California, like many other states, has experienced a boom in camping in state parks over the past couple of years, with in-demand campsites necessitating advance booking, sometimes months ahead. For campers who snag a coveted spot, seeing an empty campsite at a fully booked campground can be a real downer. The culprits? No-shows. A new bill signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsome aims to deter no-shows, including banning repeat offenders.
Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan introduced Assembly Bill 618. It makes several changes to how California State Parks (CSP) will handle camping reservations.
"California's public parks and beaches are treasures that should be enjoyed by all Californians and demand for them has increased greatly," said Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan in a statement. "Unfortunately, our current outdated reservation system has led to a situation where many campsites are left empty. By promoting responsible reservation practices, we can increase access to these vital resources."
The law states that campers must cancel their booking seven days before arrival. Those who don’t will lose their reservation fee, the cost of the first night’s stay and will incur an $8 cancellation fee. If campers don’t show up by the day after their reservation date, the CSP will cancel the remaining days on their reservation. If a camper is a no-show three or more times in a calendar year, CSP can ban them from making new reservations.
To make it easier for campers to make reservations, the law makes campsites more available by limiting the number of days people can stay at the same campsite in a year to 30 and limits the length of reservations during peak season to seven consecutive nights. The bill will also implement a lottery system by 2025 for five of the most popular park campsites, to be determined by the CSP based on advanced booking interest.
The new laws take effect January 1, 2024.