This New Reservation System Could Fill Unclaimed Campsites in National Parks

Officials at Shenandoah National Park have created a new text alert system that could help campers find unoccupied campsites.

Park users can join a text message-based channel called Shencamp, and officials will send out text updates on available campsites in the park’s five campgrounds. The alerts—which will say either “Plenty” or “Full”—will go out on weekends in the afternoon, as officials monitor the campgrounds to see how many are unclaimed or unattended.

Shenandoah National Park has 623 individual campsites and three group sites, and like other national parks these sites are a mix of reservation-only and first-come, first-served. Campers can reserve some spots up to six months in advance via Recreation.gov, and many others travel to the park hoping to claim a site. Previously, would-be campers could travel to the park and inquire about last-minute cancellations, but doing so was a gamble, and many hopeful campers were turned away for the night. 

Shenandoah National Park officials believe the new system will make it easier for prospective campers to see if sites are unclaimed prior to traveling to the park. And if there are available sites, the alert system will tell campers which campground to target. 

“We hope this new system will provide valuable information to the public for planning their visits to Shenandoah,” said park superintendent Pat Kenney.  

Read the full article from the Outside here.