Avoid the campsite blues: 10 tips for picking a site you’ll love

We’d definitely rebook this campsite at Little Grassy Lake Campground and Marina in Makanda, Illinois. It was just a few steps from the water. However, in early 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began draining the lake in order to update the dam and spillway. The campground is currently closed, with no estimated reopening date at the time of this blog posting.

A few recent Google searches revealed that, between national parks, state parks and private operations, there are more than 26,000 campgrounds in the U.S.

That’s hundreds of thousands of individual campsites.

So, to say that it’s sometimes hard to decide where to camp is just a bit of an understatement.

That’s why we’ve put together a list of things to check before you book your next campsite. This list will help ensure the campground and campsite you’ve selected are right for the kind of camping trip you’re longing for.

Quiet if you want quiet. Packed with amenities if you want amenities. Rustic if you want rustic.

Sure, part of the fun of camping is discovery. But, it’s still nice to feel at least a little prepared.

It’s even nicer to avoid unwanted surprises, such as arriving at the campground to find out that there’s no firewood for sale or that your campsite is right next to the pit toilets.

So, let’s get to it.

Before you book: A Super Cool campsite checklist

If you want to ensure the campsite you book is right for your needs, here are 10 things you can check.

1 Campground reviews

Edgar Evins State Park in Silver Point, Tennessee, more than deserves its 4.7 out of 5 rating on Google Maps. The wooden RV platforms feel like your own private balcony overlooking Center Hill Lake. We stayed in site 44, which we loved because it was lakefront. However, we were near the intersection of two main roads, and our firepit was very close to one of them. We recommend lakefront sites 55 - 60 instead, which have only a single road running by them.

First things first, hearing from someone who’s stayed at the campground before is one of the best ways to get a feel for the place.

So, before you book your stay, read as many campground reviews as you can.

Pay attention to what people loved, especially if it’s something you’d enjoy, too. As well as what irked them, especially if it’s something you wouldn’t like, either.

For example, there are some campgrounds known for people partying all night, no matter what the noise policies say. If that’s your vibe, cool.

However, if I see that mentioned in a review, it’s a huge no thanks for me.

And, that’s why you read reviews.

A campground website might sell a certain experience. But, only the people who’ve stayed there can say what it’s really like.

My personal go-to for just about any type of review, including campground reviews, is Google Maps.

You’ll also find reviews on many of the bigger campground booking websites, including Recreation.gov and Reserve America. Same with Hipcamp, which is like Airbnb for smaller campgrounds — some have several campsites, some have just one.

You can also search websites like RV Life and Good Sam for both campground details and reviews from people who’ve stayed there. Many bloggers, including your very own Super Cool Van Trips, write about campgrounds, too.

I’ve written about Holland State Park in Michigan and Fort Pickens in Florida, among others. Bookmark this campgrounds page if you want to check out and keep up with all of my campground blogs.

2 Check-in and check-out times

Santa Rosa RV Resort in Navarre, Florida, was a last-minute booking on our way home from Fort Myers one year. The best campsites are 1 - 23, which are all waterfront. We stayed in a campsite along Navarre Parkway, which was extremely loud. Keep in mind they are aggressively strict about their check-in and check-out times, as well as other policies.

Before you book a campsite, be sure the campground’s check-in and check-out times work well with your schedule.

Oftentimes, there’s only a one- or two-hour difference between check-in time and check-out time.

That’s because there isn’t much for the campground staff to do to get the site ready for the next guest. Some campgrounds don’t do anything at all.

If you’ve ever picked up trash or shoveled ashes out of the firepit after arriving at your campsite, you know what I mean.

Many campgrounds are even generous with an early check-in. If your site’s already vacant, you can usually go ahead and set up camp.

However, some campgrounds are a little more strict about their posted timelines.

At Santa Rosa RV Resort in Florida, we got a knock on our van door at precisely 11 a.m. — check-out time. They were keeping a close watch to make sure we didn’t stay even a minute over. They weren’t polite about it, either.

So, if you want to go on a morning hike or enjoy a slow start on your final day, be sure the campground’s check-out time will accommodate it.

3 Pet policy

Dogs are a must for our camper van trips. We’ve taken Bonnie and Clyde to Fort Pickens Campground in Pensacola Beach, Florida, two years in a row. We stayed in site C8 both times. There are campers behind you, but they aren’t super close. Try sites C31, C33, C37, C39, C42, C43, C45 or C46 if you want a treeline behind you.

Just about every campground allows pets. After all, what’s the point of camping if you can’t bring your best friends along?

Still, it’s good to make sure the campground welcomes furry ones.

But, don’t stop there.

Are there restrictions on the type or number of pets?

Do they require any proof of vaccines, such as rabies?

Are pets allowed on the hiking trails?

Just because a campground allows pets doesn’t mean all of their pet policies are going to work for you.

