What are the odds?

[HDRider]

 

 

[HDRider]

How big of a chance would it be that I am left with no where to stay if I went from NE Arkansas to Seattle Washington with no reservations?  I would be leaving home June 1st and returning 60 to 90 days later.

 

Break it down by:

National/State/Corp of Eng./National Forest parks?

Private campgrounds like KOA, etc.?

Rest Stops?

Retail Parking lots?

What else?

 

 

 

Edited Sunday at 05:03 PM by HDRider

[topgun2]

Cracker Barrel in St. Joe, MO  Note:  quite after 10pm

Byre Lake Park - GPS 43.93009, -99.83665  Note: the bar/restaurant located right at the exit off interstate 90 has cold beer and a great burger.  The park is located about 6 miles north of town but is free (electric is available if arranged in town in advance).  Quite and plenty of room.  There is a pit toilet that is basically OK.

Bill

[HDRider]

2 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

Cracker Barrel in St. Joe, MO  Note:  quite after 10pm

Byre Lake Park - GPS 43.93009, -99.83665  Note: the bar/restaurant located right at the exit off interstate 90 has cold beer and a great burger.  The park is located about 6 miles north of town but is free (electric is available if arranged in town in advance).  Quite and plenty of room.  There is a pit toilet that is basically OK.

Bill

Thanks Bill.  I can always count on you.

[STEVEnBETTY]

Other than  Friday and Saturday, I’ve never had any trouble booking reservations same day or day in advance, anywhere west of the Mississippi River. There are exceptions of course, but I’ve taken 6 week trips out west and paid for camping just 3 nights, between harvest hosts, ultimate c.g., rv Parky, blm etc…. My favorite campgrounds are c.o.e., they’re always on water and with the American the Beautiful pass, they’re half price.

[HDRider]

6 minutes ago, STEVEnBETTY said:

Other than  Friday and Saturday, I’ve never had any trouble booking reservations same day or day in advance, anywhere west of the Mississippi River. There are exceptions of course, but I’ve taken 6 week trips out west and paid for camping just 3 nights, between harvest hosts, ultimate c.g., rv Parky, blm etc…. My favorite campgrounds are c.o.e., they’re always on water and with the American the Beautiful pass, they’re half price.

Thanks. 

 

This is our first big trip out west and I am just trying to get a feel for the likelihood of rolling up on a place and it having a spot.  I have no problem staying one day and moving around or moving on, but I don't want to be left with no options. 

 

I like the Corp parks too.

[STEVEnBETTY]

You’re welcome, even the big national parks, Yellowstone, devils tower etc., have openings in the middle of the week for first come first serve spots, especially if you go in the shoulder season.

[John Dorrer]

3 hours ago, HDRider said:

 

 

When we plan a destination, I have found the need to book ahead for good parts of the trip. We will be in Washington, Oregon, and California after Labor Day. State Parks in Washington have a 9 month booking window. Montana just dropped their state park booking window to 3 months. For us we want the main part of our trip booked for State and National Parks.

 

The negatives are forking out the money so far in advance and issues if our tow vehicle has issues.

 

You are really traveling in prime season, so you might find places booked

 You can always hope someone cancels.

 

We booked State Parks in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina for after the rally. Florida has a 12 month booking window for residents and 11 months for non-residents. 

I book as soon as the booking window opens. 

 

I spend hours planning our trips. I use Mapquest to set maximum 4-5 hour drives. I use Dyrt Pro to locate one night stops. We use Harvest Host.  I enjoy the challenge.  

 

Each Oliver Owner is different and many just roll the dice, with little planning. To each his own. Good Luck.

 

 

  

 

 

Edited Sunday at 08:16 PM by John Dorrer
Typo

[STEVEnBETTY]

I agree with the necessity of planning on our travels east of the Mississippi River, we live near St Louis. But we’re planning on leaving soon for a month in Texas and I won’t book anything more than a day in advance, we’ll just wing it. But you do have to be flexible, and having a fully self contained rv frees up a lot of options.

[jd1923]

Not sure if things are better or worse today. Mid 90's we left Chicago for a June Colorado trip. We had a reservation west of Colorado Springs and the place turned out to be a dump. We spent our third day looking everywhere in south central CO for an alternative and everybody reported June is usually fully booked. We finally found a cabin up near Monarch Pass west of Salida CO at 10,000 FT, getting sinus headaches overnight! Visited Gunnison and the areas around.

We where traveling by Van and did not have a trailer for camping, so that's of course different. Either way, June is one of the busiest months for highway travel and camping. If it was me, I'd be on Campendium and other sites and make some reservations along the way. Know where NFS and BLM lands are, get your maps downloaded. For the east half of your trip, find city and county parks along your path. If we had to spend more than ONE night at a Cracker Barrel in either direction, I would not be happy. Last time we did, asphalt camping at it's finest, 🤣 and the breakfast food was not what it used to be. Should have cooked breakfast in the Oliver, but we wanted to give them business for their hospitality.

