How to Book a Campsite 101

Don’t get us wrong—we love free vehicle-based camping around here. But sometimes, reserving a paid campsite ahead of time is the move, especially if you’re camping on busy summer weekends or exploring popular destinations. In this helpful guide, we’ll share everything you need to know to research and reserve campsites like a pro.

Why Book A Campsite? 4 Reasons We Recommend Making Reservations

Before we dive into campsite booking tips and other tricks of the trade, it’s worth addressing this common question: why bother reserving a campsite in the first place?

Relieve Trip-Planning Anxiety

Booking a campsite in advance means you don’t need to stress about snagging a campsite at a first-come, first-serve campground, or hunting for an empty pull-out on a bumpy backroad late at night. If you like to know where you’re going to camp weeks before your trip, reserving a site can provide invaluable peace of mind.

Immerse Yourself In National And State Parks

While you may be able to find first-come, first-serve sites within the boundaries of a state or national park, you’ll be hard-pressed to find legal and free camping. Oftentimes, reservable sites within popular parks are booked far in advance, and first-come, first-serve sites are bound to get snapped up quickly. If you’re hoping to explore and enjoy these world-class adventure destinations with minimal driving, it’s a smart play to book a campsite ahead of time.

How to Cope With Crowds

It seems like more and more people are getting outside these days, which is wonderful. After all, spending time in nature is beneficial for our physical and mental health, and the more people who appreciate our wild lands, the more we can protect them together. Silver linings aside, this influx of outdoor enthusiasts can make finding a campsite on a holiday weekend nearly impossible.

Now, the best way to avoid the crowds is to explore remote, underrated stretches of wilderness where “dispersed” or “wild” camping is allowed, like land managed by the Bureau of Land Management or National Forest Service. However, another strategy is to simply book sites in advance. Even if the campground is packed, at least you’ll have a designated spot to park your rig or pitch a tent.

The Many Amenities At Campgrounds

If you’re dispersed camping, you won’t find much in terms of infrastructure. Paid, reservable campgrounds, on the other hand, can offer campers all manner of amenities. These might be as simple as a picnic table and a firepit (both game-changers for camp comfort) or more comprehensive like bathrooms with heated showers, laundry machines, and electrical hookups.

How To Find Reservable Campgrounds: 5 Resources To Find And Book Campsites

There are a handful of apps and websites we use regularly to find and book reservable campgrounds, and we’ll share five of our favorites below. But first, it’s important to make the distinction between public and private campgrounds.

Public Campgrounds

Public campgrounds are administrated by government agencies. You’ll find these campgrounds in national and state parks, national monuments, and other public lands. They can be first-come, first-serve, self-pay, or reservable months in advance. Some have modest amenities, while others are more bare bones.

Private Campgrounds

Private campgrounds can range from RV-ready KOA campgrounds to backyard, AirBNB-style campsites listed on HipCamp. Some hotels, like those operated by Loge, even offer adventurers a cheaper camping option that still provides access to amenities like bathrooms and wetsuit washing stations.

1. The Dyrt

If we had to suggest one app or website to book campsites, it’s The Dyrt. This robust database consists of all manner of paid public and private campsites, as well as thousands of drive-in free camping options.

The paid PRO subscription is top-tier, with noteworthy features like cell service maps, road trip planning tools, and “Dyrt Alerts” that will ping you regarding campsite cancellations. You can even score discounts on campgrounds, and you won’t pay any booking fees when you use Dyrt’s booking platform.

One thing worth noting? You can’t book public campsites on The Dyrt. However, you can search for public campgrounds, read up on them, and then click through to the relevant reservation page.

2. Recreation.gov

If you’re booking a campsite on federally administrated public lands (read: national parks, national monuments, national forests, etc.), you’ll be using Recreation.gov. The site isn’t as clunky as it used to be, and you can easily use this platform to search and book hundreds of campgrounds across the country.

Keep in mind that Recreation.gov doesn’t handle bookings for state-administrated public lands, and booking platforms vary from state to state. However, if you use a site like The Dyrt to search for state parks and campgrounds, you’ll find links to a state-run site where you can then make reservations.