Read all of the rules about pets before you book your campsite.

4 Campfire and firewood policies

A campfire is one of my favorite parts of camping. Cloudland Canyon State Park in Rising Fawn, Georgia, has fire rings at each campsite. You can buy bundles of wood at the visitor center. We stayed in site 61 in the East Rim Campground. It was great, save for being next to the playground. The young man in the visitor center said sites 20 - 28 in the West Rim Campground are some of the best in the park.

Not all campgrounds allow fires, especially in wildfire-prone areas. Think Washington, California and Colorado.

There could be a year-round ban or just a seasonal restriction on campfires.

So, if a warm, glowing fire is essential for your camping experience, be sure to check the campground’s policy. 

Many campgrounds also have restrictions on bringing your own firewood, especially from out of state.

That’s because some unwelcome critters might catch a ride into the park on your firewood. Bugs that can wreak havoc on the local ecosystem.

These policies aren’t meant to put a damper on your good time.

They’re meant to protect you, other campers and even the campground. So, be a good camper and respect them.

5 Restrooms and showers

If you want nice bathrooms and showers when you camp, I highly recommend heading to Michigan. In 2024, we stayed at Lake Macatawa Campground at Holland State Park in Holland (site 72) and at Fort Custer Recreation Area in Augusta (site 93). Both sites felt nice and cozy, with vegetation on three sides. And, the restroom and shower facilities at each campground were above and beyond any I’ve ever seen.

Your camping style typically determines how interested you are in the campground’s restroom and shower facilities. If you’re in a tent or a teardrop camper, you’re likely very interested.

In an RV, not so much. You probably roll with your own bathroom and shower.

If you do plan to rely on the campground’s facilities, making sure they’re available might be enough.

Toilet? Check. Shower? Check. All good.

However, you might be more picky than that. You might want to make sure the campground has running water. Or, flushing toilets, not just pit toilets.

You might also want to check whether there’s an extra cost for showers. Or, if the facilities are only open at certain hours.

And, when you arrive at the campground, be sure to ask if there’s a keycode to get into the bathrooms. You don’t want to be caught without that. Otherwise, things could get a little, well, uncomfortable.

6 Services / goods

Fort Pickens Campground, part of Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida, doesn’t sell firewood. We buy ours at the Winn-Dixie on Bayou Boulevard in Pensacola before heading to the campground.

From water hookup to s’mores supplies, some campgrounds have everything you could want and more.

Some don’t.

Be sure to look into what’s available and what isn’t before you book your site.

If you’re in an RV and can get by with only electric hookups, for example, you’ll have a lot more options for campgrounds and campsites. But, if you’re adamant about having electric, water, sewer and maybe even cable TV at your site, be sure all that’s available before booking.

You might also want to purchase firewood, propane refills, snacks and more onsite. Perhaps a t-shirt or other souvenir, as well.

Just keep in mind not all campgrounds offer all or any of that for sale.  

We like knowing what’s available onsite so we can arrive prepared.

For example, Fort Pickens in Florida doesn’t have any sort of campground store. So, we buy firewood before we arrive. They do, however, have both electric and water hookups at many of their campsites. So, we make sure to book one of those.

KOA Nashville Resort, on the other hand, has services and goods galore. They can even deliver firewood to your campsite, if you like.

So, how do you find out if a campground offers everything under the sun or nothing at all? Honestly, it can take a little digging.

It’s usually pretty clear what sort of hookups are available at a campsite when you’re booking it.

But, campgrounds don’t always do a great job of telling you upfront what else is available onsite. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in the campground descriptions or reviews, try a Google search or call the campground office.

You might also have luck emailing the campground or direct messaging them on their social media accounts.

7 Amenities / activities

The lakefront campsites (44, 47 and 48 - 60) at Edgar Evins State Park in Tennessee make it easy to paddle board on Center Hill Lake. Just walk down the hill and hop in. If you’d like to get out on the water but don’t have your own equipment, you can rent kayaks, jet skis and boats at the park’s marina.

More often than not, you want to do more on your camping trip than just sit around your campsite. But, that’s awesome, too.

So, you’ll want to look into onsite amenities and activities at the campground before you book. As well as what’s nearby in the surrounding area.

You might want to fish, paddle board, hike or mountain bike without leaving the campground. If so, be sure you can do that before booking your stay.

We book certain campgrounds when we want to paddle board. After all, what’s better than having a lakefront site? You can walk right into the water and paddle out, like we did at Edgar Evins State Park in Tennessee.

But, we might need to book a different campground if we want to go on waterfall hikes, like we did at Cloudland Canyon in Georgia.

Some campgrounds offer organized activities, such as staff-led hikes, talks and other events. Even things like Easter egg hunts.

And, some are packed with amenities like swimming pools, beanbag toss (cornhole), playgrounds and more.

