There’s a certain cachet to being unavailable—even if it’s a patch of dirt you’re going to put up your tent on. In California, you’ll find two of the campgrounds that are the hardest to book in the U.S., while the eight others in the top 10 are scattered all over the rest of the country. Right now, camping is more popular than it’s ever been, perhaps because the pandemic taught us to slow down and appreciate the beauty and calmness of nature. Last year, nearly 85 million Americans took a camping trip –that’s more than a quarter of us!
A study compiled by camping platform The Dyrt found that last year, 45 percent of campers had a hard time booking a campground reservation. According to The Dyrt’s 2024 Camping Report presented by The All-New Toyota Tacoma, it’s really important to think ahead and secure your campsite in advance (although, of course, we all still love spontaneity and it’s worth a last-minute try, too!) The study pulled together data from 7,000 members of the platform’s community, a sample of 1,000 U.S. residents, and camping property managers in all 50 states.
Of course, some of the most popular and hard-to-score campgrounds are found within the National Parks.
So...what are those two campgrounds in California that are so hard to book? One is Kirk Creek Campground in the Los Padres National Forest (part of the Big Sur coastline). That one is No. 5 on the list of the top 10 hardest-to-book campgrounds, and it’s already booked for 97.5 percent of the season (we know you will just see that as a challenge and try to be part of the 2.5 percent who score it). Part of what makes this campground special, besides its gorgeous overlook of the Pacific Ocean, is its status as an archaeological site. It was once an Archaic Period hunting camp dating to 8,000-1,000 BCE. You can camp where early humans camped thousands of years ago.
The second California campground that is so highly desirable is the Twin Lakes Campground in the Inyo National Forest (it’s No. 10 on the overall top 10 list). This sits in the Sierra range near Mammoth Lakes, surrounded by lodgepole pines at 8,600 feet—and, of course, breathtaking views of the two lakes. The 2 million-acre national forest encompasses wilderness standouts like Mt. Whitney, Mono Lake, Mammoth Lakes Basin, and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Although the campground’s booked for 93.7 percent of the season, we wish you good luck in getting yourself there sooner rather than later!
We also want to call out the fact that two of the campgrounds on this top 10 list are in the same dang place! We’re going to look with more interest at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan, because it’s killing it on this list. See for yourself!
These are the top 10 hardest-to-book campgrounds:
1. Nevada Beach Campground — Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Nevada — 99.4 percent booked
2. Twelvemile Beach Campground — Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan — 99.4 percent booked
3. Devils Garden Campground — Arches National Park, Utah — 99.2 percent booked
4. Seven Points Campground — J. Percy Priest Lake, Tennessee — 97.6 percent booked
5. Kirk Creek Campground — Los Padres National Forest, California — 97.5 percent booked
6. Hurricane River Campground — Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan — 96.8 percent booked
7. Aspenglen Campground — Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado — 96.1 percent booked
8. Fruita Campground — Capitol Reef National Park, Utah — 95.9 percent booked
9. Colter Bay RV Park at Colter Bay Village — Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming — 94.9 percent booked
10. Twin Lakes Campground — Inyo National Forest, California — 93.7 percent booked