FCFS campsites

[Blukanu]

Just curious to gauge how other canoe trippers feel about FCFS (first come, first served) campsites. We have a few areas in Northern WI where canoe camping is an option and most are FCFS camping.

Personally I hate the undue stress as, like most people, I have limited time off and opportunities to do a trip . It takes some effort and logistics to pull together a trip so the last thing I want is to find all campsites occupied and I end up sleeping in the car.

So far I’ve been lucky because I’ve only attempted FCFS camping midweek, offseason and in poor weather. In those conditions I never had I problem finding a site, but would be nice to be able to do this on a nice summer weekend without it being a competition.

 

[duNord]

Personally, I like the flexibility that FCFS sites allow. I like the ability to change my mind and go with the flow (so to speak) rather than being locked into staying at a specific site chosen in advance.

On northern Wisconsin rivers like the Flambeau, Namekagon, and Manitowish, I never really had a problem finding a site other than on possibly major holiday weekends. I didn't necessarily get my first choice of sites, but I always found something. That was pre-pandemic. I can't speak to what it's like on weekends now with the greater demand for many outdoor activities.

I'm retired now so I have the luxury of being able to go mid-week. Thats's why I like the FCFS system. But I can understand how the certainty of a reservation system may be preferable to those still in the workforce.

 

[billconner]

I simply don't know different. I've never canoed where you can reserve a site, so FCFS must work for me.

 

[snapper]

While I've been caught short a few times with FCFS campsites, for the most part, it's worked here in the Adirondacks. That said, there are a few places in the Adirondacks where you're supposed to put a tag on the site number you're heading for so others know it's taken. Even with that system in place, I've come to my site only to find someone already there who never bothered to put the tag up. That's incredibly annoying when now you have to paddle back to the board, select a new site and try again. Honestly, I'd just rather it be FCFS and leave it at that.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[dogbrain]

It sounds like you're talking about something a little different, but I find that more and more campgrounds are becoming reservation only. I think things are going your way, at least in the front country. The Yellowstone backcountry has had a reservation system for all backcountry sites for as long as I've been around. Most, if not all, US National Parks are that way. Wilderness areas, as far as I know, don't have reserved campsites except for a few outfitter camps here and there. While I appreciate the fact that someone can have an itinerary and be sure of having a reserved campsite every single night, it puts some of us that like to move around when we want in a bind. A reservation system gives an advantage to one type of user at the expense of another type of user. I'm not necessarily taking sides because I've reserved campsites before and it was a relief to know I had a site, but it is a zero sum game.

Mark

 

[billconner]

Too used to BWCAW and Quetico, not planning routes beyond first day, and looking at maps each night. It would seem windbound days would be impossible.

 

[goonstroke]

Most places I go here (Maine) are FCFS. In fact, the only backcountry sites I know of that can be reserved are in Baxter State Park. I can recall an Allagash ranger explaining that he's always worried when he hears people say "itinerary" -- it's fine to have a rough plan, but if the weather is such that it's not safe to travel, you have to stay put.

I used to worry more about not finding a site, but lately I've become something of a campsite minimalist and I camp the way the FedEx guy parks (this is OK, I won't be here long, etc).

 

[billconner]

Besides Algonquin, where else are canoe trip sites reserved? I know NY state parks with boat in islands are reserved sites, but these are usually destination/base camp places, not tripping.

 

[snapper]

Bill - While not reservation per se, in the Adirondacks at both Little Tupper & Stillwater Reservoir you're supposed to put a tag on the site you're going to camp at when you leave the landing; at least that's how they were the last time I was there. It's been a couple of years but I'm sure others will chime in if it's no longer operating that way on those two bodies of water.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[dogbrain]

Besides Algonquin, where else are canoe trip sites reserved? I know NY state parks with boat in islands are reserved sites, but these are usually destination/base camp places, not tripping.

All Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier National Park backcountry sites are by reservation, paddle and backpack. I think some High Sierra backpacking sites in national parks are by reservation, some aren't.

