When Do California Park Camping Reservations Open?

Campgrounds at state parks and national parks in California can be highly competitive. Often, camping fees are minimal, and campsites are well situated and well stock.
California hotels–especially in popular destinations–can be exorbitantly expensive. That makes it hard to find an inexpensive place to stay while you visit California’s popular tourist destinations, from the Golden Gate Bridge to Legoland or the San Diego Zoo.
Likewise, many of California’s most beautiful scenic areas are very remote and rugged. There may not be traditional accommodations nearby to these pristine, national locations.
That’s certainly true of places like Death Valley and many locations towards the southern portions of California. But it’s also true of popular destinations like Big Sur.
Often, the sane undeveloped beauty that makes California special also means you won’t find hotels–or even AirBNBs–nearby.
Why is it so hard to find campsites in California?
All these factors combine to make campsites a popular alternative for California travel.
It’s so hard to find campsites in California because there’s a large amount of competition for a limited number of sites, the campsites are an inexpensive alternative to traditional hotels and vacation rentals, and many rugged locations only have campsites, with no other nearby lodging options.

When do California Campsite Reservations Open?
Complicating things further is that different parks in California are managed by different agencies. Some are National Parks, which are managed by the Federal government. Yosemite National Park is a perfect example. Others are state parks, managed by California itself.
This means that each park’s campsites have different requirements, and open registration dates at different times.
To simplify the process of finding campsites in California and nationwide, camping website the Dyrt recently compiled a detailed list of National and State parks in California with campsites, as well as the number of months in advance that those campsites open for reservations.
It’s a little silly that you need to sit at a computer, waiting to reserve a campsite as if you’re purchasing Taylor Swift tickets! But with the Dyrt reporting that demand for campsites has increased 500% over the last year, that’s the world we live in!
California Campsite Reservation Opening Dates
National Parks: | |
Joshua Tree National Park | 6 months in advance |
Lassen Volcanic National Park | 6 months in advance |
Pinnacles National Park | 6 months in advance |
Redwood National Park | 6 months in advance |
Yosemite National Park | 5 months in advance on the 15th |
State Parks: | |
Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park | No reservations |
Andrew Molera State Park | 6 months in advance |
Angel Island State Park | 6 months in advance |
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park | No reservations |
Bolsa Chica Beach State Park | First come, first served |
Bothe Napa Valley State Park | 6 months in advance |
Butano State Park | 6 months in advance |
Calaveras Big Trees State Park | 6 months in advance |
Castle Crags State Park | 6 months in advance |
Castle Rock State Park | 6 months in advance |
Caswell Memorial State Park | 6 months in advance |
Chino Hills State Park | 6 months in advance |
Clear Lake State Park | 6 months in advance |
Crystal Cove State Park | 6 months in advance |
Cuyamaca State Park | 6 months in advance |
D L Bliss State Park | 6 months in advance |
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park | 6 months in advance |
Donner Memorial State Park | 6 months in advance |
El Capitan Beach State Park | 6 months in advance |
Emerald Bay State Park | 6 months in advance |
Fremont Ford State Park | 6 months in advance |
Fremont Peak State Park | 6 months in advance |
Gaviota State Park | 6 months in advance |
George J Hatfield State Park | 6 months in advance |
Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park | 6 months in advance |
Grover Hot Springs State Park | 6 months in advance |
Heart Bar State Park | 6 months in advance |
Hendy Woods State Park | 6 months in advance |
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park | 6 months in advance |
Henry Willard Coe State Park | 6 months in advance |
Humboldt Lagoons State Park | First come, first served |
Humboldt Redwoods State Park | 6 months in advance |
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park | 6 months in advance |
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park | 6 months in advance |
Kern River State Park | 6 months in advance |
Leo Carrillo State Park | 6 months in advance |
Limekiln State Park | 6 months in advance |
MacKerricher State Park | 6 months in advance |
Malibu Creek State Park | 6 months in advance |
Manchester Beach State Park | 6 months in advance |
McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park | 6 months in advance |
McConnell State Park | 6 months in advance |
Mendocino Woodlands State Park | Group camping only |
Mitchell Caverns State Park | 6 months in advance |
Montana De Oro State Park | 6 months in advance |
Morro Bay State Park | 6 months in advance |
Mount Diablo State Park | 6 months in advance |
Mount San Jacinto State Park | 6 months in advance |
Mount Tamalpais State Park | 6 months in advance |
Navarro River Redwoods State Park | First come, first served |
Negro Bar State Park | Group camping only |
Palomar Mountain State Park | 6 months in advance |
Patrick’s Point State Park | 6 months in advance |
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park | 6 months in advance |
Plumas Eureka State Park | 6 months in advance |
Portola State Park | 6 months in advance |
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park | 6 months in advance |
Refugio Beach State Park | 6 months in advance |
Richardson Grove State Park | 6 months in advance |
Russian Gulch State Park | 6 months in advance |
Saddleback Butte State Park | First come, first served |
Salt Point State Park | 6 months in advance |
Samuel P Taylor State Park | 6 months in advance |
San Simeon Beach State Park | 6 months in advance |
Sinkyone Wilderness State Park | First come, first served |
Sugar Pine Point State Park | 6 months in advance |
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park | 6 months in advance |
Tahoe State Park | 6 months in advance |
Turlock Lake State Park | 6 months in advance |
Van Damme State Park | 6 months in advance |