Discover 12,500+ Campgrounds With CampScanner
Harvest Hosts, the nation’s largest personal RV tenting community, has added a brand new product to its tenting arsenal. In case you’ve ever tried to get a primary tenting spot at one of many huge nationwide parks, you know the way onerous it may be. CampScanner is a service that helps campers discover availability for sold-out campgrounds.
Many nationwide parks now require reservations because of the quickly rising customer depend—and most campgrounds are already full for the summer time months. For these nonetheless seeking to plan journeys or desire short-notice holidays, the shortage of availability could be difficult. Whereas beforehand, these must manually verify every website repeatedly, now as quickly as an alert is available in, campers shall be prompted to order by way of the campground’s reserving system to safe their spot.
Let’s say you wish to camp on the Grand Canyon throughout Memorial Day weekend. CampScanner means that you can plug in your dates. This system will give you textual content alerts when a campsite opens up. This program has 200,000 campsites, 12,500-plus campgrounds, and 4,900 parks.
“You may seek for spots, arrange textual content alerts for when spots open up, and guide final minute with minimal stays at in-demand parks,” stated Carrie Worth, Harvest Hosts Director of Model Advertising and marketing.
It’s no secret that campgrounds within the US have been experiencing document visitors because the pandemic. Some 92 million American households take into account themselves campers, in keeping with the 2023 KOA Tenting Report.
“The method of reserving campgrounds has turn out to be more and more difficult with the latest street journey growth,” says Joel Holland, CEO of Harvest Hosts. “We’re thrilled to launch CampScanner to assist convey again the enjoyment of last-minute journey and ease of reserving on-the-go for campers throughout the nation.”
How does CampScanner work?
In response to Worth, CampScanner pulls knowledge from Reserve America, Reserve.gov, and California.gov. States akin to Florida and New Jersey, which have their very own reserving programs, shall be added quickly. Canada shall be included within the subsequent tier launch.
“It has fairly a big searchability,” Worth stated. “Campers can select three completely different plans based mostly on the variety of concurrent scans, the variety of scans you’ll be able to have at one time, in addition to how typically it scans.”
- The Basecamp plan is $39 per yr. It scans each quarter-hour and has 5 concurrent scans.
- The Trailhead plan is $49 per yr. It scans each 10 minutes and has as much as 10 concurrent scans.
- The Summit Plan is $79 per yr. It scans each 5 minutes with as much as 15 concurrent scans.
There isn’t a restrict on any of the plans on what number of notifications you’ll obtain.
The Summit Plan is beneficial if you’re in search of a very widespread campground throughout a vacation weekend, akin to Yellowstone throughout the Fourth of July weekend.
The place does CampScanner search?
Widespread places embrace Yellowstone Nationwide Park, Zion Nationwide Park, Glacier Nationwide Park, Yosemite Nationwide Park, and hundreds extra. Scans happen as much as each 5 minutes and match CampScanner customers with the hundreds of last-minute cancellations each day.
CampScanner gives a extra streamlined approach to monitor a number of campgrounds concurrently and the flexibility to behave quick when spots open up. When tenting is at an all-time excessive, the sooner about a gap and the quicker you’ll be able to act on it, the higher your possibilities shall be at securing your dream tenting vacation spot.
While you go to the CampScanner web site, you select your campground. As much as 5 campgrounds in Yosemite shall be one scan. You add your arrival date with a one-day flexibility on both facet of these dates. You additionally select the length of your keep after which different particulars akin to whether or not you need an RV or tent website, an ADA compliant website, and rig measurement.
After getting added your particulars, this system will begin scanning for websites with availability. You’ll obtain alerts by way of textual content.
“Principally, what occurs is somebody cancels, and also you get notified,” Worth defined. “It mainly tells you that the location at such and such a campground has opened up for the Fourth of July weekend for 2 nights. E book now.”
There’s a direct hyperlink within the SMS message which you can click on on and make the reservation by way of the location.
“Some individuals have been confused by the concept that it’s a bot reserving campsites for you,” Worth stated. “Generally while you guide live performance tickets, it’s a bot. That’s not the case right here. The bot’s solely scanning for availability. You’re the one which should guide the location and you need to do it fairly shortly.”
Discover the right campground in your subsequent trip
The method to create CampScanner was a brief 4 months, Worth stated. It was launched shortly after CampersCard, one other new Harvest Hosts product that helps you get monetary savings on campgrounds.
“The rationale why Harvest Hosts needed to create all of those merchandise is that our mission is to place extra individuals on the market on the street to steer happier, more healthy lives within the outside,” Worth stated. “Harvest Hosts clearly does this in distinctive methods by offering these in a single day stopovers. It’s for all individuals who benefit from the outside, tent tenting, and RV tenting. We’re simply making an attempt to make it extra accessible.”
Whereas simply performing some take a look at scans, Worth was in a position to safe a campground on the Grand Canyon for Memorial Day weekend. She additionally bought one for Yosemite for Memorial Day Weekend. “It really works,” Worth stated.
The way forward for CampScanner
This system continues to be in its infancy, with Worth and different testers figuring out the bugs.
“We’re a couple of 40 p.c success charge. When somebody cancels a scan, we ask them, ‘Did you guide your campsite by way of the scan?’ It’s an early stage. There are testers in there like me, however contemplating we’ve solely been out for 2 weeks, that’s fairly good. It’s thrilling.
This system solely works on public websites for now. We wish to make it for these which might be actually, actually onerous to get and uncommon, and ought to be nice experiences.”
Worth
The CampScanner staff can also be excited to probably be opening up in Canada within the close to future as nicely.
Harvest Host members get a 25% low cost, after which all entry Harvest Hosts members get a 58% low cost.
“I feel it’s good for everybody,” Worth stated. “Campgrounds get to replenish their areas and hopefully get extra individuals on the market.”
You may be taught extra about CampScanner on the Harvest Hosts web site.
Get RV-safe instructions
For your entire tenting and journey planning wants, look no additional than RV LIFE Campgrounds and RV LIFE Journey Wizard. Campground Evaluations is a trusted supply of campground and RV park opinions supplied by tenting and RV lovers identical to you. With its accompanying RV LIFE App, RV Journey Wizard will get you to your tenting locations using RV-friendly routes particular to your RV and journey preferences.
Terri and her husband, Todd, are full time RVers and work campers. They’ve been dwelling full time of their RV for practically three years with their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Newton, and their Mini Aussie pet Remi. They’re at present wintering in Arizona with plans to proceed their travels subsequent summer time. Writing is Terri’s ardour however she additionally loves climbing, kayaking and something she will be able to do exterior.