3. KOA

KOA, which stands for Kampgrounds of America, is a massive network of hundreds of privately owned, franchised campgrounds across the United States. You’ll find ample amenities at many of these campgrounds, including RV hookups. You might even be able to book a cabin, yurt, glamping tent, you name it. The search functions and filters are intuitive, and making reservations is effortless.

4. HipCamp

Often described as the Airbnb of camping, HipCamp allows private landowners to list backyard campgrounds, RVs, yurts, you name it. If you don’t have any luck nabbing a site on public lands, you can always browse HipCamp! Some of our best road trip memories have gone down thanks to quirky bookings on this site.

5. iOverlander

iOverlander is similar to the Dyrt, offering campers the ability to search and map paid campsites. If you’re looking for a free app or site to use, this site is our top pick. You can use the filters to browse for paid campgrounds or user-generated dispersed camping campsites (read: free camping). The user-generated reviews on iOverlander are invaluable, too. Reviews can clue you into everything from road conditions and wildlife to road noise and the availability of potable water.

A Note On Free Camping 

In this article, we’ve mainly focused on researching and reserving campsites. However, if you’re camping on a budget–or you’re just looking for a little more peace and quiet–free camping is the way to go.

We do use a couple of the aforementioned resources, namely iOverlander and The Dyrt, to research and map free camping sites all year long. If you’re looking to learn more about how to find free car camping, check out our detailed guide to the subject here. We dive into the following subjects:

• Why camping on a Luno mattress in your vehicle is the way to go (it’s comfy, easy, and allows you to stealth camp or bunk down in a Walmart parking lot)
• What types of public lands are best for free camping
  
• How to find free car camping sites
• And more!

3 Tips For Timing Your Campsite Reservation Like A Pro

Before we say sayonara, we wanted to touch on one last factor: timing. Timing is everything when it comes to reserving a campsite, as popular campsites can book up more quickly than you might expect. We’re talking Taylor Swift tickets here, people! Jokes aside, keep these three simple timing tips in mind, and you’ll have a much better chance of booking your dream campsite.

1. Research Popular Campsites Far In Advance

As we’ve mentioned already, popular campsites can be booked out far in advance, especially on holiday weekends. Some campgrounds open up sites for reservations six months in advance, while others might be on a shorter timeline. If you’re hoping to visit an iconic campground in a national park, it’s a smart idea to poke around Recreation.gov and figure out exactly when those sites become available.

2. Set A Reminder to Book Popular Campsites When Reservation Windows Open up

You’ve done your research and found out when your campsite of choice becomes available. Now what? Set an alarm on your calendar—and don’t forget to enable alerts! That way, you can be at your computer and ready to book as soon as campsites are released. Depending on the area, park, or season, each campsite might have completely different windows of dates for when reservations can be made. Some even work off of a lottery system so don’t forget to book as soon as they go live.

3. Check For Campsite Cancellations to Score Last Minute Openings

In general, our advice for booking campsites is to reserve them as early as possible. However, if you miss the boat, your itinerary is more flexible, or you’re planning a last-minute trip, check for cancellations in the weeks and even days leading up to your adventure.
 
According to The Dyrt’s 2025 Camping Report, 25.8 percent of campers canceled campsite reservations two or more days before their trip in 2024. Another 6.9 percent canceled reservations with less than two days heads-up.
 
Long story short? If you check reservation websites frequently, you might luck into a spot at an otherwise fully booked campground. Even better, if you have a Dyrt PRO membership, you can set a “Dyrt Alert” that will text you when a cancellation frees up a campsite at your destination of choice.  The feature works at over 4,000 campgrounds, and it can be worth the annual membership.

Camp Like A Champ

We hope this guide to booking a campsite will help you plan and execute your next camping trip. After all, a simple reservation can help you efficiently access popular parks, cope with the crowds, and, most importantly, reduce planning-related stress. 
 
As always, thanks for reading, and we’ll see you on the road—and at the campground.

—The Luno Crew