have to wait a month and cancel the days I dont want, I just canceled 6 days for Memorial weekend and it cost me a penalty of (10%) $24 and a $10 change fee, well worth it to get Lake Michigan beach frontage.
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Old 01-17-2019, 04:17 PM   #18
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Get up at mid-night. Seriously, that's what people are doing.

It also depends on the rules. In WI they allow booking a maximum of 21 days. People would want one specific weekend, book the entire 3 weeks prior to what they really wanted, but leave the site vacant until they arrived. Yes, people actually paid that much to camp for a 3 day weekend. WI DNR changed the rules so that you must occupy the site by the second night or you will lose it.

That said the times you want may be booked legitimately by people who are arriving prior to you.

When all is said and done this is why many people, including us, seek out good private CGs. More expensive but easier to get sites.
We've been going with private CGs more too. Unfortunately, this has become the "norm" for us during peak seasons. Luckily, here in TX, we can mostly find spots during the "off" season (there really isn't an "off" season here, but you know what I mean). We typically want to visit areas OTHER than the parks around us anyway, so it's fine most of the time. But there's one State park I've been trying off and on to get into for quite a while and can never seem to find a spot, "off" season or not...
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Old 01-17-2019, 04:24 PM   #19
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We've been going with private CGs more too. Unfortunately, this has become the "norm" for us during peak seasons. Luckily, here in TX, we can mostly find spots during the "off" season (there really isn't an "off" season here, but you know what I mean). We typically want to visit areas OTHER than the parks around us anyway, so it's fine most of the time. But there's one State park I've been trying off and on to get into for quite a while and can never seem to find a spot, "off" season or not...
Garner?
I thought Garner was harder to get into than Forbidden City.
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Old 01-17-2019, 04:44 PM   #20
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Garner?
I thought Garner was harder to get into than Forbidden City.
Garner isn't that hard to get into, we camped there last year with a couple months notice and a little flexibility on dates. Definitely not worth fighting for though unless you have kids, there are much nicer parks in TX if you ask me. If you have kids...that's a different story, it's kind of a crowded amusement park.
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