State Parks & Forests
- Introduction
- Find a Park or Forest
- Find a State Trail
- A to Z Index
- Current Conditions
- Events Calendar
- Fees
- Maps
- Rules
Camping
- Introduction
- Reserve a Campsite
- Backpacking
- Camping Fees
- Fires & Firewood
- Indoor Group Camps
- Outdoor Group Camps
- Nonreservable Sites
- Parks With Camping
- Questions & Answers
- Rules & Tips
- Take Smokey Camping
- State Forest Campgrounds
- Winter Camping
Other Facilities
Questions and Answers About the Campsite Reservation System
Using either the call center or the Internet
Is there information about sites large enough for a motor home?
Yes. The web site and call center operators have information about each site's maximum vehicle length, driveway length, double-wide driveays (pull-outs), and pull-through sites.
What information should I have ready?
- Your name, address, and telephone numbers
- Whether you want a tent site, a backpack site, or a wheeled camper site
- The length of your trailer or RV
- The number of people in your camping party
- Whether the reservation is for a family or a non-family group
- If it's a non-family group, the names of others in your group
- Whether you'll have a pet along
- The name of the park or forest where you want to camp
- When you plan to arrive
- How many nights you plan to stay
- If you have a campground and campsite preference, what they are
- Whether you want an electrical hookup
- Whether you want a site accessible to people with disabilities
- Your credit card number and expiration date
What if I don't have a credit card?
A credit card is required for Internet reservations. The call center accepts a personal check if it is more than 21 days before you will camp or a cashier's check or money order if it is more than 10 days. Your reservation will be unconfirmed until your check or money order arrives. If the check or money order does not arrive within seven days, your reservation will be canceled.
Will I be notified when my reservation is confirmed?
Phone reservations made at least 10 days before arrival are confirmed by letter. Confirmation letters generally take 7-10 days to be printed and mailed. Internet reservations are confirmed by e-mail.
We can make reservations 11 months ahead. Is that 11 months before the start or end of the camping period?
Eleven months before the start of the camping period.
How late may a reservation be made if I want to camp on a Friday?
To camp on a Friday the latest you could make a reservation would be the Wednesday before that Friday.
Can we reserve more than one site at a time, for a group of families that wants to camp together?
Yes, you can reserve up to six sites at a time provided:
- you use the call center, (888) WI PARKS ((888) 947-2757, TTY (800) 274-7275), and
- when you call you have the names, addresses and phone numbers for all of the parties for whom you are making reservations.
Using the web site, you can reserve only one site for the same time period.
If we reserve more than one site, for our extended family, is the reservation fee charged per call or per site?
It's per site.
What if we cancel the reservation?
If you cancel no later than 3 p.m. Central Time two days before the day of the reservation, you'll be credited a full refund of camping fees, but not the reservation or cancellation fees.
If you cancel after that, you'll be credited a refund of camping fees for all but the first night. You will not be refunded the reservation or cancellation fees or the first night's camping fee.
No refunds are made for any part of a three-night holiday reservation once the site has been occupied.
Is there a waiting list in case of cancellations?
The centralized reservation database does not have a waiting list. In the event of a cancellation, the site goes back into inventory and is available to the next caller. The Internet "check availability" feature can be very useful to see if previously booked sites are now open.
Parks that used the waiting/transfer list process in the past for non-reservable sites can still do so manually and then update the computer inventory when they are through. However, the more sites that are booked through the reservation system, the smaller the opportunities for transfers.
Are discounts or fee waivers available via the internet?
No. Fee waivers for nonprofit groups serving people with disabilities and discounts for nonprofit Wisconsin youth organizations are available only through the call center, (888) 947-2757, TTY (800) 274-7275. To be eligible for a waiver, a group must have a a Camping Fee Waiver Request (PDF, 6.7KB) approved in advance.
Using the Internet
Can we make reservations via the Internet?
Yes. Go to the Wisconsin State Parks campsite reservation site*.
I forgot my ReserveAmerica password. What should I do?
Go to ReserveAmerica's "Forgot Your Password?" page
Why am I having trouble getting the reservation Web site to work?
The site requires users to accept cookies.
For Internet Explorer:
- Allow cookies stored on your computer - this can either be enabled or disabled.
- Allow per-session cookies - This must be enabled for our site to work.
For Netscape:
- The "enable all cookies" or "enable cookies for the originating web site only" must be selected.
Using the Call Center
Does the toll-free number work from all states?
Yes.
How can the system handle so many calls?
The (888) WI-PARKS ((888) 947-2757, TTY (800) 274-7275) number is answered by many operators available to help you.
Some sites are only open at certain times of year. Do the operators know that?
They have information about each site that shows when it is open and when it is reservable.
For more information on this topic, ask Wisconsin
State Parks, (608) 266-2181.
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