Mark

 

[LanceR]

That said, there are a few places in the Adirondacks where you're supposed to put a tag on the site number you're heading for so others know it's taken. Even with that system in place, I've come to my site only to find someone already there who never bothered to put the tag up. That's incredibly annoying when now you have to paddle back to the board, select a new site and try again.

snapper

Now that sounds like someone who's paddled to the far end of someplace like Stillwater Reservoir only to find "tyour" campsite occupied by a squatter. Now that would raise my hackles. and it did once until I realized that a group had made an honest mistake on which site was which and so I took "their" site which had a better breeze to keep the bugs at bay.

Best regards,


Lance

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I don't know whether the OP, Blukanu, is asking about campsites on lake-to-lake portage routes or for base camping. The USA ain't Canada, and lake-to-lake portage tripping isn't widely available outside of a few places like Minnesota, the NY Adirondacks and Maine. Therefore, outside these areas (and sometimes inside) many if not most base campsites on lakes and along river routes are owned by state or federal governments or by private companies, and are by reservation.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Too used to BWCAW and Quetico, not planning routes beyond first day, and looking at maps each night. It would seem windbound days would be impossible.

While the campsites aren't reserved, in the BWCA. Entry points are. That turns it into another ball game. I've seen it many times, where a group comes into a lake in the BWCA, late in the day, near dark, looking for a campsite, and I knew none were available. That doesn't make for a good experience.

This is true even more these days, with inexperienced trippers, and the quotas for entry points filled to max.

I too see both sides, and an easy answer doesn't exist.

Jim

 

[billconner]

I think my natural aversion to trekking where its necessary to reserve sites simplifies this for me.

 

[coldfeet]

Went to the Tetons last summer paddling, had a permit for one site Friday night and different site Saturday night....It was so hard to find the site because they don't put a mark on the tree or rock. I understand the idea of keeping it natural....For the life of us (my daughter and me) we couldn't find our site...after an hour an a half we saw a different site, no one and put in....we were desperate

BWCA and Algonquin we (I) had to find a site, was a bit nervous and didn't paddle around looking for the best site..Just took one where we supposed to be sort of...I like designated sites..

 

[coldfeet]

I was told that in Algonquin they give out 5 permits to an area with 4 sites figuring one party will never show up, sounds like the airplane system...I actually asked the person handling my reservation and she told me that wasn't true...I still had doubts in my mind when going there with bioguide years ago....amazing how rumors can make one nervous.

 

[Chip]

I guess it depends on the place you are paddling. A river is one thing, where you can just float a few more miles looking for sites. I worry about sites being occupied when I paddled big lakes and the sites are miles apart.

Some places, like Assateague and Saguenay Fjord, they want you on the site you reserved, and that site only. All well and fine except if you are camped and you run into weather which makes it dangerous or outright impossible to move on, as officials say you must. So, I guess reservations are good, but not it it's do or die.

I like spontaneous travel decisions, and reservations get in the way of that.

 

[dschult2]

I'm with you that I like reservation type sites in more popular locations like Algonquin and the BWCA. That is a huge turn off for the boundary waters and one of the reasons I typically avoid going. It's my feeling that if they're going to make you camp on their sites you need to be able to reserve said sites, at least on the entry and more popular lakes. Algonquin only reserves 70% of campsites on a lake because they know some people will get held up by weather, injury, or just plain laziness. BWCA most certainly needs some tweeking.

 

[billconner]

Different strokes for different folk. Somehow I can't imagine a reserved site canoe trip. It would feel like "if its Tuesday it must be Belgium" to me. But I've been a professional planner for 40 years and last thing I want for leisure is following a plan.

Never have had any problem finding a selection of sites in BWCAW, though last year and this may test that. Still probably twice the number of sites as there are groups at any given moment.

 

[snapper]

Just thought of another location with reserve only campsites...the Okefenokee NWR. This limits the number of folks camping in the wildlife refuge and certain disperses the groups. I've paddled there many times and have never experienced any problems but I can see where weather issues might throw a monkey wrench into the system.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper