California · Recreation.gov
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite campground reservation release dates, cancellation timing, and availability alerts for Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines, Wawona, and more.
Read the guide
Guides
Make sense of the reservation calendar
Campgrounds do not all release sites the same way. These guides explain the official booking system, cancellation rules, nearby alternatives, and which campgrounds OpenCampsite can monitor. Our separate hard-to-book collection adds campground-level evidence where a land manager directly documents the reservation pressure.
Source-reviewed collection
Hard-to-book campgrounds in the US and Canada
12 campground-specific guides selected from current official evidence, not a made-up numbered ranking. See why each place qualifies, when reservations open, and what to watch when your dates are gone.
In-depth park guides
Utah · Recreation.gov
Zion National Park
Zion's in-park campgrounds sell out months ahead. How Watchman reservations work, when cancellations reappear, and how to catch one with a free email alert.
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California · Recreation.gov
Joshua Tree National Park
Jumbo Rocks is very popular and books quickly. Learn how Joshua Tree reservations work, when cancellations reappear, and how to watch for an opening.
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California · ReserveCalifornia
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
Big Sur's only big riverside campground sells out months ahead. How ReserveCalifornia's 8 am releases work, when cancelled sites return, and how to catch one free.
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Ontario · Ontario Parks
Algonquin Provincial Park
Algonquin's summer weekends sell out at the 5-month release. Ontario Parks' little-known rule means cancellations start exactly 4 months out — here's how to catch them free.
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Alberta · Parks Canada
Banff National Park
How Banff's seasonal reservation launch works, why Two Jack Lakeside is so competitive, and how to watch for a cancellation after launch day.
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Reservation guides by park
176 more parks where we track at least eight campgrounds you can put on watch. These catalog-based pages document what's bookable, the reservation system's published rules, and the closest alternatives. Inclusion here does not mean a park belongs in the hard-to-book collection above.
Alabama
- Alabama River Lakes · 13 campgrounds
- Black Warrior and Tombigbee Lakes · 13 campgrounds
Alaska
- Chugach National Forest · 57 campgrounds
- Tongass National Forest · 155 campgrounds
Arizona
- Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest · 21 campgrounds
- Coconino National Forest Recreation · 24 campgrounds
- Kaibab National Forest · 10 campgrounds
- Prescott National Forest · 15 campgrounds
- Tonto National Forest · 21 campgrounds
Arkansas
- Beaver Lake · 11 campgrounds
- Bull Shoals Lake · 9 campgrounds
- Degray Lake · 12 campgrounds
- Greers Ferry Lake · 13 campgrounds
- Lake Greeson · 11 campgrounds
- Lake Ouachita · 13 campgrounds
- Norfork Lake · 8 campgrounds
- Ozark-St. Francis National Forests · 16 campgrounds
California
- Angeles National Forest · 17 campgrounds
- Calaveras Big Trees State Park · 8 campgrounds
- Cleveland National Forest · 14 campgrounds
- Eldorado National Forest · 40 campgrounds
- Humboldt Redwoods State Park · 10 campgrounds
- Inyo National Forest · 37 campgrounds
- Lake Oroville SRA · 15 campgrounds
- Lake Perris SRA · 13 campgrounds
- Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit · 9 campgrounds
- Lassen National Forest · 8 campgrounds
- Lassen Volcanic National Park · 14 campgrounds
- Los Padres National Forest · 33 campgrounds
- Mendocino National Forest · 18 campgrounds
- Plumas National Forest · 37 campgrounds
- San Bernardino National Forest · 34 campgrounds
- San Onofre State Beach · 14 campgrounds
- Sequoia Kings Canyon National Parks · 14 campgrounds
- Sequoia National Forest · 46 campgrounds
- Shasta-Trinity National Forest · 49 campgrounds
- Sierra National Forest · 33 campgrounds
- Six Rivers National Forest · 13 campgrounds
- Stanislaus National Forest · 21 campgrounds
- Tahoe National Forest · 62 campgrounds
- Whiskeytown National Recreation Area · 8 campgrounds
Colorado
- Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests · 37 campgrounds
- Curecanti National Recreation Area · 8 campgrounds
- Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest · 48 campgrounds
- Manti-La Sal National Forest · 37 campgrounds
- Medicine Bow-Routt NFs & Thunder Basin NG · 58 campgrounds
- Pike & San Isabel National Forests · 100 campgrounds
- Rio Grande National Forest · 19 campgrounds
- San Juan National Forest · 30 campgrounds
- White River National Forest · 37 campgrounds
Florida
- Big Cypress National Preserve · 8 campgrounds
Georgia
- Allatoona Lake · 8 campgrounds
- Carters Lake · 8 campgrounds
- Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest · 27 campgrounds
- Hartwell Lake · 12 campgrounds
- Lake Sidney Lanier · 14 campgrounds
- Walter F. George Lake · 9 campgrounds
- West Point Lake · 17 campgrounds
Idaho
- Boise National Forest · 52 campgrounds
- Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests · 22 campgrounds
- Payette National Forest · 28 campgrounds
- Salmon Challis National Forest · 8 campgrounds
- Sawtooth National Forest · 48 campgrounds
Illinois
- Carlyle Lake · 12 campgrounds
- Lake Shelbyville · 14 campgrounds
- Rend Lake · 12 campgrounds
Indiana
- Hoosier National Forest · 10 campgrounds
Iowa
- Coralville Lake · 12 campgrounds
