Paying for NF campsites

[smsasf]

Because I lived overseas from 2006 until couple years ago I have not camped in a NF campground since about 2004. At that time, as I recall, at the place I camped (first-come, first-served) there was a box where you took out envelop, put $5 in it and either put site number or your auto tag number on it. I know costs have gone up if doing a NF mainatined site. But how are payments handled these days? Cash in envelope? Check? Credit card info? Or do all payments need to be in advance online?

[Lily&Me]

Still exactly the same for self registration at first come, first served.

I pay by check.

Maggie

[azflycaster]

Most reservations are managed by a 3rd party and are done online. Reservations.gov handled most federal and many state campgrounds. Some campgrounds have a few sites that are first come.

[n2916s]

That would be Recreation.Gov. Not Reservations.Gov

[eubank]

For first-come / first-served sites, I think you'll find the traditional method: Fill out the envelope, put in the money, tear off the tab for your dashboard, seal the envelope and put it in the slot. I put in cash, but I think they accepted checks as well.

FYI: I paid $10 per night to camp at the Carson National Forest campground at Hopewell Lake last week. That was with the senior discount.

Lynn

[azflycaster]

Always use cash. If someone breaks into the deposit box at the campground and they get your check , bad things happen...

[smsasf]

Originally Posted by n2916s

That would be Recreation.Gov. Not Reservations.Gov

Ok, I have Recreation.gov and used that couple years back to snag a tent spot at Grand Canyon on short notice.

[smsasf]

Originally Posted by eubank

For first-come / first-served sites, I think you'll find the traditional method: Fill out the envelope, put in the money, tear off the tab for your dashboard, seal the envelope and put it in the slot. I put in cash, but I think they accepted checks as well.

FYI: I paid $10 per night to camp at the Carson National Forest campground at Hopewell Lake last week. That was with the senior discount.

Lynn

Ok, I see. So if I plan to go on 30-60 days road trip may want to take a wad of $5s and $10s since there will be no change given.

[Lily&Me]

And you would also need a supply of $1 bills, if you want to give the exact amount.

I have almost always paid with a check, all over the country these past 13 years, and never once had any problem.

If you look at those steel tube receptacles for registration and fee envelopes, they would be wicked hard to get into, and I don’t recall ever even seeing one that looked like it had been tampered with.

Anything could happen, but it seems the odds are against it.

I believe using checks is quite safe, and much simpler than carrying wads of cash.

Maggie

[Star Ship]

Having worked at Idaho State Parks and Recreation, I'd suggest writing a check for the NF camping fees as occasionally someone breaks into those posts and steals the $. They have no use for checks, but the NF does. Just a suggestion.

[Krikati]

OK, I give up, what is "NF?"

[TheOhioSean]

Originally Posted by Krikati

OK, I give up, what is "NF?"

National Forest.

[Toasterlife]

There's an APP for that... sorry to be flippant, but yes there is a 3rd party app for phones -

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by Krikati

OK, I give up, what is "NF?"

https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/destinations
https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/know-b...you-go/camping

[TouringDan]

I always pay by check because I want to make sure the money gets to the NFS.

Dan

[Doc Foster]

Originally Posted by TouringDan

I always pay by check because I want to make sure the money gets to the NFS.

Same here!

[kb0zke]

We were campground hosts at a State park (won't say where) that had a park manager that didn't quite have things figured out. He didn't want us checking the iron ranger, but he didn't like checking it himself, so it got checked maybe once a week. One day he decided to check it and discovered that someone had removed the padlock and taken everything inside. We found the padlock a few days later, which is how we knew it had been cut. NO idea of how much money was taken. When he discovered the theft he wanted us to try to figure out which sites had been occupied by people using the iron ranger - for a week!



Years ago thieves would toss checks, keeping only the cash. Today I would guess that they'd keep both checks and cash. From the park standpoint, if you pay with cash, and a thief takes it, the park is out the money. If you pay with a check, you probably got some free camping, but your bank account may be drained later. On the other side, if you are going to camp in such places for a month, taking a couple hundred dollars in cash with you just for the iron ranger may expose you to a greater loss. I suppose it depends on how much you have in your checking account.

[jessl_99]

Check out the 'America the Beautiful' passes. There is a life time senior, disabled, and annual one. These will almost always get you half off on the camping fee. FS camping fees run from $10-30/night. Depending on ammenities available. Recreation.gov is a great way to go if you can plan ahead. With few exceptions you can 'walkin' stay on a available site without a reservation for a day or two. I'm a FS recreation Tech so I field these questions just about everyday.

[n2916s]

Check fraud is pretty rare these days. If you just carry a gel pen and not leave any blank space on the “amount” line, it would be pretty hard to alter. Yeah, they would have your account number and bank ID but there is not much they could do with it nowadays when every bank communicates with every other bank in real time.

[Mollysdad]

So if you have a reservation system online AND a "first come, first served" system, how do you know the vacant spot is not reserved?
Or is the entire campground one or the other?