We are leaving here on Memorial Day for 6 weeks, getting back by the 4th of July. It should be awesome, our longest trip to date has been 3 weeks. Our end point will be Minnesota to visit Chris' sister and family. We'll likely head east on a southern route first and after MN take a northern route back. I should start planning some of our stops ASAP! If you do, it will add to the quality of your trip. Yes, planning is a pain!

You know in Arizona, except for Quartzsite and other BLM or USFS lands, if you want a winter reservation at a AZ State Park, a Maricopa Regional Park and others, you need to be ready at 6AM local time, 6 months to the day out to book, otherwise 98% of campsite days are booked!

[HDRider]

16 hours ago, John Dorrer said:

When we plan a destination, I have found the need to book ahead for good parts of the trip. We will be in Washington, Oregon, and California after Labor Day. State Parks in Washington have a 9 month booking window. Montana just dropped their state park booking window to 3 months. For us we want the main part of our trip booked for State and National Parks.

 

The negatives are forking out the money so far in advance and issues if our tow vehicle has issues.

 

You are really traveling in prime season, so you might find places booked

 You can always hope someone cancels.

 

We booked State Parks in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina for after the rally. Florida has a 12 month booking window for residents and 11 months for non-residents. 

I book as soon as the booking window opens. 

 

I spend hours planning our trips. I use Mapquest to set maximum 4-5 hour drives. I use Dyrt Pro to locate one night stops. We use Harvest Host.  I enjoy the challenge.  

 

Each Oliver Owner is different and many just roll the dice, with little planning. To each his own. Good Luck.

 

 

  

 

 

  I just signed up with DYRT.  I have tried RVParkey and RF Life.  One of those sucked a lot and the other sucked somewhat less..

 

I let mu Harvest Host expire.  I could never use it when we needed it.  Hosts never called back, or nothing appealing appeared on my route.

 

I will reserve my main destination, but reserving every little stop along the way there and back takes the fun out of it.  It seems less of an adventure planning the stops.  I like to explore and go where the road takes me.  I did that for years on the bike, but doing it towing my house might be tougher.  Trying to adjust.

[HDRider]

18 hours ago, John Dorrer said:

Dyrt Pro to locate one night stops

I have got as far as Washington with our trip.  I think I like Dyrt.

 

 

[HDRider]

Sometimes it looks like KOA is the best option while rolling.  What does everyone think about KOA?  Sure is not cheap!

[John Dorrer]

2 minutes ago, HDRider said:

I have got as far as Washington with our trip.  I think I like Dyrt.

 

 

👍

[John Dorrer]

2 minutes ago, HDRider said:

Sometimes it looks like KOA is the best option while rolling.  What does everyone think about KOA?  Sure is not cheap!

We use KOA on almost every trip. Upcoming Texas will have San Antonio and Galveston. Galveston because we maxed out our 14 days at the State Park.

 

Trip after Rally will have a couple and Washington trip a couple.  

 

Most of our stays are State Parks, COE's, and National Parks, with KOA's, Harvest Hosts, and a few other places.

[John Dorrer]

We upgraded the Dyrt to the "Dyrt Pro", costs maybe $35/yr

 

Our favorite KOA's are San Antonio, and Polson, MT. 

[KeysConchs]

On 1/19/2025 at 12:02 PM, HDRider said:

How big of a chance would it be that I am left with no where to stay if I went from NE Arkansas to Seattle Washington with no reservations?  I would be leaving home June 1st and returning 60 to 90 days later.

 

Break it down by:

National/State/Corp of Eng./National Forest parks?

Private campgrounds like KOA, etc.?

Rest Stops?

Retail Parking lots?

What else?

 

 

 

We have travelled extensively for months at a time during the height of the busy season and have never had a problem finding last-minute campsites despite (except that one time in Missouri on the 4th of July) not having many reservations.  We stay in order of preference: COE campgrounds, state/provincial parks, USFS campgrounds, Hipcamps, a few HarvestHosts, and when we have to, private campgrounds (KOA in Boone was particularly nice on the J loop).  We have never had to revert to Cracker Barrels, WalMarts, or Cabelas.  We do plan a few days in advance and rely a great deal on Campnab to let us know when vacancies open up at certain desirable campgrounds.  We use RVParky to identify sites in the general area where we are going, and have actually found google maps to be exceptionally good.  Campendium often gives us information about specific campsites, and Campground Photos as the name implies, shows pics of many specific sites.   Bottom line: no problems.   

Edited Monday at 05:34 PM by KeysConchs

[HDRider]

45 minutes ago, John Dorrer said:

We upgraded the Dyrt to the "Dyrt Pro", costs maybe $35/yr

 

Our favorite KOA's are San Antonio, and Polson, MT. 

Yep.  I got Dyrt Pro.  I like it.

