Camground reservations?

[Maurice45]

DW and I are planning our first extended winter escape. We would like to meander from Charlotte NC. after visiting our kids at Christmas, to south Texas or even AZ. over 8 - 10 weeks. How difficult will this be without making reservations now. I really don't want any kind of a schedule but after reading this and other forums it sounds like reservations are almost mandatory to find a place to set up.

[gwinn1952]

We leave for Florida in Oct and come back to Michigan in later May...taking two weeks traveling each way. Usually the night before we leave a campground we sort of figure out where we want to be the next night and check our KOA or Woodall book for campgrounds in the area. Usually like to check them out on the internet. If traveling in southern states I make reservations since a lot of them have seasonal campers so limits the space. Works for us.... I don't like to show up to a campground and then have to turn a 35' Fifth wheel around and leave if no sites. Plus I like to know price.

[skipnchar]

We wintered in Texas for a number of years and NEVER had any issues with NOT having reservations. Can't ALWAYS get into a specific campground or into a specific site but PLENTY of camping available in that region at least. We always enjoyed traveling without reservations because it left our schedule completely up to our own discretion.
Good luck / Skip

[netjam]

Have fulltimed for 7 years. NC to AZ slowly at this time of year should present few problems without reservations. Have done it 3-4 times always over the winter without reservations. Problems can arise if you need to stay a month at a deep south snowbird park but a day or 3 shouldn't be any problem in my experience.

[MarkTwain]

DW and I are planning our first extended winter escape. We would like to meander from Charlotte NC. after visiting our kids at Christmas, to south Texas or even AZ. over 8 - 10 weeks. How difficult will this be without making reservations now. I really don't want any kind of a schedule but after reading this and other forums it sounds like reservations are almost mandatory to find a place to set up.

Winter time in the south west states are popular for "Snow Birders" who tend to stay 3 to 5 months in one park because of the warmer weather. This results in many of the parks tending to fill up. While not impossible to make the trip without reservations, be prepared to accept some problems in getting an RV site or worst having to travel around to find another RV park.
IMHO, making tentative reservation plans for an RV trip does not by definition "lock" you into a schedule because you call always call and cancel a reservation. Just be sure you ask what the cancellation policy is for each RV park.
In some ways it is like rolling dice on the ******tables in Las Vegas, you just have to figure out what your tolerance is for rolling the dice before crapping out:)

[TomG2]

Unless this winter is different from the last few, reservations are not necessary in the Rio Grande Valley. You may not get exactly the site or park you want but there will be a dozen parks right down the road with plenty of vacancies.

[ljr]

I've done my share of meandering around those parts of the country. I often have a planned route and reservations but not always. When I don't. I'll usually do some research on appealing options in the general area where I think I'll be roaming. I especially check for sporting events, local festivals, county fairs, etc that might make finding a first-come-first-served campsite hard to find. I almost never stay in private campgrounds and never again in Federal. The real gems I've found are county and municipal.

If you do that and don't mind improvising when things don't work out (i.e.: Walmart, Flying J) it can be done.

[harold1946]

The annual snowbird migration has started. With the government shutdown, (fiasco) closing many places it would be advisable to have reservations. Many of those that would normally stay at BLM campgrounds will be seeking private RV parks and campgrounds.

[ontheroad101]

Sometimes if staying only a night or two you may not have a problem while traveling. But in destination areas staying a week or more in one spot may be a problem. We often travel without reservation and have no problems. If you know a spot you want to stay at it doesn't hurt to make a reservation but dose create a schedule. Good luck with your travels.