rec.gov - New Beta Campground Notification Feature

[orin]

While poking around on rec.gov tonight I found that you can now ask to be notified when campground spots open up. it is a beta feature that only works for front country campsites that have already been released and taken. It could be useful for snagging spots from reservation cancellations. I was able to create a notification request for Two Medicine for a range of campsite numbers and dates.

[teapot57]

I noticed this feature last week and set up a request. I received a notification a few days later, and was actually in the process of checking emails when it arrived, so I opened it pretty instantaneously. I quickly went into recreation.gov and the site was already gone.

The notification will inform you of the number of notifications sent out for the particular request. I don’t remember the exact number, but in my case it was something over 800. So lots of people are using this feature and you’ll have to be quick.

[Ear Mountain]

This notification feature can be quite useful but as you mention the sites, once open, may be taken quickly. I was able to snag a campsite in Arches NP using the notification last fall. Unfortunately, for high demand locations like Glacier (and Arches) there are a whole bunch of people signed up for the notification.

[zozeppelin]

I actually included this in my trial: Link.

I’ve only had one hit to date (results in thread), and Rec.gov didn’t register (others did) . A couple weeks later I did have a (suspected phantom) alert from Rec.gov and none of the others.