Something kind of mindblowing just happened for people who love camping and often find that their favorite spot can be booked out for months or even a year. At Recreation.gov, you are now able to set availability alerts across all reservable camping, ticket and timed entry reservation locations on the site. (And guess what, the heavy hitter Yosemite lets you set an alert! And while Yellowstone reservations are made through recreation.gov, this is not a site that lets you set availability alerts.)
It’s important to note that setting an availability alert doesn’t guarantee a reservation; it just means that you’ll be among the first to learn when inventory opens up (due to last-minute cancellations and/or timed lottery sites), so you can jump on trying to book it.
Here's how to do it:
- Log into your Recreation.gov account.
- Look for your ideal campsite or destination and add your hoped-for dates. If there isn’t availability, that’s when you select the bell icon to set your availability alert.
- Watch for notifications if and when that timeframe opens up for you.
- Immediately take action to complete the reservation if the inventory is still available by the time you’re at recreation.gov booking it. (You may be competing against others who also set the alert).
You can set multiple alerts for the same block of time and cancel them if you change your mind or if something comes through, and you can also set a flexible time alert if you really want to visit a campground and don’t care when you go.
Other examples of some high-traffic sites that accept the alerts include Carlsbad Caverns National Historic Site, Glacier National Park vehicle reservations, Haleakala National Park summit sunrise reservations and Arches National Park timed entry and tours.