Campsite reservations are filling up quickly
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HARRISVILLE -- Harrisville State Park's campsite reservations are quickly filling up for the summer season, with about 85% of the park's sites reserved for July, according to park officials.
Eric Ostrander, park supervisor at Harrisville State Park, said campers have reserved about 75% of the campsites for June's weekends, and about 90% to 95% of July's weekend campsites are fully reserved.
"We don't want people to think they absolutely can't get into a facility," Ostrander said. "But, a weekend in July, if you're not reserving six months out, it is pretty difficult. I always tell people to watch for that five-month-out point. When people make a six-month-out reservation, they have to wait until one-month lapses before they can cancel it."
The DNR started, on Nov. 1, to gradually change the reservation window system from reserving a year in advance to six months for state campgrounds and overnight buildings because, officials say, the change helps park leaders plan for needed maintenance or construction.
The shift in reservation times is gradual, as the DNR will not allow people to set up reservations with an arrival time after Oct. 31. Campers can reserve a stay that lasts beyond the end of October, but the latest arrival time currently available is Oct. 31.
Once May 1 comes, campers can reserve an arrival date of Nov. 1, exactly six months out.
Because the state only budgets for its departments a year at a time, officials can only plan maintenance a year out at most. When campers can make reservations a year in advance, that makes it hard for park leaders to find windows when facilities are vacant so they can be fixed.
"You almost need to have a plan in place two years in advance," said Jeremy Spell, DNR Parks and Recreation central reservation system analyst, in a previous story by The News. "Most governments give a one-year budget for these departments, and you can't really make those longer plans. It's hard to close these places for maintenance, and this will really help park managers."
In 2022, 84% of all state lodge reservations were made within six months or less, Spell said, which is happening again for the summer reservations in 2024.
"So July 4 is technically on a Thursday, so what we're looking at right now is the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights getting reserved," Ostrander said. "Those three nights, right now, are upwards of like 98% to 99% occupied, with our lakefront sites getting reserved super quick.
"Everyone sort of gets a little worried that they're going to have to book six months out, or there's no chance," Ostrander continued. "If you're like me and my family, and you go camping when you can, you might want to start looking about two or three months out and you can still find good sites."