Always Have A Backup Plan
This is an important thing to remember, even if you’re planning to stay at a campground or RV park that takes reservations, but it’s especially critical if you’re trying to go reservation-free. We typically have a plan A, B and C for where we’re going to stay. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve ended up at plan C and wondered why that wasn’t our initial plan A. Sometimes the backup plans end up being way better than expected.
Find The Road Less Traveled
We like to ask fellow RVers and locals what their favorite destinations are, and we specifically ask for non-touristy spots. Especially during peak travel seasons, we try to avoid really popular places. Going to areas where others aren’t as likely to go gives us more flexibility to find amazing boondocking locations and campgrounds that have availability. We’ve found that looking about 100 miles away from the really popular spots will still give you just as much beauty with way less crowds. There are so many little towns that we would never have had the chance to enjoy had we stuck to a must-see itinerary.
Embrace Shoulder Seasons
Don’t get us wrong, we’ve been to plenty of popular places and visited numerous national parks, but this is where embracing the shoulder seasons becomes critical. Shoulder seasons vary from place to place but it’s typically the time of year when a place is slower and has less visitors. It’s the period between the peak season and the off-season. For example, if summer is the peak season and winter is the off-season, then early spring and late fall would be the shoulder seasons. Most national parks follow this same shoulder season schedule, so we try to visit popular parks during the spring and fall. We also research which national park campgrounds are first-come, first-serve and not on an advanced reservation system, as the reserved campgrounds are often booked a year in advance. The great thing about first-come, first-serve campgrounds is that most sites have a tag that notifies you when the camper is going to be leaving so you can plan accordingly.