Are you planning a camping or RV trip to the National Parks? Did you know reservations in National Parks open six months in advance on a rolling basis? Six months from January 1 takes you to July 1. If you are thinking about a summer trip, you need to start planning in November or December! If you want that great campsite within a National Park, it is never too early to start planning.
Allow me to walk you through the process I took to find a site in Joshua Tree National Park and point out where I went wrong. This is the same process I take regardless of which National Park I stay at. I hope you will find this information helpful.
To start, I have a Chevy Silverado and a Coachmen travel trailer. The trailer is 25 feet long and the truck is about 20 feet long. The total combined length is 45 feet. Make sure you know this information when planning and selecting a suitable campsite.
- I start by visiting NPS.gov and search for the National Park of Interest, Joshua Tree National Park.
- Once I am on that Parks Home Page, I click on the Plan your Visit, Eating & Sleeping, Camping, and select the desired campground. In this case, Jumbo Rock.
- Once I arrive on the Home Page for Jumbo Rock, I read through all the information provided on this page.
Important details relevant to the campground are under Reservations details. Here you will read they take reservations six months in advance on a rolling basis. However, this does not tell you at what time reservations are released. This is very important, as reservations book within seconds of being released, therefore you must know the exact time they are released. You will find this information on the recreation.gov website. It is typically 10 AM EST, make sure you confirm this on their website. Knowing at what time sites are released is the most important piece of information in the booking process!
As I scroll down the page, I make a note of the information provided under RV Camping, noting the 35 feet length.
Scrolling a little further, I click Camping Regulations. Again, I see site length requirements of up to 35 feet. I also read A vehicle towing a trailer, popup, tent trailer, or fifth wheel—or a motorhome towing a vehicle—is considered two vehicles.
If you require cell coverage, you can check out Campground Features to determine if any is available. You can also determine if there is a Dump Station, Potable Water, or any services. As you read through this Campground Features, you can see no services are available. Come prepared. For myself, I would need to fill my fresh water tank and make sure my travel trailer batteries are charged before arriving or bring a generator, if necessary. Check rules on generator usage.
With all this information noted I move on to the next step.
- I visit recreation.gov, search Joshua Tree National Park and select Jumbo Rock Campground from the list of options. Recreation.gov is the online reservation website used by the National Parks.
From the Jumbo Rock Campground Home Page you will find all the information you need concerning the campground. I carefully read through each of the links.
Under Seasons & Bookings you will find: when the season opens, the booking window (six-months rolling basis), and the all-important time when sites are released (10 AM EST).
- To find a suitable campsite, I click the More Filters and add my trailer length. This filters sites based on the value you select. In this case, I choose 25 feet for my trailer length. Note, I should have put 45 feet for the total length.
I now have a site list, and map of sites meeting this requirement. I typically review each one, trying to find the best campsite for our stay. In this case I chose site 117.
- Once the site is selected I arrive on the landing page (site 117). I read through each of the links provided to ensure I fit. I will admit, at this point I made a mistake. I will talk about that in a minute, maybe you already caught it.
The next three screen shots provide all the important details regarding this specific site requirements. Take time to review Allowable Equipment, Allowable Vehicle, and Need to Know sections. When looking to book a site you need to get this part right or you will have a problem when you arrive. I am not sure what will happen if you arrive and do not meet the requirements. Perhaps the National Park Service will not allow you on the site.
I note the RV Max Length is 31 ft and assume I will fit. This is where I went wrong. My trailer is 25 feet but my total length is 45 feet. I thought at 31 feet and a width of 28 feet I could park perpendicular to the trailer and fit without any issues. However, it states the Max Num of Vehicles is 1, and as noted in Step 3 under Camp Ground Regulations: A vehicle towing a trailer is considered two vehicles. Forgetting about this, I write down site 117 as the site I will attempt to book when the reservation window opens.
With my site selection completed, I now wait for the six-month booking window to open.
On the day the booking window opens, I log on to recreation.gov 15 minutes before 10 AM EST. I enter the desired dates and select my site, 117. Exactly at 10 AM EST, I click Add to Cart and hope I get the site. Thankfully, I do! With the campsite placed in my cart, I have 15 minutes to complete the reservation. A countdown clock is provided next to the cart.
With the reservation email confirmation in hand, I sigh in relief. I begin reading through the entire confirmation notice. This is when I realized we exceed the campsite vehicle requirements of 1. It is too late to change or book a new campsite as there is no availability for my desired dates. I now must look for something outside of the Park.
In the end, it all worked out. We found a campground in 29 Palms, seven miles from the park entrance, with full hookups.
As I look back, I should have filtered on my total length of 45 feet. If I had, site 84 would be my only option. This campsite allows two vehicles with a maximum length of 45 feet. Lesson learned.
I always begin my campground site search well before the six-month booking window. My goal is to identify campsites that will fit my travel trailer so when the booking windows opens I am prepared. All I need to do is click Add to Cart at the exact time availability is released increasing my odds of securing a campsite within a National Park. This method worked for Watchman Campground in Zion National Park, Devil’s Garden in Arches, and Fruita Campground in Capitol Reef.
I hope you found this information useful as you look to book a campsite within the National Parks. Please share your booking stories below.
Savvy-Traveler 