How to Get a Camping Spot at Booked Up Campground

Love Camping?

I spent my childhood camping. We camped in tents. We camped in pop-up campers. We camped in air-conditioned campers with indoor plumbing. I'm here to tell you, the heated/cooled plumbed camping is the best camping. So, now we have a camper with all life's luxuries and we have the best time.

Halloween is Right Around the Corner

It's as hot as can be outside but it's time to start thinking about Halloween! My friend works at Lowe's and he said that the retail giant is setting out their Halloween merchandise.

If you are an avid camper, you probably already knew that the time to start thinking about Halloween was in April and May because most campgrounds book six months out. On big weekends, it takes about a day to sell out of spots so I set a reminder on my calendar and have it booked by 6 a.m. We don't play around. But I have been in the predicament of wanting to go to a Halloween weekend or holiday weekend and there just aren't any spots open.

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A 'Secret' Hack to Getting a Spot a Booked Up Campground

I have discovered that there's a trick if you want to stay at a campground that uses Reserve America booking system. I thought everyone knew about this but after seeing the number of people in my local camping groups airing their woes about missing out on Halloween weekends, I thought that maybe it isn't common knowledge.

All you have to do is log into the system, and put in your dates and the type of camping spot you are looking for. If nothing's available, you can click the Create Availability Notification button to set up emails that will alert you when someone cancels. I've also learned that there are a lot of people who book a bunch of weekends and then cancel when they figure out which weekends they can't go.

Indiana State Parks

I tested it out with Lincoln State Park on the Halloween weekends in October. I get cancellation emails every day.

Now another pro tip, they are first come, first serve. The emails seem to go out around 2:50 AM and 5:30 AM so you better be on it if you REALLY want a spot!

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Cowboy Cobbler on the Campfire

Cowboy Cobbler is the easiest thing to make and travels well. You can make it on the campfire or in the oven and it turns out 100% perfect every time!

Gallery Credit: ASHLEY SOLLARS

Fulfill Your 'Yellowstone' Fantasies at The Double J Riding Stables & Horseman's Campground in Western KY

The Double J Riding Stables & Horseman's Campground is situated off the Northeastern corner of Mammoth Cave National Park in Western Kentucky. What drew me to the campground is that they offer horse-friendly campsites for those who have their own horses and also guided horseback trail rides for those who don't!

Our family LOVES horses but we currently don't have a horse for everyone in the family so this would be a perfect solution to get everyone the chance to play cowboy and live out all their Yellowstone fantasies!

Gallery Credit: ASHLEY SOLLARS