- Lake Red Rock · 12 campgrounds
- Mississippi River - Pools 11-22 · 8 campgrounds
- Saylorville Lake · 11 campgrounds
Kansas
- Milford Lake · 8 campgrounds
Kentucky
- Barkley Lake · 9 campgrounds
- Barren River Lake · 8 campgrounds
- Daniel Boone National Forest · 9 campgrounds
- George Washington & Jefferson National Forest · 43 campgrounds
Louisiana
- Kisatchie National Forest · 12 campgrounds
Michigan
- Hiawatha National Forest · 40 campgrounds
- Huron-Manistee National Forests · 22 campgrounds
- Ottawa National Forest · 13 campgrounds
Minnesota
- Chippewa National Forest · 18 campgrounds
- Superior National Forest · 18 campgrounds
Mississippi
- Arkabutla Lake · 9 campgrounds
- Enid Lake · 16 campgrounds
- Grenada Lake · 10 campgrounds
- National Forests in Mississippi · 10 campgrounds
- Sardis Lake · 14 campgrounds
- Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway · 25 campgrounds
Missouri
- Harry S. Truman Lake · 8 campgrounds
- Mark Twain National Forest · 14 campgrounds
- Pomme De Terre Lake · 11 campgrounds
- Stockton Lake · 10 campgrounds
- Table Rock Lake · 12 campgrounds
Montana
- Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest · 48 campgrounds
- Bitterroot National Forest · 15 campgrounds
- Canyon Ferry Lake · 8 campgrounds
- Custer Gallatin National Forest · 59 campgrounds
- Flathead National Forest · 27 campgrounds
- Fort Peck Project · 9 campgrounds
- Glacier National Park · 9 campgrounds
- Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest · 29 campgrounds
- Kootenai National Forest · 24 campgrounds
- Lolo National Forest · 26 campgrounds
Nevada
- Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Headquarters · 39 campgrounds
New Hampshire
- White Mountain National Forest · 21 campgrounds
New Mexico
- Carson National Forest · 10 campgrounds
- Coronado National Forest · 29 campgrounds
- Lincoln National Forest · 12 campgrounds
- Santa Fe National Forest · 15 campgrounds
North Carolina
- Blue Ridge Parkway · 11 campgrounds
- National Forests in North Carolina · 34 campgrounds
- W. Kerr Scott Dam & Reservoir · 9 campgrounds
Oklahoma
- Eufaula Lake · 10 campgrounds
- Kaw Lake · 10 campgrounds
Oregon
- Deschutes National Forest · 74 campgrounds
- Fremont-Winema National Forest · 15 campgrounds
- Malheur National Forest · 22 campgrounds
- Mt Hood National Forest · 41 campgrounds
- North Umpqua Wild and Scenic River · 10 campgrounds
- Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest · 46 campgrounds
- Siuslaw National Forest · 32 campgrounds
- Umatilla National Forest · 21 campgrounds
- Umpqua National Forest · 42 campgrounds
- Wallowa Whitman National Forest · 45 campgrounds
- Willamette National Forest · 72 campgrounds
Pennsylvania
- Allegheny National Forest · 16 campgrounds
- Raystown Lake · 8 campgrounds
Recreation.gov
- Arches National Park Canyoneering Permits · 11 campgrounds
- Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness · 103 campgrounds
- Canyonlands National Park Day Use Backcountry Permits · 8 campgrounds
- Cedar Mesa Backpacking Permits · 9 campgrounds
- Central Cascades Wilderness Overnight Permits · 56 campgrounds
- Desolation Wilderness Permit · 47 campgrounds
- Fossil Creek Wild and Scenic River · 8 campgrounds
- Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest – Hoover Wilderness Permits · 13 campgrounds
- Indian Peaks Wilderness Large Group Day Use Permits · 20 campgrounds
- Inyo National Forest - Wilderness Permits · 67 campgrounds
- Mount Margaret Backcountry · 8 campgrounds
- National Forests in Florida · 21 campgrounds
- Ruby Horsethief Canyon Permits · 34 campgrounds
- Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness Permits · 32 campgrounds
- Sierra National Forest Wilderness Permit · 55 campgrounds
- Yosemite National Park Wilderness Permits · 69 campgrounds
- Zion National Park Canyoneering Advanced Reservations · 25 campgrounds
- Zion National Park Canyoneering Daily Lottery · 27 campgrounds
South Carolina
- Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests · 9 campgrounds
- J. Strom Thurmond Lake · 14 campgrounds
South Dakota
- Black Hills National Forest · 30 campgrounds
Tennessee
- Cherokee National Forest · 34 campgrounds
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park · 22 campgrounds
- Old Hickory Lake · 9 campgrounds
Texas
- Cibola National Forest and Grasslands · 16 campgrounds
- Lake O' The Pines · 8 campgrounds
- Lake Texoma · 10 campgrounds
- National Forests and Grasslands in Texas · 16 campgrounds
Utah
- Dixie National Forest · 19 campgrounds
- Fishlake National Forest · 27 campgrounds
- Moab Field Office (BLM) · 10 campgrounds
- Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · 122 campgrounds
Vermont
- Green Mountain & Finger Lakes National Forests · 8 campgrounds
Virginia
- John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir · 14 campgrounds
Washington
- Colville National Forest · 31 campgrounds
- Gifford Pinchot National Forest · 37 campgrounds
- Idaho Panhandle National Forests · 33 campgrounds
- Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area · 21 campgrounds
- Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest · 37 campgrounds
- North Cascades National Park · 8 campgrounds
- Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest · 109 campgrounds
- Olympic National Forest · 11 campgrounds
West Virginia
- Monongahela National Forest · 23 campgrounds
Wisconsin
- Chequamegon-Nicolet NF · 45 campgrounds
Wyoming
- Ashley National Forest · 46 campgrounds
- Bighorn National Forest · 30 campgrounds
- Bridger-Teton National Forest · 32 campgrounds
- Caribou-Targhee National Forest · 53 campgrounds
- Grand Teton National Park · 9 campgrounds
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