Where will we sleep tonight?

We loved this FREE boondocking site in Anzo Borrego, CA

Mapping out a year long, cross country trip was intimidating to say the least. We had an idea of the places we wanted to visit but there were so many questions! How long should we plan to stay in each spot? Do we need hookups every night? Should we book campsites in advance or just find places to stay along the way? How long can we boondock? Do we even WANT to boondock? 

While we wanted to remain flexible, we had to face reality: If you want to camp at Yosemite, you can't just show up and expect to find a spot in the park. Campsites must be booked 6 months in advance, and even then there are no guarantees that you will actually get a site. It took us multiple attempts and lots of frustration to score 2 nights in a Yosemite Valley campground. Yikes! 

We listened to the experiences of friends who were on the road and blended their suggestions into a plan that we felt would work for us: We would book sites at places that were "must sees" in advance and reserve other spots 1-3 months in advance as we travelled. We also promised to be willing to change the plan and "tow with the flow" as the trip unfolded. 

Here are some of the sites we booked in advance. They were worth every minute of planning ahead for sure! 

San Elijo State Beach, Encinitas California
Lower Pines Campground, Yosemite
Burlington Campground, Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Jedediah Smith Campground, Redwoods State and National Park
Grant Village Campground, Yellowstone National Park
Fruita Campground, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

If you miss the booking window and the campsite that you want is unavailable, persistence is key. We scored amazing sites in Joshua Tree and Big Sur by checking their websites daily and being ready to book if a site became available. 

Now, what about hookups? For RV campers there are several types of sites that you need to know:

• Full hookups (water, electric, sewer and sometimes even CABLE!)
• Partial hookups (usually water and electric)
• No hookups (you guessed it... just a site). Sites without hookups can range from state and national park campgrounds with access to showers and toilets to boon docking sites with no services whatsoever. 

Being new to RV camping, we were not sure how long we could go without hookups or how difficult it would be not to have water and electricity. We also had to factor in cost- most state and national park campgrounds have no hookups and are around $35/night. Fancy RV Resorts are awesome and often have pools, spas, playgrounds and activities but average $50-60/night with some over $100/night! 

With all of this in mind, we planned our route to never go more than a few days without staying at a campground with hookups or a dump station. So far this has meant a few days at a Harvest Host or in a national or state park followed by a longer stay at an RV park. We have found that we can comfortably go 4-5 days without hookups or having to dump. We have a generator that provides us power when needed which is an absolute must! 

A view of the Pacific from my campsite? I'll take it!
San Elijo State Beach, Encinitas CA

Recently we also joined Thousand Trails, a campground membership that features parks around the country. So far our first few stays have been great with lots of activities for the kids and amenities such as pools and more. 

To find boon docking sites, we use the apps campendium and the dyrt. To make sure we have the PERFECT site, we use CampsitePhotos.com. How do do you decide where to camp?