By Cheri Sicard
Booking a campsite used to be simple, but times have changed. Instead of kicking back by the fire, campers now have to dodge complicated rules and unexpected costs. Picking a spot for your RV is starting to feel like some kind of strategic challenge, where you need a CPA, a lawyer, and a good blood pressure monitor just to make it through the reservation page.
In the video at the end of the post, Andy from The Camping Loop is on a rant, and he has tips for what to look out for.
The “lock-in-your-site” fee—Surprise!
The internet made booking easier, but it also added new fees at every click. Now, every checkbox might come at a price and online reservations come with something absurd: the “lock-in-your-site” fee. Campers pick a site, confirm it, and think it’s theirs. Wrong. Unless they pay this extra fee, someone else could snag it. $35 seems to be the standard cost for the privilege.
Andy says, “It feels like price-gouging—pick a spot, pay, and then pay again to actually keep it. It’s like a dating app for campsites. You match, but unless you pay more, your chosen campsite could swipe right on someone else.”
Andy’s experience at Jellystone Campground
Andy tried to book a spot at Jellystone—yes, the Yogi Bear-themed campground. He selected a pull-through site close to the pool. Instead, he landed next to a swamp, nowhere near what he picked. The camp required a $35 lock-in fee for the chance to actually keep the precise spot already picked during the reservation!
Sneaky resort RV campground fees: Breaking it down
Modern campgrounds aren’t shy about extra charges. Here’s what often shows up on the bill:
- Site fee: $129
- Lock-in fee: $35
- Wi-Fi fee: $7 (for a signal that may or may not work)
- Resort fee: $12
- Working Wi-Fi fee: $11
Is it really better than a state park at this point?
At state parks, things stay simple.
- $26 per night
- Under $60 for a whole weekend
- No random upcharges just for fresh air
Even high-tax states don’t pile on the fees that private resorts do. Campers get more value for their dollar, plus fewer surprises.
Why do lock-in fees exist?
Campgrounds say the fee guarantees the selected spot. Sounds reasonable, but Andy compares it to a restaurant where ordering steak comes with an extra fee—if you actually want to eat it. It’s less about convenience for campers and more about boosting profit with what feels like fake choices.
KOA may have started the trend. These campgrounds charge for anything fun or convenient:
- Bounce pillow
- Gem mining
- Mini golf
- Being next to the playground
- And, yes, locking in your site
Extra charges pile up fast with every “amenity.”
Boutique campgrounds aren’t immune. Even places with no fancy extras—just a guy named Carl with three goats and a garden hose—are now charging $25 or more to lock in a site. Refuse, and next thing you know, your spot is behind the barn, next to the chickens and Carl’s ex-wife’s van.
The impact on the camping experience
Camping used to be a way to unplug. Now, it’s just more financial stress. By the time all the charges hit, it might cost more than a night in a motel, with air conditioning and pillows included.
At the end of the day, the “lock-in” fee means paying to camp exactly where you planned, nothing extra. It’s not for luxury. It’s just a rectangle of dirt with a fire ring (maybe full of melted flip-flops) at a premium price. That’s modern camping.
Have you encountered these fees? Be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below.
RELATED
- Some new Starlink customers face up to $750 fee
- Thousand Trails announces major changes, hikes fees, top tier now $4,000 a year
- Can campgrounds legally charge a flat fee for electricity when pedestals are metered?
RVDT2685
Michigan state parks have gotten ridiculous with “gotcha fees.”
Never again…
Lock in fees, resort fees, out of state/country fees, tourist fees, additional taxes, etc. are all just added to the total and I figure out the actual cost per day. If I don’t like it, I just book something else. Oh yeah, and then I would add 35% for paying in USD vs. CDN. That won’t be happening this winter Snowbird season, but that is another topic altogether!
Much ado about nothing. 🇨🇦
The USD/CDN exchange rate has been like that as long as I can remember. Nothing new or recent.
