Tweet
Re: Reserving campsite for 1 night
The reservation fee that reserveamerica charges for booking varies upon the contract it has with the state. In California, it's $9, Illinois-$5. Here is Indiana it is $3. We have the minimum stay requirements also, but if a site is still unbooked 3 days out you can call and book a one night stay (the fee still is assessed). Likewise, unreserved sites go into "walkup" status the day before and cannot be reserved via the site and are first come/first served at the campgate. I've never done "walkup" as I generally know when/where I want to camp ahead of time and reserve a site.
During the summer months here, the minimum doesn't have much effect as Fri/Sat nights are usually booked solid. During the week and when the kids are in school, the number of sites at "unreserved" status soars. You can easily get prime campsites for a single night by waiting and calling or doing "walkup".
On a positive note since Indiana signed up with them is that the parks have added photos (couple views) of every campsite in the system. It is nice to be able to take a look ahead of time at a potential campsite as to the size/layout/trees/contours/sun/shade/privacy/distance to facilities (we prefer being far away as possible). The photos help when planning to camp at a new campground and is sometimes better than calling and just asking for a good "tent" site. Heck, I can always call if I have questions about a site, even after looking online.
It's worth the $3 fee Indiana zaps on me for using the system....but $9 would sting.
The reservation fee that reserveamerica charges for booking varies upon the contract it has with the state. In California, it's $9, Illinois-$5. Here is Indiana it is $3. We have the minimum stay requirements also, but if a site is still unbooked 3 days out you can call and book a one night stay (the fee still is assessed). Likewise, unreserved sites go into "walkup" status the day before and cannot be reserved via the site and are first come/first served at the campgate. I've never done "walkup" as I generally know when/where I want to camp ahead of time and reserve a site.
During the summer months here, the minimum doesn't have much effect as Fri/Sat nights are usually booked solid. During the week and when the kids are in school, the number of sites at "unreserved" status soars. You can easily get prime campsites for a single night by waiting and calling or doing "walkup".
On a positive note since Indiana signed up with them is that the parks have added photos (couple views) of every campsite in the system. It is nice to be able to take a look ahead of time at a potential campsite as to the size/layout/trees/contours/sun/shade/privacy/distance to facilities (we prefer being far away as possible). The photos help when planning to camp at a new campground and is sometimes better than calling and just asking for a good "tent" site. Heck, I can always call if I have questions about a site, even after looking online.
It's worth the $3 fee Indiana zaps on me for using the system....but $9 would sting.
Comment