Try to nab an online reservation at a popular State Park campsite and you might be discouraged to see all the spots are gobbled up.
Or so it seems. Often, the reserved spots end up empty, with no-shows leaving the coveted sites unused. But starting next year, a slew of changes by State Parks could make nabbing a campsite easier.
Changes recently signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom will add heftier penalties for people who book campsites in advance, but don’t bother to cancel them, as well as penalties for people who don’t cancel well in advance to allow others to stay and play.
“There’s a bunch of dynamic changes, making it easier and more accessible,” said State Parks Superintendent Kevin Pearsall.
Since the pandemic, getting outdoors and camping have become even more popular pastimes throughout the state. A campsite and park in Humboldt County that was typically getting 100,000 visitors a year, for example, now gets 600,000 people visiting, he said.
With 279 state parks, the department offers an estimated 15,000 camping sites and lodgings available across the state.
The biggest frustration is when people book a spot and don’t bother to cancel if they can’t make it.
“You have people who make double and triple reservations to invite friends, then they don’t come and they don’t cancel and we’re stuck,” Pearsall said. “A lot of parks, that’s affecting their overall gross sales receipts.”
Although the bill goes into effect on Jan. 1, the changes will be implemented when a new reservation system contract goes into place at the end of summer.
A reservation holder who cancels a reservation within two to six days before the reservation start date will have to forfeit the cost of the reservation for the first night, plus any reservation fees.
Currently, campers can cancel their reservation up to 5 p.m. the night before their reservation and only incur a processing fee penalty of $7.99. Under the new rules, a reservation holder can cancel seven days or more and only incur the cost of the processing fee.
Within 24 hours of the first night or for no shows, the entire cost of a reservation and fees will be forfeited. Currently for no-shows, State Parks holds the campsite for one night and then allows it to be reserved and available for a walk-up. A no-show loses the first night fee only, plus reservation and cancellation fees.
The parks department may restrict a person from reserving a site for more than seven consecutive nights during peak season if the person has occupied the same campsite proposed for reservation for more than 30 days in a calendar year, or if they fail to show up for at least three reservations made online in one calendar year.
The new rules also require the department to, by Jan. 1, 2025, create a reservation drawing for canceled spots at five of the most popular locations in the state park system, with a report on how it goes by 2028.
The state is also looking to crack down on third-party vendors that use software to gobble up campsites and resell them at a higher price.
“We’re keeping on top of it, but part of the new reservation system is to key in on that quicker,” Pearsall said.
California’s reservation system, ReserveCalifornia, underwent an overhaul in 2018 — a change that was meant to make reservations easier, but has prompted an increase in campers complaining it’s actually harder to nab a spot.
Instead of an entire month of reservation spots opening up on the first of each month six months in advance, it’s now a rolling system for each date. For example, a spot for June 20 would have to be reserved on Jan. 20. If you want a reservation for Christmas Day, you have to jump online on June 25 for a chance to get it. This part of the reservation system isn’t expected to change next year.
At Doheny State Beach in Dana Point on a recent day, campers expressed frustration about the reservation system.
Mike and Bev Helders were on a road trip from Canada, first stopping at Carlsbad in San Diego further south. When they arrived, a sign said the campsite was full.
“When we got there, it was half empty,” Mike Helders said. “It’s weird.”
They had to go online to see if any last-minute cancellations popped up, and luckily grabbed a spot for the night.
“We came back and got a site, but our whole section was empty,” Bev Helders said.
Katie Harper, from Las Vegas, has an elaborate tactic to get a spot at the beachfront campgrounds, considered one of the most popular in the state. She hops on six months in advance, enlisting family members to do the same, to get one of the sites right on the sand.
For 10 years, she and family have made the trek during “Nevada Day,” a state holiday where kids get off school, a perfect time because it’s not too hot, she said.
“We have friends trying to get in this week,” she said. “They couldn’t get a spot, but then it’s empty.”
