Does this vary by park or do they all open at same time, certain months prior to the camping season? I have never really done any camping. I have always stayed in close by hotels. Thank you!
When exactly can you make camping reservations for next summer (2025)?
But not your comment I guess 😅
Thanks! I will check the site.
Also important to check the site because different parks use different systems for booking.
For example, some of Yellowstone's campgrounds are booked through their official vendors website, and some are booked through the gov website for many NPS/NFS campgrounds, recreation . gov
I didn’t know that. Thanks!
Some vary from week to months out on a rolling schedule, while others release all their capacity on one day for the season. Some have tiers where maybe 50% is months in advance, 25% is 2 weeks out, 20% is 2 days out, and 5% is FCFS.
A good rule of thumb is 6 months out! I usually start checking individual parks’ campsite release dates in January for the upcoming summer since it really does vary between them. But all parks reserve some first-come, first-serve sites if you truly run out of options.Â
I assume I have to check individual park websites to see which campgrounds allow first come first serve, right?
Edit: found it on NPS app. Thanks!
It varies widely depending on which campground and which park. Most use recreation.gov, but a few notable exceptions don’t, at least for some campgrounds. Most book 6 months out and reservations open at 10am from day to day, but there are a few notable exceptions. Most popular campgrounds take reservations, but a few notable exceptions are only first-come first-served. All of this can also be affected by construction projects and weather events too.
The best plan is to investigate the parks you’re interested in using their website. We can’t do any better than nps.gov.
It can also depend on the weather. For example, the campgrounds in the high country have to wait for the roads and campgrounds to get plowed and the sewage and water systems have to be set up for them. Sometimes there is damage from the winter storms and avalanche danger is a real concern as the plowing goes on so those can delay the openings too.
You have to go to the official NPS website for each park and look for the "Plan Your Stay" section. These park-specific sites are comprehensive and authoritative, unlike anonymous comments on Reddit.