The days of same day booking for parks seem to be gone.

[cwarkenton]

Hi Guys, I am a long time lurker but just registered an account to ask the community a question that has me frustrated. My family and I have been rv'ing for over 10 years. Originally with a 5ver and now with a 41' Monaco Diplomat flat towing a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
We are planning a 2 month trip in July and August. I did book a couple must stop locations parks back in March and now fine tuning the trip and trying to book other places that are 2-3 night stays. Every single park I call is booked and it is annoying and frustrating. Before Covid I feel like we would book the destination then call the RV park the day before to book and rarely did we not get a spot.
Here's my question. I know there are pro boondockers on here. How realistic would be to wing it and rely on boondocking in our set up? We are going to Ashland OR, Bend, Snoqualmie WA, then over to Sun Valley ID.
I know some people who only boondock but it seems like they base their trip around boondocking friendly areas. That whole thing is pretty new to me. Normally I try to stay in a park with a hot tub hahah
Thanks in advance!
-Chris

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Simple question!

How else would you expect to boondock,, but to plan around boondock friendly areas? I only boondock, and drive without rig to the sights I desire to see.

Look at it this way.

You have a Harley, and a toy hauler. Do you drive the bike to Sturgess, or pull the toy hauler there, and use the bike to engage in the bike activity.

The answer is somewhat cloudy, and based on what your heart desires.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

A Harley, definitely trailer it, a Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha or Suzuki, definitely ride it!

 

[Kevin D Pem]

A Harley, definitely trailer it, a Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha or Suzuki, definitely ride it!

LOL I did a summer on a 1500 wing! I wished I had received my cargo early enough to have trailered it to the best scenery. Lot of nothing between great motorcycle roads.

 

[bpaikman]

We're planning a 2+ month trip to Washington state, Oregon, and Colorado, and I made the most important long-term (2+ days) reservations early this year. I'd hoped to make the one-night stops as we go - we traveled from Oregon to Texas in late September last year and had no problems finding places to stay.
We've noticed that even in extremely popular parks that are fully booked, not all reservers show up. We were extremely frustrated to watch one prime spot go unused for 2 days while we were stuck right across from it in a nearly unlevelable site. But we understand the dilemma of park owners, and rv'ers unexpected emergencies. So, even if a site is available, they still must hold it for whomever paid for it.
Anyhow, I think I'm going to go ahead and nail down a few more reservations today

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

We're planning a 2+ month trip to Washington state, Oregon, and Colorado, and I made the most important long-term (2+ days) reservations early this year. I'd hoped to make the one-night stops as we go - we traveled from Oregon to Texas in late September last year and had no problems finding places to stay.
We've noticed that even in extremely popular parks that are fully booked, not all reservers show up. We were extremely frustrated to watch one prime spot go unused for 2 days while we were stuck right across from it in a nearly unlevelable site. But we understand the dilemma of park owners, and rv'ers unexpected emergencies. So, even if a site is available, they still must hold it for whomever paid for it.
Anyhow, I think I'm going to go ahead and nail down a few more reservations today

It is frustrating, though I have found that some parks are willing to do a little digging/calling and a few times they told us the other spot is now available if we wanted it, or in the case of the current park in OR they told us that if we wanted to stay longer a reservation was just cancelled and would we want it.

In the current campground market, reservations are set and cancelled with some frequency. Checking back often may yield an opening. Extra work and frustrating, yes.
Am I happy with the process, no. But since it is out of my control I am trying to focus on what I can control.

We have been spending more time working on our boondocking skills. Not just being prepared to not have hookups but the skills involved in finding boondocking places. This has alleviated some stress/frustration for me.

 

[Headhunter]

You can give Harvest Host a try. Look it up, for a small yearly fee you can stay at restaurants, breweries, farms, and much more. And yes you are boon docking but there always a place to stay.

Last year on a 6000 mile trip out west we stayed at an abandoned missile silo, a beautiful winery on a golf course, Pub & eatery, beautiful lake and much more on Harvest Host.

HH

 

[Headhunter]

Just an FYI.... I also use an app called RV Parky on my Iphone that is very handy on finding RV parks in a specific area.

HH

 

[bpaikman]

You can give Harvest Host a try. Look it up, for a small yearly fee you can stay at restaurants, breweries, farms, and much more. And yes you are boon docking but there always a place to stay.

Last year on a 6000 mile trip out west we stayed at an abandoned missile silo, a beautiful winery on a golf course, Pub & eatery, beautiful lake and much more on Harvest Host.

HH

I just canceled my HH membership - never used it - there didn't seem to be any decent stops along our route from Texas to Washington state.

 

[FL-JOE]

We have always booked anywhere from 2 months to 1 month in advance. RVParky is my main app I use.

It is all about the miles per day. I try to find a site maybe 300 miles down the road. If there isn’t anything available then I simply adjust my miles until I get a site booked. It could be 400 miles or it could be 250 miles. Or, I might find a good bargain for a 2 night stay that saves some money, then a longer travel day after that.

My point is it takes some mapping and planning. In all of our years of full time traveling we have never had issues finding sites.

 

[LMHS]

My last trip was in March (3 days) . I didn't make a reservation. We stayed in a private park. There were other options in the town we were staying in just incase the first place I picked out wasn't available.

Previous trip was almost 3000 miles round trip. I made one same-day reservation at a State Park in Arkansas. That was done only because I knew we would be rolling in after the office closed. The trip East had no other reservations and we stayed in parking lots the whole way (Sam's Club or Cracker Barrels plus one DollarTree). On the way back West, I made a single same-day reservation at what used to be one of our favourite county parks. I was traveling with my daughter and she really wanted to stay there. It's no longer a favourite because I had to make a 2 day reservation in the middle of the week for a one night stay (it now says on the reservation site that it is a 2 night minimum but when I made the reservation, I had to ask the park ranger why the system wouldn't take my single night reservation). If it hadn't been crazy evening rush hour (which is more like 3 hours of horrible traffic), I would have left and stayed at a nearby State Park that we liked. We stayed at two other parks (one private - mostly to dump the waste tanks on the truck camper - and one city park) and just drove up. Again, I did have back ups for the private park as well as the city park.

Always have a backup overnight stay and an alternative route when possible.

 

[bpaikman]

We have always booked anywhere from 2 months to 1 month in advance. RVParky is my main app I use.

It is all about the miles per day. I try to find a site maybe 300 miles down the road. If there isn’t anything available then I simply adjust my miles until I get a site booked. It could be 400 miles or it could be 250 miles. Or, I might find a good bargain for a 2 night stay that saves some money, then a longer travel day after that.

My point is it takes some mapping and planning. In all of our years of full time traveling we have never had issues finding sites.

Agree. And in figuring our routes, I add 50-100 extra miles "credit" to the day's travel if passing through major cities, bad construction zones, or mountain passes.

 

[FL-JOE]

Exactly. I gauge my daily travel distance differently if I am going to be on US-Routes compared to all interstate highways also. Terrain makes a difference as does big metro area.

What we have started doing in our new little TT this year is mapping away from interstates and big cities.

We just spent about 10 days coming from central FL up to central Illinois. We didn't go through Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham, Montgomery, or any other big busy city. We did end up going though the tunnel at Mobile on I-10 but that was it. Most of this trip has been US-highways and State routes. It has been more relaxing and interesting.