About two weekends ago, I was disappointed with my experience at a West Virginia SP (Tomlinson Run). No site could be "reserved", according to a call to the Park office.
So when we arrived Noon on a Friday, I assumed we would have a decent selection.
My complaints :
1) Campground "host" was nowhere to be found.
2) Park office said "see host"....calls to "1-800" only went to an answering machine.
3) No place/sheet/people to find open sites, or know the reservations, firewood rules, etc.....
3a) Half the park is closed---not mentioned on web site/phone. See point #8
4) Pull into empty sites, each site post had a piece of paper with THAT day's date.
In PA state parks, that means its your LAST day, and when the site is empty....well then you have left.....
5) "Locals" seem to have come the night before, or in the morning, or sent friends to "reserve" the spot....but no trailer is on the lot---just the piece of paper.
6) Locals watch me pull in and line up, then tell me when I get out, that their "Son/Daughter" has this space "reserved".
7)When we asked why the site is empty, the tell me they have until 4:00 to arrive......or forfeit.
When host happen to drive, by they say the other loop is now open....since they were not around as the place "filled up", when then finally arrived from wherever, they open the "closed" loop---which we had already driven past.
I know this experience only was only an issue past a certain date in October, otherwise this would have been the last time we visit this very close to home park.
NOTE: To West Virgina, this was not the kind of "Experience WVA" you want to feature in a commercial!
NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ISSUE, IF WE WEREN'T TOLD, "NO RESERVATIONS" over the phone. This was NOT my definition of first come, first serve.
Oddly enough, the lazy camp hosts did us a favor by opening the loop late, as we got the best site in the closed loop. (I also do not believe a host should be able to open/close loops on their discretion.)
So, FINALLY
the questions:
1) Does your state require your trailer to be on the site, AFTER you reserve/arrive (does not apply to phone reservations, obviously)?
WVA (I called the state HQ) does not require you to occupy....so you can visit the park on Thursday night, pay for Friday, but not bring your rig until Saturday afternoon, pending weather.
2) Does your state allow you to have "friends and family" reserve for you?
3) How long can you be away from your trailer---leave it vacated?
You can't vacate overnight in PA.
4) Do you have limits how long you stay at a site?
PA allows a max reservation of 2 weeks---and YOU MUST leave the park for 24 hours I believe. (To keep seasonals away).
5) Add the oddest of rules I have seen...Does your state PROHIBIT firewood gathering---on site.
WVA does not allow even simple stick/kindling gathering ON YOUR OWN SITE. The sites, trails, and woods are therefore a mess, in my opinion.
__________________