How to Find Last Minute Camping Reservations - The Complete How-To Guide

By Josh Shogren

Updated 2023-02-10

How to Find Last Minute Camping Reservations - The Complete How-To Guide

Are you currently scrambling to find a last minute camping reservation? Don’t worry you aren’t alone. According to The Dyrt’s 2022 Camping Report, it is now “3x harder to book a campground in 2021 than pre-pandemic” due to the surge in camping popularity due to COVID. Matter of fact, nearly 50% of all campers report finding it difficult to find a campsite.

The good news is there are plenty of options to help you find amazing campsites. All it takes is a little creativity and/or compromise and you are on your way to finding the perfect getaway.

We have broken this article down into 3 different sections based on how urgently you need to find a campsite. All of these tips and tricks will help you find a campsite, but some are better for short notice than others.

The 3 sections we will be using are:

Urgent - I need a campsite today!
I need a campsite within the next week or two
I need a campsite within the next few months

Even if you don’t need a campsite today, I would still highly recommend you check out the tips within every section as they could be used at any time.

Tips for People Who Need a Campsite Today (Urgent!)

With such short notice, it may be difficult to find your ideal campsite. However, you aren’t out of options just yet. Use the tips below to potentially score a last minute campsite for today.

Give the Campground a Call

Our top tip for people who need a campsite today would be to call your desired campground and see if they have any openings. Online might show as fully booked but when you call they might have a campsite that is available but not showing online yet.

Or you might just get lucky and call when someone else just canceled. Or the campground operator might know of something that could help you locate a campsite. You just never know what calling the campground might provide.

This is a very quick and easy way to potentially find a last minute campsite without wasting much time if it doesn't work out.

Keep an Eye Out for Last Minute Cancellations

People are always canceling their reservations last minute and you might be able to swoop in and get one of these. I would not rely on this tip if you are desperate for a day of campsite since it does depend on other people canceling, which you have no control over. In most situations where you have more than 1 day to work with this is a fantastic option.

To give you the best shot at making this work, you should use a campsite availability tool such as ours here at Power Camper that will automatically scan the campground for cancellations and immediately notify you when one comes available. This will give a chance at being able to find and book a campsite before someone else does.

Check First Come First Serve (FCFS) Campgrounds Nearby

If you haven't had any luck booking a reservation, your next best bet is to find First Come First Serve (FCFS) campgrounds near your desired location. These are great for last minute campsites since they don't allow any reservations and all you have to do is arrive before other people do.

There is some risk to this tip because when you arrive all of the sites could still be full. One way to avoid this issue is to try to find a cluster of FCFS campgrounds within the same area so if one is fully booked you can go try another one that is close by. There is a very good chance you will find an opening at one of them.

Another tip is to figure out when the campground office opens for the day and arrive as soon as it opens. This will give you a good chance at being one of the first guests to check in and get a spot.

Camp on Private Land/Campgrounds

Public campgrounds such as state parks and national parks are some of the most coveted camping locations. However, due to that they are also some of the most busy and booked campgrounds. A great alternative would be to utilize private land for camping. These are often a lot easier to find spots at.

There are two main options when it comes to going the private route:

1. Private Campgrounds

These are campgrounds not operated by the government and instead operated by individuals. You can find private campgrounds at a couple different places including KAO, Good Sam and Hipcamp..

2. Private Land

This usually means you are camping on someone else's land and is not a campground. This is very similar to what AirBNB is for hotels. Some interesting options you can use to explore this more include Tentrr, Hipcamp and GlampingHub.

Free Camping (Dispersed/Boondocking)

Free camping on places such as land managed by BLM or national forests are a great option if you can’t get any reservations at the more sought after campgrounds. This route comes with things to consider such as going without amenities, following the no-trace guidelines, finding a spot by yourself and you will need to have some experience camping to be able to take advantage of this option. If you are new to dispersed camping then this might not be a great fit, but if you want to learn more you can do so here.

You can find free camping near you using Campendium’s search tool.

Ditch the RV for a Tent

This won't be suitable for everyone, but we figured we should include it as a last ditch effort. Tent sites are often a lot easier to find open compared to the RV/Trailer sites so by switching to tent camping your options open up quite a bit.

If this is something you are comfortable doing then this could be a great way to potentially find spots at your ideal campground. You will have to decide for yourself if sleeping on the ground t is worth the prime campground spot :)

Tips for People Who Need a Campsite Within the Next Week or Two

If you are in this group, you have a little more time to figure out your camping situation which will allow a few more options. The tips below should put you in a great position to snag a great campsite, even with a week or two notice.

Find Nearby City and County Campgrounds

This is one of the most overlooked tactics. City and county campgrounds are oftentimes INCREDIBLE camping locations but go under the radar due them not always having an easy way to find them. A lot of these campgrounds dont even have websites or any online presence except for maybe a google map listing (if you are lucky!). If you are willing to put in a little more effort to find these campgrounds it could be a great way to get a pretty sweet spot in a short time.