I thought I remembered the CDN being more than the USD at one time, Did a little googling and found that to be the case, and the chart was kimd of interesting. https://cclfg.cclgroup.com/insight/se-history-of-the-canadian-dollar/
There are times we pay the lock fee. One reason is to stay away from playgrounds or pool areas. There are also times we would like to be near the showers and bathhouse.
KOA is a prime originator of a lot of these various fees and pricing models. It’s one of the reasons I avoid them like the plague. I have no interest in financially supporting a camping corporation whose prime mission is trying to figure out ways to drive up costs across the campground industry. They then promote their ways to other chains via the Campground Association in an effort to drive pricing to their level to remain “competitive.” 👎
We keep it very simple. County & State Parks as well as Mom & Pop campgrounds. I don’t mind things like a reasonable uplift in state parks for being a non-resident, especially when no separate park sticker/pass is required.
My favorite is the camp host expecting a tip for “leading” you to the site you reserved. The hustle never ends….
There may be times to tip them.
We stayed at one campground in South Carolina where a worker took us to our site, Blew the leaves off the site, checked the power pole, made sure the fire pit was clean and even sprayed and wiped off the water spigot. He got a $5 tip.
These people probably only make minimum wage at best.
Andy from The Camping Loop cracks me up. I grin, chuckle and sometimes belly laugh at his descriptions and his wit. He is one of my favorite YouTubers.
He appears to be the Cable Guy of camping.
Hi, Kelly. Your comment on this post, and just now your comment on the desktop poll, were held for moderation because you put an extra “s” in your email address, so the system didn’t recognize you and thought you were commenting for the first time. It was kinda funny to see your comment showing 2,840 comments approved right next to the one that was held for approval showing 0 comments approved. Took me a second to see why. All’s well. (Unless you added the extra “s” intentionally. In that case, I’ll put them back in.) Have a good night.🤗 –Diane
Yes, The lock-in fee. We pay it at a popular place we go to once a year. -And, we pay it because we have a favorite site there.
So called resorts are nothing more than glamping scams for rich, snobby people with giant land yachts. Real campers use campgrounds and off grid places.
Thank you for calling attention to this video and summarizing it, Cheri! DW typically makes our reservations. I think that she has run into the “site lock” fee in the past. She isn’t the sort that would pay it. More likely, she found another campground. Have a great day and safe travels!
There are 2 sides to the site lock in fee. When I want to lock in a site months out for a couple of nights that blocks the campground from giving the site to someone who wants to stay a week. If they lose the week long renter and can’t fill the days around me they lose the revenue from those nights.
I respect campgrounds that will guarantee a site type for no extra cost. I don’t like the increased nightly expenses but the cost to operate campgrounds is going up. Taxes, insurance, labor and maintenance costs continue to rise.
We do Dog Trials at a specific site with a flat fee- Dry or full- known in Philly as “wit or wit-out”. We try to keep our travels to a one drive day limit, but there are still Mom & Pop “honest” campgrounds out there for a single stop over 1/2 way to our destination.
We have a roof top satellite dish so we are forced into the site lock in fee if we want one of the few sites that have an unobstructed view of the sky. Frustrating but what choice do we have???
My first thought (and quite frankly this is very much a smart-alec reply) is don’t watch TV. Absolutely no offense intended. It’s just that we are not much for watching TV, don’t watch movies etc., so don’t have a satellite, rarely use antenna, don’t hook up to campground cable. I understand that for many TV is important–just can’t wrap my head around that. Now, don’t take away my reading material. I’m sure just as many find that strange.
KOA and in particular, Yogi Bear Campgrounds are just the worst with this. It is literally a piece of ground, water, electric, and sewer (l don’t mind paying extra for, if l choose). I understand possibly charging extra for a pet (sorry, but not everyone manages or cleans up after them as they should), special features, like mini golf, obstacle course, or a full blown water park. But Lock-in fees – no! We often book adjoining sites w/family. People often book a site based on the size of their unit, as well as avoiding features, like ponds, that would pose a safety hazard for young children.
Sneakiest scam is paying park extra for electricity then voltage drops to a level that will damage your RV. These same parks forbid autoformers…which you shouldn’t need at all.