Let's camp this weekend

Know when a campsite opens.

Campsites reopen for different reasons. Recreation.gov cancellations can appear throughout the day, and state park systems have their own release rules. We watch the systems we cover and tell you which park, which site, and when it opened. You book directly with the park.

No spam. One email when we open, and nothing else.

Where are you trying to camp? Optional

Name one campground, a stretch of coast, or a whole region. You won't be tied to watching one park: we watch wide and alert you on whatever opens first. We'll tell you what we cover when we launch.

We don't book campsites for you.

We don't hold campsites.

We never ask for your reservation login.

Recreation.gov nationwide, plus participating state park systems at launch. Read the full list

A small campfire burning on leaf litter at dusk, with a dome tent pitched among bare trees behind it.

Cancelled campsites go back on sale

--:--:--

California's clock: tomorrow, 8:00 AM PT.

EXAMPLE

What an alert will look like

Upper Pines, Yosemite

Site 041, loop A / 2 nights from Fri Sep 18 / seen 04:12:06 AM PT

Open nowOpen Recreation.gov, set Sep 18 to Sep 20 ↗

San Mateo Campground, San Onofre SB

Site SM43 / 3 nights from Fri Sep 04 / held until 8:35:43 AM PT

Hold endingOpen ReserveCalifornia, set Sep 4 to Sep 7 ↗

Carpinteria SB

Site C233 / 2 nights from Fri Oct 10

Releases tomorrowOpen ReserveCalifornia, set Oct 10 to Oct 12 ↗

Read directly from the reservation system's hold data.

The weekend that started this

In August we decided we wanted to camp at the beach for Labor Day weekend: two kids, an RV, three nights. Every beach campsite in Southern California was already booked.

So we started watching ReserveCalifornia. We learned that returned inventory can release at 8:00 AM, and that some sites show up in a shopping cart with a hold expiration before they become available again.

Site SM43 at San Onofre went through five different carts while we watched. When the fifth hold expired, we caught it and booked the site.

That weekend is why we started building Last Minute Campsite.

Dome tents pitched on the sand below a low white cliff, with surf breaking beyond them.

Illustrative photo, not San Onofre.

Three ways a campsite opens up

Cancellation alerts

Someone cancels and the site goes back up for grabs. We'll tell you which campground, which site, and which dates opened.

We can't predict cancellations. We just catch them when they happen.

Release Radar

Some state park systems release returned inventory on a schedule. Where the reservation system exposes that release data, we track it and tell you when the sites go live.

Available in supported state systems.

Cart Watch

Some reservation systems temporarily hold a campsite while someone is checking out. Where those holds are visible, we watch the expiration and alert you if the site becomes available again.

Available where the reservation system exposes cart holds.

Not just “something opened.”

Every alert tells you the park, loop, site number, check-in date, and exactly when we saw it become available.

No rankings or prices. Just the campsite details and a link to book with the park.

We're still building.

We don't have success rates or averages to advertise yet. What we can show you is exactly what an alert will look like and the release information we're already reading from the reservation systems.

SITE SM43 / HELD UNTIL 8:35:43 AM PT

That's the full alert: the campsite, site number, dates, and when it opened. Then one link takes you straight to the park's booking page.

THE RELEASE CLOCK, TO THE SECOND

ONE LINK OUT, TO THE PARK

A preview of the alert screen in dark mode: a countdown to the next release, open sites with loop and site numbers in mono, and a panel for a hold that is expiring.

A PREVIEW, NOT LIVE YETDark mode is the default.

What we won't do

Book for you

We'll send you to the park's booking page with the campsite and dates. You finish the reservation there.

Hold a campsite

We don't put sites in carts or hold them while someone decides. If it's available, it stays available to everyone.

Ask for your park login

We never need your Recreation.gov or ReserveCalifornia password.