[HDRider]

14 minutes ago, KeysConchs said:

We have travelled extensively for months at a time during the height of the busy season and have never had a problem finding last-minute despite (except that one time in Missouri on the 4th of July) not having many reservations.  We stay in order of preference: COE campgrounds, state/provincial parks, USFS campgrounds, Hipcamps, a few HarvestHost, and places to camp occasionally, when we have to, a private campground.  We have never had to revert to Cracker Barrels, WalMarts, or Cabelas.  We do plan a few days in advance and rely a great deal on Campnab to let us know when vacancies open up at certain desirable campgrounds.  We use RVParky to identify sites in the area where we are going and have actually found google maps to be exceptionally good.  Campendium often gives us information about specific campsites, and Campground Photos as the name implies, shows pics of many specific sites.   Bottom line: no problems.   

You are my new hero..  I want to be like you.

[topgun2]

Interesting replies to you original question!

My original thought was that you were simply hitting the road and making one night stops until you got to the "destination".  My bad!

I had mentioned the Cracker Barrel in St. Joe even though it is not all that far from where you are starting off.  I mentioned this particular CB because it is one of the better ones and certainly no matter which CB it would be, they are not a place to "camp".  These are simply meant to be a place to get off the road and catch some sleep.

Another place that I've stayed is a bit further up the road - Big Lake State Park, near Mound City, MO.  Clean showers and restrooms, big shade trees, electric and water and dump, play ground and is right on an oxbow lake.  Easy to get to off interstate 29.

Bill 

[KeysConchs]

1 hour ago, HDRider said:

You are my new hero..  I want to be like you.

Unfortunately, you would likely be horrified if you saw our Ollie.  It definitely isn't spit-shined sitting out in the Florida sun. But, oh so comfy! And our 2 golden retrievers love traveling with us. Life is good.

[HDRider]

4 minutes ago, KeysConchs said:

Unfortunately, you would likely be horrified if you saw our Ollie.  It definitely isn't spit-shined sitting out in the Florida sun. But, oh so comfy! And our 2 golden retrievers love traveling with us. Life is good.

Better to go with the rough and scruff than not go at all.  Life is all about the pushing through the scuffs. 

 

I need a dog.  Can someone talk to my wife?

[jd1923]

8 hours ago, HDRider said:

I will reserve my main destination, but reserving every little stop along the way there and back takes the fun out of it.  It seems less of an adventure planning the stops.

Yes, the best of both worlds!

7 hours ago, HDRider said:

What does everyone think about KOA?

Stopped at the KOA in Moab spring 2023. It was a couple months before we sold the Bigfoot, to downsize to our Oliver. They would not give me a price until I gave them EVERY DETAIL of our rig, family members and pets. Just a Class C, two adults and a medium-sized dog. They wanted $130 plus taxes for a cramped site! I just laughed at the clerk, turned my back and walked out the door. We stayed across the street, with better views, more spacious sites, at a family owned place for $55.

[Steph and Dud B]

20 years ago we could travel at will, making reservations as we went, usually the night before. We hit a lot of the big national parks, no problem getting sites. Times have changed. Last winter I planned our trip to the Oliver spring rally and beyond in great detail, making all the reservations well in advance to be sure we had places to stay. Then, life happened and we had to cancel it all, with a lot of deposit money lost. Won't do that again.

This year, with any luck, we hope to go back to our old ways and wing it for a trip to TN, AR, KS, and MO. We'll look for state/local parks and have Harvest Hosts as a backup. Commercial campgrounds will be the last choice. As for KOAs, we have used the KOA Rewards program before and it has worked OK. Don't forget, there are 3 levels of KOA parks: Journey, Holiday, and Resort. We've found some (not all) of the Journeys to be kind of rough around the edges, while the Resorts can be too crowded and expensive for our tastes.

I do miss the old days.

[ScubaRx]

On 1/19/2025 at 10:02 AM, HDRider said:

How big of a chance would it be that I am left with no where to stay if I went from NE Arkansas to Seattle Washington with no reservations?  I would be leaving home June 1st and returning 60 to 90 days later.

 

Break it down by:

National/State/Corp of Eng./National Forest parks?

Private campgrounds like KOA, etc.?

Rest Stops?

Retail Parking lots?

What else?

 

 

 

I DO NOT make reservations over a couple of hours in advance and only then if it’s 105F outside and we need A/C for the night. We have traveled many thousands of miles without any reservations and not one single time have we ever not been able to find a free place to camp. The are fairgrounds, rest stops, city parks, empty lots, city campgrounds, Walmart, Cracker Barrel. We’ve even been invited to spend nights on people’s property. Drive into any small town and find the police department. Ask if there’s a place to park overnight. We have never been turned down. Many times they will accompany you to the place to park. Don’t overthink it, it’s easy to find free places at the last minute. We took a 15K mile, three month trip to Alaska and only paid for three nights camping and that was by choice. 

Edited yesterday at 03:52 AM by ScubaRx