My first full-time holiday lesson

[Acheron2010]

Almost into my third month of full-timing, and Labor Day is coming up and hoo-boy the campgrounds fill up fast. I cannot get close to Denver for a week on either side. Will just layover in Nebraska then go through and up to Idaho.
What do you fellow nomads do for holiday camps? Avoid the big cities or make far reservations or...?

[dbj216]

I'm not a full timer, but we do avoid travel during summer holiday weeks. There are more people than ever traveling with RVs. RV parks of any value fill up fast. Some people make reservations well ahead of expected arrivals. But then what's the fun in having a schedule. You know, truckers are having the same problem. Truck stops and rest stops are full. No room in the inn.

I guess I would find a comfortable spot, and stay there for the holiday week.

David

[OTRA15]

Walmarts might still be an option!

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...ing-13082.html

Cracker Barrel, Cabellas, truck stops, and so forth.

There are probably nearby CGs and parks which take daily campers without reservations, but you may have to line up getting on a waiting list early each morning in person.

A good lesson perhaps about planning further in advance . . .

[moosetags]

When we are on the road with Lucy and a holiday weekend is approaching, we look for the city and county parks that are in small towns and are not a destination for vacationers. These are shown on the RVparky app.


Brian

[redhat200]

This will be our second time staying in Sedona for Thanksgiving week. We did make a reservations eight months ahead at Riverside. Beautiful! There are many rest stops that allow overnight. If you have Internet take a look at the BLM land. Great spots to stay. Our favorite is Alabama Hills in lone Pine California. Over 500 Western’s were filmed there and it is phenomenal.

[RJJ]

I made reservations in March for Labor Day weekend and for Thanksgiving.👍 Both parks are in Florida. You definitely have to reserve in advance if Florida if you want a good location. I live here and have to reserve in advance... 😨

[HHPJ]

Allstays app is fantastic for finding Public Land to camp on, and most out of the way places to camp in an area. Casinos are another place to stay for a few nights.

I am really enjoying my Elks lodge membership, most clubs it’s first come, 20 a night, and full access to club dinners and 3 dollar drinks...

[mayco]

Originally Posted by Acheron2010

Almost into my third month of full-timing, and Labor Day is coming up and hoo-boy the campgrounds fill up fast. I cannot get close to Denver for a week on either side. Will just layover in Nebraska then go through and up to Idaho.
What do you fellow nomads do for holiday camps? Avoid the big cities or make far reservations or...?

Thats can be a tough lesson to learn on the road but rest assured you're not the Lone Ranger. The more you travel the more you'll learn about this sort of thing.
Colorado is getting pretty crazy crowded these days, we travel there a couple times a year. If you haven't made reservations you can still get on reserve America and check out availability a week or so in advance. Reservations can be a pain and inhibits your ability to be spontaneous, but if you're going to travel around any holidays it's best to make them well in advance. In CO, we even make reservations in the middle of winter if we are traveling during the holidays. Many of their state park campgrounds fill up from Christmas to New Years.

Another detail to be aware of is that many state parks have a two night minimum stay during holiday weekends. So even if you only need an overnight you'll be charged for two. Many states are like that.

So be aware when traveling over holiday weekends. Another detail that we have found helpful is to research any local festivals or community events going on. Google up the nearby town or cities web site, they usually have a calander of events. County fairs and such can have a big affect on availability of campsites.

Good luck and safe travels,
Mike

[FCloud9]

Don't beat yourself up not having made advance reservations for your first holiday on the road. We're not full timers but usually travel 3-6 months of a year since 2014. Rarely make advance reservations unless visiting National Park with limited options. AllStays RV app is your friend....highly recommend as you can access the directory even without WiFi. Then you can field your options for campgrounds with first-come sites and learn how great those campgrounds are if you arrive mid- week and early in the day. As others have said, try county parks, Army Corp Engineers, National Forest, etc. Since you mentioned you will be in Nebraska- Syndey Cabellas has a great campground with full hookups and no reservations needed....Auroa NE check out Streeter County park with 18 water/electric sites for "free" donations welcome! Also, further on in Wyoming try Vedauwoo Nat. Forest all first come but fill you fresh water before arrival as no water there but great little campground right along I 80 on your way to Colorado!

[AtomicNo13]

Free city campground in Empire Co. 45 minutes West of Denver.
Cool little town close to Georgetown Co, another fun town.
Register at the police Dept, above the restaurant. Bring food, no grocery store.
There is water available, no dump.

[The Flamingo]

We are heading to Starlite Camping Resort in Lancaster Country PA. Beautiful place family owned for 53 years. Third generation of the family starting to take over. The most friendly campground I have ever been to. They have a sign in the office that reads "enter as strangers, leave as friends" and its true!!! Highly recommend this place.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Other interesting dates to consider:

1) Last weekend before the local schools start up again
2) First day of hunting season
3) First day of fishing season

None of those are going to be as big an issue as the 4th of July or Labor day.

One of the reasons I fiddled our trailer's electrical setup is to be able to make it at least 4 days in the middle of nowhere with no hookups at all. The intent was to take care of life's little scheduling surprises. As noted above, finding sites with no amenities is generally easier than finding ones with hookups ....

Bob

[Rocinante]

Memorial Day is kind of a big deal in many places. Plan ahead.

[kb0zke]

We've been full-timing for four years now. We learned (from reading various forums) to make reservations for holidays well in advance. It helps to pick places that aren't going to be hugely popular (forget Grand Canyon for Independence Day). Often, we'll schedule a volunteer position for holidays. For example, we're campground hosts for Labor Day, and were on a Laborers For Christ project for Independence Day this year. That guarantees us a place to stay.

We're looking at Thanksgiving and Christmas scheduling now.

[rd tighe]

Welcome to fulltime world.Holliday's are a problem. We have also found allways room in small towns and dry camping will allways get you a place.

[jimfa440]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

Memorial Day is kind of a big deal in many places. Plan ahead.

I think you have plenty of time to plan for Memorial Day.

[Tstidstfm]

Angel Fire Resort has availability - 6-10 sites ck in tomorrow...beautiful area, all paved, full hookups and great facilities...a little south of your destination but worth the stay...good luck!

[Ray Eklund]

South of Castle Rock, CO on the west side of I-25: Jellystone Park at Larkspur

Devils Head- National Forest Off Grid, dry camping on the Rocky Mountain Front Range west of Castle Rock

Chatfield Lake Campground, Littleton, CO south of I-70 and west of I-25