5 Tips to Find Amazing National Park Campsites

When we started on our road trip out west, we were still very new to the world of camping. We’d only been on a handful of camping trips but since then, I’d like to think that we are becoming slightly more experienced campers and have found a few tricks and tips to find amazing National Park campsites. We are learning that we LOVE how much money it saves us on accommodations while also allowing us to stay much closer to National Parks than we would have been able to.

We’re also learning to love the relaxed pace of cooking dinner over the campfire, spending the afternoon in a hammock, watching the sunset, and reading before bed with no available cell service or Netflix. We really start to enjoy the small things when we’re living out of a tent.

And I’m proud to say that we’ve become experts (sort of) at pitching our tent. When we first started camping, we needed about 30 minutes (and a marriage counselor) to set up our tent. Now, we’ve got a system and it takes about 5 minutes. Last week, after we had climbed into our tent for the night, we overheard the neighboring campers bickering about how to set up their tent and we had a little chuckle, saying to each other “that used to be us”.

During our travels through the American West, we spend our weekdays hunkered down in our little Airbnbs while working remotely. But on the weekends, we’ve taken lots of weekend camping trips. Many of these camping trips have been planned a couple weeks (or a couple days) in advance.

If you’ve had any experience with reserving National Park campsites, you know that it can be a real beast sometimes. At popular parks, campsites can fill up 6 months to a year in advance. Obviously, we are not planning our weekends that far in advance, so I have discovered some tricks along the way to find amazing National Park Campsites. And I’d like to share those with you!

5 Tips to Find Amazing National Park Campsites

Start at Recreation.gov to Reserve Campsites in National Parks

The National Park Service uses Recreation.gov for any and all reservations in the national parks. Booking campsites IN the National Parks can be very competitive. Including parks like Yosemite, Zion, and Grand Teton National Parks. So here are a few tips that I highly recommend:

Log In as Soon as Campsites Go Live

If you’re planning your trip 6 months to a year in advance you’ve got the advantage here. Start by checking when your desired campground or park puts sites available on Recreation.gov. If they’ve not already gone live, make a note of the date & time that they will be available. Even set a reminder alarm on your phone so that you don’t forget. Log in as soon as they’ve gone live and see what you can get! Most national parks won’t lout immediately, but parks like Yosemite, Zion, and Grand Tetons very likely will sell out right away.

Check Back Frequently for Cancellations

People cancel their camping reservations all of the time. Check back a few times each day leading up to your trip to see if people have made cancellations. I’ve both cancelled reservations and been able to score last minute campsites by doing this. We were able to camp in Capitol Reef National Park on Easter weekend because I kept checking the website for cancellations.

Keep in mind that people are most likely to cancel their reservations a couple weeks before their trip. But if this method still doesn’t work, check out the next few tips.

Campsite in Upper Pines, Yosemite National Park

Use Campnab.com to Score Cancelled Reservations

Campnab is a new service that I just learned about and started using. It’s a great tool for scoring campsites in America’s most popular parks.

Campnab is a paid service that frequently checks the park’s website for cancelled reservations and then texts you an alert so that you can log in and grab that campsite! This can save you a lot of time knowing that Campnab is constantly checking for available campsites for you.

Recently, we decided to take a camping trip to Yosemite in June. Naturally, the campsites had already all been nabbed for the dates that we plan to go. I stumbled upon Campnab and signed up for their plan that will check each desired campsite at the national park every 5 minutes. I’ve received many alerts from them for sites on my desired dates, and eventually was able to score campsites for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights (each night at a different site).

I will definitely keep using Campnab in the future.

Consider Hipcamp for Amazing Nearby Campsites

Have you heard of Hipcamp? I recently discovered this incredible service on a recent trip to Zion National Park. We really wanted to camp near the park but all of the campsites in the national park and nearby state parks were all booked out. After searching the internet for alternatives, I cam across the app called Hipcamp.

Think of Hipcamp as AirBnb for campsites. On Hipcamp, hosts are able to list their private land as a campground. There’s a lot of variety in the type of campsites that you can find on Hipcamp, from primative to full RV hookups available. Some even have cabins to rent out.

We stayed on the Zion Wright Family Ranch, which was located immediately adjacent to the west side of the park. Although we were about 45 minutes from the main entrance of Zion National Park, our campsite looked straight into the west side of the park. The views were insane and 100% better than you’d find in the main campgrounds in Zion.

If you’re new to Hipcamp and want $10 off your first stay, you can use my sign-up link, here.

I will be using Hipcamp again & again!

Tioga Lake Campground Outside of Yosemite National Park

Camp in a Neighboring National Forest

Most National Parks are bordered by a national forest, many of which have plenty of campgrounds to enjoy. On a recent trip to Yosemite, we scored a site at the Tioga Lake Campground which is about 1.4 miles east of Yosemite National Park. And honestly, this campground was much prettier than any of the campgrounds that you’d find in the national park.

Most of the campgrounds in national forests are first-come, first-serve. Meaning that they do not accept reservations and the first campers to get to the campsite will be the ones sleeping there that night. However, this is not always the case as some of the bigger and more developed campgrounds in national forests due accept reservations.

Although a first-come, first-serve system can be a little stressful for some campers, this system allows last-minute planners the ability to possibly find a campsite for the night.

But there are a few things that you should know if you’re wanting to stay in a national forest campsite:

If the campground is first-come, first serve – get there early! Especially on the weekends. We arrived at the Tioga Lake Campground about 9:30 AM on a Saturday and were able to get a spot but the campground did fill up by about 10 AM.
Bring Cash – many of these sites require payment upon arrival and they mostly only take cash.
Follow Leave No Trace Principles, pack out what you pack in. Don’t leave your trash for someone else to pick up. Most of the time it’s the campers after you that are stuck with your mess. Don’t be that guy.
Have a back-up plan – if you get to your desired campground and there are no spots available, have a couple of other options in mind so you don’t end up sleeping in your car.
Don’t count on having cell service – if your phone works at your campsite, that’s a perk and not guaranteed. Have a plan if you don’t have service. Use a paper map or have directions screenshotted on your phone.

Be Flexible with Your Dates

And my last of my tips to find amazing national park campsites is to be flexible with your travel dates. If you can camp on a Tuesday or Wednesday, it’ll be much easier to grab a spot than say a Friday or Saturday night.

Consider traveling in the shoulder season instead of the peak season. This may also make for a less crowded and more pleasant camping experience.

Do you have any tips or tricks that you use to find & book amazing campsites near National Parks? If so, leave them in the comments below! I’d love to hear them!

Also, do you have a favorite National Park campsite? Let me know that too in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you!

Looking for an epic national park adventure? Check out these national park guides on the blog:

The Ultimate Guide to Glacier National Park

Best Day Hikes in Yosemite You Can’t Miss

Utah’s Mighty 5 Ranked Best to Worst