Flip our Phoenix

We never make reservations for the long haul.  Only the day of or the day before arrival. I don’t like being restricted once reservations are made on how long I’ll be in an area. When the day comes I have to plan a multi state trip in booked reservations I’ll sell the rig and stay in hotels. 

I feel the same way. There is no sense of freedom when you are tied to a schedule. If it gets bad, I would see if I could get the DW to accept RVing in a much smaller rig so we could free/stealth park in places. Otherwise I would give up and go the hotel route.

I agree.   We spent thirty years in motorhomes without a thought to reservations and the last few years have just not been as much fun because of planning required and certainty of time and place.   Most of those years were spent in Class Bs which gave us much more flexibility than our PC (which we love).   We prefer national parks and forests.   Recreation.gov is a game to get a spot that I really don't enjoy playing but of course I do it anyway because we have little choice. 

It will be interesting to see when the COVID crisis is in the rear view mirror in a couple of years if the current RV craze continues without abatement or correction.   

Paul

Paul.  Oh I couldn’t agree more that rev gov web site is a nightmare!  Anymore the only time I book any real time in advance is if I’m only going to one place and then back home. Anytime there is multiple places we’re visiting I won’t reserve in advance. I’ve had too many times I spotted something as we drive along and wanted to spend a day or two to visit.  This past summer the campgrounds and state parks were like ghost towns.


Once travel really opens up we’re going to spend a few months in Europe. End the trip visiting family in Italy. But who knows how long before that can happen .

Many state and national parks (and even a lot of private ones) went to all reservations on campsites so the only first come first served sites will be if one wasn't reserved or was cancelled at the last minute. This helped keep staff from a lot of close contacts and avoided handling money during Covid times. It also reduced the number of staff needed to handle and count all that money. I'd be surprised if they went back to the old way after the pandemic settles down

I’ve never used the first come first served campgrounds. I just assumed they’d always be full.  Ive probably missed some good places.