Reservations? or no?

[gbaglo]

Keath and Pam, the Old Bag and I are going to caravan next Aug. ending up in Idaho for five days. I intended to book Sam Owen, but there are only a few sites left, almost half a mile from the lake. So I started searching for other sites in the area of Sandpoint ( although that doesn't have to be the destination ). But, going by descriptions and very little else, I'm loath to book five days. On the other hand I don't want to be driving from one full RV park to another.
I guess what I'm asking is, what would you do? Just wing it and see what you encounter, or book a place and see what you encounter?

baglo

[PGDriver]

Hi Glenn

Of all the trips we have been on the best ones (and most interesting) are the ones
you go and just wing it. I guess everyone is different though and some people have
to plan every step of the way out before they leave.
I figure as long as you have some munchies and a couple Guinness in the fridge
how wrong can you go.

Life according to Doug.....

[escape artist]

Hi: gbaglo...I am a "Need to know" kind o' guy. Where am I going to lay my head for the night was very important!!! The trailer changed all that...but where am I going to park it I might think long and hard about reserving during peak holiday times. 1/2 mile from the lake is better than a wal mart parking lot!!!
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Jim Bennett]

If you know for certain that you are going to be in an area I think it is a good idea to reserve. If you are unsure of where you will be, I don't like to commit myself anywhere. For example, late May I am taking off for 16 nights. I am heading straight down to Hells Canyon National Park area in Oregon, so left the first night open to stay wherever, but booked the next 5 nights in an Wallowa Lake State Park just outside of Hells Canyon. The next 3 nights at Ranch (in my trailer) in NE Oregon where I meet a bunch of photography friends. After that we head to the coast and the next nights stay will be wherever as well as we will be travelling. I then booked the next 2 nights at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park just north of Coos Bay where the rest of my friends are getting a room. (Can you tell I like the Oregon State Parks ) After that we have 4 more nights to meander our way back home and will likely just wing it for places to stay as we don't have a set itinerary for that period of time.

So to directly answer your question Glenn, if you know for certain that you all will be staying in that area, I would book for sure. You can usually cancel with only a small booking fee if you need too.

[Hollybee]

We just finished up planing our "pickup trip" April 27th...staying at various AirBnBs on the way out (we are Airbnb Super Hosts ourselves)..and various NPs, SPs and County Park CGs plus even a couple of OK casinos on the way back, to get ourselves into as many nice NPs as we can see on the trip. Looks like the whole thing is going to be about 5 weeks! Can Hardly wait! Of the 12 stops we plan to makwe on the way home we have 2 casinos in OK where w have no eservations and one AR State park that does not take eservations..the rest are all reserved..I personally hate driving around 'trying for a spot'.

[cpaharley2008]

I stopped making reservations, unless it was a destination, when I got my Escape. I can understand on the trip out, but once you get your Escape you can just about stop anywhere. A schedule was something I try to avoid, unless like I said it is a destination where you want to stop, not have to stop.

[DavidGlen]

Utah in peak season (before Labor Day) can be difficult to book a spot. An exception may be National Parks that operate on a first-come-first-served basis (check their websites). If you do first-come-first-served, arrive early in the day - before noon if possible.

Best wishes,

David Anderson
Pittsburgh