If you’re like me you’ve already starting thinking about next year’s vacations. It’s not that I can’t enjoy the present. Trust me, I don’t want my girls to grow up any faster. It’s that long gone are the days when you could just show up at a campground and expect an open campsite. Now you have to get online and make reservations sometimes months in advance. While technology has ruined this in a sense, it’s also made things very convenient. Now you can get online and view campsite photos before you make your reservations. Plus, you can adequately research locations to find the perfect camping destination. You should start booking next year’s camping reservations now.
We don’t spend every vacation or trip in a tent, but camping is a big part of our leisure time. I like to plan four camping trips a year. We usually do one of those with my side of the family, but they like to “glamp” in travel trailers. One of our yearly camping trips is usually a little longer and the other two are weekend trips. One of the benefits to camping is that you still get to take a family vacation but it’s much cheaper than a week at a beach house or hotel. Plus, my girls always seem more relaxed when they’re camping. Relaxed kids equal relaxed parents!
It’s no secret I love the Adirondacks. Everyone knows this about me. Someday I hope to own a little cabin up there. But for now we enjoy our yearly camping trips. State campgrounds up there take reservations nine months in advance. It’s not a requirement you get online exactly nine months to the day to make reservations. However, it can be if you want a prime spot. For instance, we have a favorite campsite at Lake Durant. It’s already booked for Memorial Day weekend next year…and not by us 🙁
With that said, these are my tips for making campsite reservations:
- Do your research. Don’t hesitate to search online for “good places to camp in Georgia” or “fun places to camp with kids.” These are just examples, but you’re sure to find a blog post someone has written that can help steer you in the right direction.
- Think about your budget. Do you need to stay close to home in order to save gas money?
- Decide when you want to go and make a plan. For example, if you only have a three-day weekend you might not want to camp at a location eight hours from home. Take travel time into consideration. Putting together a tent and setting up a campsite takes some time. You won’t want to arrive when it’s dark and impossible to see what you’re doing. It’s not fun using the car headlights to see what you’re doing and it’s not considerate to other campers.
- How are you planning to use the campground? Do you need to look for one that has lots of planned activities or do you want a place without phone service deep in the woods? If you’re planning to go fishing all weekend you might consider a campground on a lake known to be good for catching a certain type of fish. Are you planning to hike in a certain area? Maybe find a campsite nearby to avoid long drives. My sister really enjoyed camping at Prince Gallitzin State Park in Patton, Pennsylvania because of all the activities for kids.
- Consider the facilities. What do you need to have? For instance, if you’re someone that needs a hot shower daily don’t book a campsite that only offers cold showers. You’ll just be miserable and where’s the fun in that. Privately owned campgrounds usually have nicer facilities but they generally cost more.
- Once you have a campground location selected, look online for pictures of the campsites. Often people include info and pictures about specific campsites when they write reviews on TripAdvisor.
- Once you start camping more you’ll quickly learn what’s important to you. You’ll know when a campsite is perfect. Keep a record of those campsites so you’ll remember them for next time.
