Want a camping reservation in California? Try these tips
LOS ANGELES — Kristen Tate camps a lot. The freelance book editor from San Francisco takes car camping trips for two weeks every summer, during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and often on weekends. She knows it’s tricky to make reservations for campgrounds in California, especially when you’re looking for popular sites during the peak summer season.
“If I want something for a very desirable weekend, I plan ahead,” Tate said. “I either get that six-month window when (reservations) open, or I just don’t worry and wait for a twoweek window right before. I start looking then because that’s when people start canceling.”
Tate’s advice for getting a cancellation before a holiday weekend: “Keep your browser open and stay on it.”
Why is it so hard to get a reservation? California State Parks says that at times, it can’t keep up with demand. “We have approximately 13,000 campsites available ... and each year, on average, more than 6.5 million visitors camp in our popular state parks.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted demand even higher.
For example, of 10.1 million households that camped in 2020, 21% said they were new to camping, compared with 4% in 2019, according to a new report by KOA, which operates private campgrounds in the U.S. and Canada. For the first quarter of this year, KOA reports that online reservations increased 112% over the same period in 2020, and 100% over the same period in 2019.
During the pandemic, many campgrounds opened, then closed and canceled reservations, and then reopened with limited capacity to comply with state public health guidelines. Now, many are set to reopen fully in areas of the state that have advanced to the orange tier (easing COVID-19 rules for businesses and activities). The state also has lifted the travel advisory that asked Californians to stay within 120 miles of home.
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Whether you are camping in a tent or in an RV, here are tips and resources that can help. Prices at campgrounds vary, depending on whether you visit during a peak or offpeak season. Also, some campgrounds remain closed because of the pandemic or last year’s wildfires.
Tate starts her search with an “old-fashioned California state atlas,” which feels like a throwback, given that most campgrounds have websites. But not all.
The large-format atlases “have all of the campgrounds marked,” she said. “So a lot of the little, tiny county ones or community ones, they’ll be marked on that map. You may not be able to find out much about them online.”
Once you have a destination and a date in mind, nail down your spot. Camping reservations open six months in advance for most national and state parks, meaning Memorial Day campers snagged their reservations in late November. (Check for cancellations as dates get closer.)
National parks: California has nine, more than any other state: Channel Islands, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon, Lassen Volcanic, Pinnacles, Redwood, Sequoia and Yosemite.
For many park campgrounds, Recreation.gov — (877) 444-6777 — is the online gateway. You can choose a campground and peruse photos and maps of each one, allowing you to pick a site near the creek or deep in the woods. Reservations open six months in advance.
California State Parks: The agency uses the ReserveCalifornia.com online system, also available at (800) 444-7275, which opens reservations six months in advance of the date you want to camp. It also offers maps and information about amenities.