Remember, the harder it is to find and reserve a spot the better chance there will be an opening for you to book.

I put together a quick guide on how to find nearby city and country campgrounds below:

Step 1: Go to AllStays.com Campground Page

Step 2: Click on the state you want to search in

Step 3: Click on “Map of all Campgrounds” link

Step 6: Find a city/county campground near your desired location!

Split Your Trip Between Campsites in the Same Campground

This tip requires a bit more work on your end but if you really, really want to camp in a specific campground then this could be a good solution for you.

The idea is to book one night at a campsite and then book the next night at a different campsite within the SAME campground. For example, you book campsite #62 on Friday and then campsite #78 for Saturday. This would require you to pack up all of your stuff and move to a different campsite mid trip but this could be worth the effort.

The reason this works so well is that most people will not book a campsite for just one night so oftentimes this leaves a handful of one night stays open for reservation.

When you need a campsite a week or two in advance Facebook groups are perfect for finding cancellations. The reason for this is because the cancellation policies on places such as Reserve America say that canceling 14 days or less prior to arrival you have to pay a lot of fees. So what people do instead of canceling is try to find someone else that will take their reservation. People will post in these facebook groups sharing their campsite, date of trip and anything else important looking for someone else that might want it. This is where you could find a great last minute campsite reservation.

Please use caution when going this route. You are dealing with another person and they might not always have the best inventions and could try and scam you. Please do your due diligence on how to do this properly and if campsite transfers are allowed at the campground you want.

I have compiled a list of Facebook groups that you can look into (we don't endorse any of these groups. We are just sharing them):

Use a Campsite Availability App

1-2 weeks out is the sweet spot for using a campsite availability app such as Power Campers, which will notify you right away for any cancellations at any campground you wish to book. This route will cost a small amount of money to get access, but it is bar none the most sure fire way to find a campsite at a sold out campground.

The other nice thing about going this route is you can set up scans for multiple campgrounds with multiple filters. That way you can have some scans that are less strict and bring back more results while also having scans that fit your ideal campsite. This gives you some options to choose from when it comes to finding that perfect campsite!

Tips for People Who Need a Campsite Within the Next Few Months

If you are a few months out from your big camping trip you should have enough time to find a very good campsite at your desired campground. Obviously there are exceptions such as Yosemite, but for the majority of the campgrounds you should have plenty of time.

The tips below will not only help you find a campsite, but also help you find your IDEAL campsite so you don't have to settle just because you have limited time to search.

Get on the Campgrounds Waitlist

It’s becoming a lot more common for campgrounds to now have a wait list that you can join if they are fully booked. Not every campground will have one and you will only really find them for private campgrounds, but it is absolutely something work trying.

Your best bet is to visit their website and see if you can find their waitlist. If you can’t, I'd suggest giving them a call and seeing if they have a waitlist you can join (and while you are on the phone with them it doesn't hurt to ask if they have any openings for your desired dates!).

Be Flexible with Days

One of the most effective ways to score great campsites on short notice is to be flexible with the days you are willing to camp. The weekends are going to be packed, so if you are able to camp on less popular days such as during the week you will open yourself up to a whole lot more options.

Obviously, this can be tough to pull off based on your situation and won't always be possible but it is something you should keep in your back pocket. Also, if you have a few months to plan the trip and every weekend is booked at your desired campground, maybe you can plan to take that week off work to be able to reserve a spot at that campground during the week.

Bonus - Tips for Planning Your Next Camping Trip

These tips might not be super useful if you need a campsite on short notice, but these will help you secure your ideal campsite next time.

Avoid Peak Season

A very effective way to avoid dealing with sold out campgrounds is to avoid the peak camping seasons. A great time to plan a camping trip is September/October when families are back in school mode which drastically reduces the amount of campground traffic and you will still get to enjoy the last little bit of summer before it gets too cold.

Winter camping has also started to gain some fans over the past few years and could be an alternative time of the year you could go.

Plan Ahead

You can save yourself a lot of headaches by simply planning ahead. This is easier said than done, but if you have 6+ months to plan a camping trip you should be able to easily find a premier campsite.

In California?

If you are based in California, check out our Reserve California booking tips and tricks article. IT will help you get a better shot at reserving a campsite.

Wrapping This Up

This brings us to the end of our guide on how to reserve a last minute campsite and we hope it provides some ideas for you. It is a bummer that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get spots at top campgrounds, but on the bright side it is amazing to see a large amount of new people enjoying the outdoors and camping.

If you have any of your own tips for reserving campsites please let us know in the comments below!

About the Author

Josh Shogren

Josh Shogren is the owner of Power Camper. He is a lifelong camper and loves finding the hidden gem campgrounds and camping sites!

How to Find Last Minute Camping Reservations - The Complete How-To Guide