Last-minute Labor Day campsites at California state parks

Time is running out if you want to reserve a campsite for Labor Day weekend at California state parks. And don’t expect to get a prime spot. Fortunately, about two dozen parks offer camping on a first-come, first-served basis. You just have to get there early; most of these campgrounds will fill up by early tomorrow ( Friday), park officials say. Here are your options:

Reserve a campsite: You need to book at least 48 hours in advance of arrival with the ReserveAmerica service. So the earliest night you can book today is for Saturday, and you need to book by 5 p.m. PDT. More than 30 parks still had weekend campsites available as of Wednesday. Typically, these are primitive sites, and you often must walk a ways to get to them. Or they are inland, in warmer areas. Among the parks with space were Orange County’s Crystal Cove (campsites, not the cottages, which were booked) and Cuyamaca Rancho in San Diego County.

Take your chances: A total of 26 California state parks and recreation areas accept at least some campers on a first-come, first-served basis, usually at sites with few services. Among them are Andrew Molera State Park (pictured) in the Big Sur area, and Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

This year versus last: As of Wednesday, campsites at state parks had logged 10,758 reservations for Sept. 4 through Sept. 7, versus 11,074 last year for Labor Day weekend, said Sheryl Watson, California State Parks spokeswoman. The average stay is longer this year: 2.5 nights versus two nights. With people staying longer, fewer campsites are available, Watson explained.

— Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor

Photo: Hikers and horse riders at Andrew Molera State Park in California’s Big Sur area. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 1:04 pm by Jane Engle and is filed under Big Sur, California, California's Central Coast, Deals, Eco-Travel, Family & Kids, Last Minute, Los Angeles, Monterey Peninsula, News, Tips & Advice, Outdoors & Adventure, San Simeon & Hearst Castle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.