Others have cafés onsite or food trucks that visit.

Of course, a simple rustic campsite in the woods might be all you’re looking for. If so, that’s available, too. In fact, backpacking campsites are great for that, but you’ll need to haul in all of your gear on foot.

8 Campsite location

I thought I was being smart booking site 102 in the Poplar Grove Campground at Lieber State Recreation Area in Cloverdale, Indiana. The campground map on Reserve America showed lots of extra space on one side of the site. When we arrived to set up camp, however, I realized the space wasn’t empty. There’s a small building with two pit toilets there. It was no big deal, though. No smells at our campsite, so I’d be happy to book it again. The campground also has flushing toilets and showers closer to the entrance.

Where your campsite is located within the actual campground can affect how much you enjoy your stay.

We love being on the outer edge of a campground loop, for example, with a treeline or perhaps a lake, river or creek behind us.

We don’t love being in the middle of a loop, with other RVs behind us. It just doesn’t feel as cozy. You might not mind it, though. It’s just up to individual preference.

There are other things to consider about the campsite location, too.

Do you want to be close to the bathrooms? Far away?

I was a little dismayed to arrive at Lieber State Recreation Area in Indiana and realize I’d booked the campsite right next to the pit toilets. On the map when I was booking our site, it simply looked like there was extra space on one side of us. The pit toilets weren’t even marked.

However, it was fine. It only smelled when walking in front of the building. No smells at our campsite. Phew!

If you have kids, you might want to be next to the playground or close to the swimming pool.

If you don’t have kids, like us, you might want to avoid areas where there might be little ones screaming and running about. Not our idea of a good time.

To get a better feel for the campsite location, you can check the map while you’re booking a site online. You should be able to tell if there will be other campers right behind or in front of you. You should also get a sense of how close the sites are together.

However, as with our experience in Indiana, you might not get the full picture from just a map.

So, what else can you do to find out if a campsite is perfect for you?

Look for pictures. Some booking sites have pictures once you click into a campsite to reserve it. However, some use the same picture for each and every site. Not helpful.

Try checking reviews. Some people post pictures or include their site number in their review.

If all else fails, again, try a Google search or contact the campground directly.

9 Extra fees

When you stay at Fort Pickens Campground in Florida, you need to purchase a park pass for Gulf Islands National Seashore. It’s currently $25 for a pass that’s good for 7 days.

Some campgrounds, especially those at national and state parks, charge extra fees on top of what you pay for your campsite. It might be a facility or resort fee. Or, it might be a park pass or something like a day-use fee.

They’re usually not high enough to make you rethink your trip. But, it can be good to stay mindful of these when tallying up the overall cost of your trip.

We typically pay these extra fees when we arrive at the campground and check in. However, you might pay them or have the option to when you book your site.

10 Cancel and change fees

Our stay at Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia was nearly 3 years in the making. In June 2022, I booked a site for April 2023. When the park canceled our reservation due to construction, we got all of our money back. In February 2024, I booked a site for April of that same year. This time, we had to cancel. We got about half of our money back. Third time’s a charm. In January of this year, I again booked a site for this April. We finally made it to the park, and it was well worth the wait.

Other types of fees you might run into when managing your camping plans are cancel and change fees.

If it feels irksome to pay a fee to cancel or change the dates of your camping reservation, be sure to look into them before booking your stay.

We’ve certainly paid a handful of $10 cancel fees to various state parks when our plans have changed. We consider it a donation to the park so they can continue to provide an amazing place to camp.

At some campgrounds, however, you’ll be lucky to walk away with a cancel fee as low as $10. Especially at private campgrounds, which may not provide you with any refund at all.

Which is why it’s important to look into how much you’ll lose out if you need to cancel or change your trip. Check both the cancellation policies, as well as fees for canceling your reservation or moving it to different days.

Fort Pickens Road separates the campgrounds from the white sand beaches on the Gulf of Mexico.

We’ve shared all of these tips to help you plan a camping trip that lives up to your expectations. Because that starts well before you arrive for your stay.

It starts with booking a campground and campsite you’ll love.

Some people like to know exactly what to expect ahead of time. To feel prepared and avoid surprise. Some don’t.

Whichever camp you land in doesn’t matter. I’m a little in the middle myself.

I want to bring my dogs. That’s not even negotiable.

I love having electric hookups and a campfire. A bathroom and shower are nice, too.

But, I’m typically most picky about the outdoor activities at the campground and my campsite location.

Which brings me to one final tip. If you’re staying at a campground you’d like to return to, take a look around at the different camping loops and campsites. Make a note of the ones you like best so you can book one of those next time.

You can leave a note in your phone or in your glovebox notebook. Send an email to yourself, or pick up a printed map from the campground office and circle the sites you like.

That way, when you return, your stay will be even better.