Campsite Reviews and Campground Reservations:

Camping can be an excellent way to get the entire family outdoors during the summer months. Kids absolutely love camping and parents can make the experience even better by choosing a fun campground that has plenty of activities to keep the children busy. The Internet has certainly made booking a campsite easy and find available campgrounds or campsites is as easy as clicking your mouse. There are 3 main campsite reservation websites online - KOA, ReserveAmerica, and Recreation.gov. They all serve their own purpose and you can book a simple tent site all the way up to modest cabin in the woods. Camping is really inexpensive as well (except for the gas to get their) and the latest camping gear will make your campsite feel like your "home away from home". You no longer have to "rough it" in the outdoors if you don't want to. There are air mattresses, stoves, comfortable chairs, large tents, and large campsites to keep you happy. What should you look for when booking a campsite? Keep reading below to find out.

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Firstly, location is a key feature for any campsite. If you have children, then perhaps being near the bathrooms will save you unnecessary walking in the middle of the night. On the other hand, being near the restrooms can be noisy with lots of people passing by your campsite in the evening hours. Look for campgrounds that offer bike trails, hiking trails, and picnic grounds. If you need a shower, then make sure the campsite or campground has a shower facility (many do these days). You can even find some that offer laundry facilities. For tent campers, make sure the spot you choose is tent friendly and has a flat surface to put your tent on. Beach camping is a popular getaway idea for many families and there are literally dozens of state parks along the west coast (California, Oregon, and Washington) and on the east coast states as well. Other people prefer to camp near lakes so they can launch their boats and enjoy days out on the water. Most of the top camping websites will let you choose from RV sites, tent sites, group sites, horse sites, boat sites, and cabins. The Internet sites also offer full maps of the campground layout so you can easily see where each site is located in vicinity to lakes, restrooms, showers, roads, etc. Some of the most popular camping sites hear in my state of Oregon fill up months in advance. Camping is a huge pastime for families in Oregon during the summer and if you don't book at least 5 months in advance your favorite spot will be taken. Most campsite reservation fees are still around $15/night for a basic tent site and cabins range from $50 to $150/night. Another excellent way to research where you want to camp is by using online "camping review" sites like those offered at About.com, Campsitereviews.com, or TripAdvistor.com. You can usually find state specific campsite feedback by typing in your state followed by "campsite reviews" on Google. For RV Camping reviews, check out RVParkreviews.com for some great feedback and opinions from fellow RV campers. In every campground there are always some sites that are better than others and having inside information from online reviews will help you select the best campsite available. Down below we have listed some of the top camping reservation sites on the Internet with key points that their sites offer. Browse around the sites and see what you can find in terms of availability.

KOA (Kampgrounds of America):

Kampgrounds of America (KOA.com) is a reliable camping service almost like a chain restaurant in that you know what to expect at each location. KOA campsites tend to be a little more expensive than traditional state and federal run campgrounds, but you will often find more amenities on location like Internet access, snack bars, cable TV, water parks, and more. They have over 55,000 campsites in 440 locations and most of the campgrounds are owned by local residents making the experience that much more friendly. Many of the locations cost about $25 to $70 a night for tent camping and RV camping. We found in reviews that RV travelers prefer KOA's to most other campsites because they have excellent services like full hookups, 30/20 amp electric outlets, WiFi Internet and pull-thru or back-in sites. KOA has a great reputation and families love the facilities that are generally geared towards kids. You can often rent cabins (for those that don't want to lug a tent on the trip) for about $50-$70/night. Start your reservation process by going to KOA.com and searching in the state you will be traveling too. The site is not as user friendly as the other 2 listed below (too much clutter on the home page), but you should be able to successfully book a campsite within a few minutes of looking.

Reserve America:

We feel that ReserveAmerica.com is the best all around campsite reservation website with over 170,000 campsites/cabins to choose from in every state. Their listing include state, federal and privately run campgrounds and the online search function on the site makes it easy to find what you want. You start by picking from a list the type of site you are looking for (tent, RV, trailer, group, horse, boat, cabin), then choose the state and any landmarks you are planning to camp near. You can also type in a park name like Grand Canyon to get instant results for that area. I prefer to use their campground map which displays a map of the United States with an interactive feature that lets you click on the state or specific region to find what is available. Eventually you will find a list of campgrounds available for your given dates and see which amenities each site offers. They do an excellent job of describing the activities and services at each campground - bird watching, campfire programs, swimming, hiking trails, campground store, dump station, hot showers, pay telephone, etc. Most sites are available for about $15/night (basic campsites) while cabins run closer to $60/night. You will need to create an online profile to reserve the campsite and you will have to pay a small reservation fee each time you reserve a campsite. Overall the site is easy to use, has plenty of information on each campground, and the interactive maps and campground layout maps are very helpful. I used ReserveAmerica.com last summer in booking several campsites for my family as we traveled from Oregon out through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and California.

National Park Camping & Campground Reservations:

National Parks are a big draw for families in the summer months and finding a campsite is not always easy since they fill up fast. Recreation.gov lists over 55,000 campsites run by federal agencies. You can also search online at NPS.gov to see which National Parks offer campsites on a reservation basis. Many are still listed as first come first serve which can be a daunting task when you are traveling across country to places like Yellowstone National Park. We don't recommend driving into a campground area late at night in a National Park without a reservation since most sites fill up during the peak summer months of June, July and August. Get online to see what is available and determine how many campsites are open for reservation versus first come first serve. Most campsites are going to cost about $25/night at National Parks but it's money well spent given the beauty you get in the surrounding landscapes of places like Yosemite, Glacier National Park, Sequoia National Park, or the Grand Tetons. Book early and enjoy what America offers in camping and outdoor fun.

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