Are you having trouble getting a campground reservation when planning a West Coast trip? You’re not alone. According to a report from camping app publisher The Dyrt, many of those surveyed reported facing the same issue. But camping reservation problems aren’t just limited to the West; people across the country struggled to book campsites last year. Campers in the Pacific Region reported the most difficulty, with 66.1% saying they had trouble booking a site. That’s more than 10 points higher than any other region in the country.
Camping reservation problems on the rise again
Back in 2019, the percentage of campers who reported difficulty finding a campsite to book was just 10.6%. That number took a big jump in 2020 to 26.9% and inched up again in 2021 (30.2%) before exploding in 2022. The report found that 56.1% of campers said they had a difficult time booking a site in 2024 because campgrounds were full. The portion of campers experiencing the campsite crunch is once again near its peak of 58.4% from 2022 after dropping to 45.5% in 2023.
“We really want to see less friction in the campsite marketplace,” The Dyrt founder Sarah Smith wrote in the report. “The camping community is happier and healthier when people can find a site to book with relative ease. While increased inventory from private campgrounds helped bring this number down in 2023, interest remains extremely high in competitive public campgrounds with a fixed number of sites.”
App offers alternatives
Are there alternative solutions? The outfit thinks so. “Plenty of alternatives exist for those squeezed out from the most sought-after destinations,” says the report. It then offered one alternative that not all RVer’s will “cotton to.” “Glamping is the type of camping with the most availability, as survey respondents who favor glamping reported 34.4% less difficulty than average in finding an available campsite to book.”
“We were planning a trip through Utah last spring to visit the Mighty 5, as well as Great Basin National Park in Nevada,” says The Dyrt camper Jon C. of Idaho. “Because of the popularity of all of those parks, we tried to book ahead of time. We were signed on and ready to book immediately as the windows opened. In every case, without exception, all available sites were booked before we could pull the trigger.
“We then started looking at nearby state parks and were ultimately able to find sites. As it turns out, we were much happier with the state parks and glad that things worked out that way; however, we had to be flexible with our dates and keep trying days further out until we found a match and could book our stays. The end result was that the dates we were able to book sites drove our travel plans, instead of the other way around.
“Fortunately, we’re retired and were able to be flexible. I pity the folks that are locked into specific timeframes because it’s got to be dang near impossible to find places to camp in any of the popular areas these days without being extremely flexible.”
Dyrt Alerts keep an eye on sold-outs that may actually come open
For those who have their hearts set on a sold-out campground, The Dyrt Alerts are availability scans that help campers get reservations. The Dyrt scans sold-out campgrounds and sends a text message when a campsite opens up.
The 2025 Camping Report Presented by Toyota Trucks provides these statistics, offering the most comprehensive look at the latest trends, topics, and figures for the U.S. camping industry. The Dyrt compiled the latest version of its annual report using the results of surveys conducted with three groups: thousands of members from The Dyrt camper community, a representative sample of U.S. residents, and camping property managers across all 50 states.
• For more information from RVtravel.com on The Dyrt, click here.
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Articles like this do nothing but stir the pot. I just booked our month long west coast trip and did not have one single issue. Not one anywhere.
I am all booked up going from Arizona thru California from April 5th thru May 2nd. I made these reservations during February with a few campsites already being booked but we made adjustments. I just take the stirred pot and put it back on simmer… it will all workout.
We’re going the opposite direction at the same time with the same results! Be safe and enjoy!!
Same here – just booked a trip from PNW to Colorado. Not one single issue. BTW – the article read like an advertisement for DYRT.
Seems like DYRT could be part of the problem.
Thank you, Russ and Tina, for the survey results! I guess we’ll see how September 2025 is in the Pacific Northwest relative to available campsites. We’re planning on looping through Washington and Oregon on our way home from Alaska. Maybe we will or maybe we won’t. I guess we’ll see. Meanwhile, have a great day and safe travels!
Neal, I’ve been planning our trip this Summer since late last year through the Northern Plains States, through Washington, and looping down into Oregon before heading back East and I haven’t experienced any problems finding and booking campgrounds.
It depends on when you plan to arrive at the state campgrounds. Here in Oregon, many campers book several campsites at the same time because they don’t want anyone parked close to them. It’s been that way for years. A person can reserve three campsites in the State Park and pay the same amount as they would each night for one campsite at a private park and have plenty of room on each side. We have all but given up trying to get a space in a state park until November. Even then it’s iffy due to crabbing season.
Don’t try to book a site at the Tetons when the “booking” window opens. Even a rep from the company hired to manage that reservation system said it’s broken and best to wait until later to see if there is a cancelation. Good luck.
The enjoyment of using one’s RV anymore has faded to a distant memory. Now it’s dog eat dog and first come first served.
The beauty of an RV is it’s mobile. As soon as you dip your toes in the BLM sands you’re free of all those reservation problems. Simple: Head east. Get out of all that congestion and overcrowded campgrounds. Enjoy the great outdoors in that RV. Now mind you no water and electrical hookups. You have to manage your power, water, and waste. But you’ll be free to camp under open skies. Maybe see the Milky way for the first time in your life. Oh..and fuel prices drop the further east you go. Or stay home and pay for that expensive RV without getting any use out of it.
Tom, I agree 100% on the huge benefits of reservation free boondocking but I’m a bit confused as to where you’re seeing an abundance of BLM land to the East versus the Western U.S.
For what I can see, pickings get slim east of Colorado. Even with the huge expanse of Texas, most land is private. Ditto with the plains states. What’s your secret sir?
The article points out that there is more of a problem with booking government-run facilities than private campgrounds. And, since the title of this newsletter is RV Travel, please don’t quote statistics or suggestions for using yurts or other in-campground accommodations that RV travelers would not be using.
It would be helpful to ask when they had trouble getting a reservation. Summer,holidays and weekends have long been a problem. That’s why we try to in spring and fall. We also try to go in on a Sunday and leave on a Friday which makes it easier.