Booking Military Campgrounds

There are some amazing connections to be made around a campfire of military members and their families.  I was astonished at the vast number of military campgrounds across the United States.

For those of you familiar with military bases, you know there are processes and procedures for everything.  If you can figure out the systems aboard the base you can certainly master the base campgrounds.  It just takes some time, patience and research.  

These campsites can be up to half the price of campgrounds out in town but this is only if you are willing to take time to crack their codes.  Each branch and base has specific requirements for booking.  Here's a great list of sites that have already been quite helpful in our quest for a less expensive nights stay.

Army MWR
Navy Getaways
Military OneSource
Map Muse
U.S. Military Campgrounds
AllStays

There are a variety of factors which go into booking with a military campground.  The first item they verify is your military status, be it Active Duty, Reservist, Retired, DoD employee, etc.  This information leads to a second line of hoops which is the time in which you are eligible to book in advance.  For example: Active duty and Reservists may be able to book sites 12 weeks ahead while Retired or DoD individuals may only book 9 weeks ahead.  These specifications can change from place to place which makes planning a road trip especially exhausting.  

What I have found is that people are wise to these rules and make reservations they may or may not have any intentions of keeping...just in case.  I called, on a whim, about booking a cabin for the last day of school last year (then only 2 days away).  They had numerous cabins available and we ended up at a prime location on the beach.  There were a number of people who made their reservations weeks prior just to cancel at the last minute. 

On the flip side, we were trying to book a cabin last summer for a week.  We were waiting for our appropriate date to call and reserve but they were ALWAYS already booked.  That was, until my husband cracked the code.  He literally went to the campground office at 11:57pm on the designated date (12 weeks prior) and when the clock struck midnight he was given first priority to book a cabin.  He said the phone was ringing off the hook with people doing the same thing but being much less successful from the comfort of their living rooms. 

We are so very fortunate to have these facilities available to us, it just takes time to maneuver through the various procedures.  Take a deep breath, keep your magnifying glass handy and pipe lit and you may just become the Sherlock Holmes of booking military campgrounds. 

Happy travels ~ Sara