Thanksgiving camping - last minute

[RVB]

I was thinking of taking a last minute vacation over Thanksgiving (Th-Su) at Big Bend since I've never been to the park.  I would be arriving on Thursday around 10 am.  What are the odds that any of campgrounds would have space? 

Thanks for any feedback.  Before I spend money on the airfare from Wisconsin, I'd like to have some idea of my lodging/camping possibilities.

[SHANEA]

If you want to be darn sure that you have a place to rest your head, then I'd make reservations "somewhere" pronto.

Visit Big Bend Lodging...

and/or go to Reserve America to see if any camping sites are open.

[BigBendHiker]

Definitely, reservations would be in order.  It can be pretty busy that time of the year out there.


BBH

[badknees]

If you want to camp in the Basin, reservations would be a good thing to do. The only problem is the reservable campsites are limited to 23 out of 60 The ones you can reserve are not the prime sites. What I tend to do is make a reservation, arrive very early, then visit with the campground host and find out if anyone is leaving that morning from a good campsite. If I find something better than my reserved site, I'll call the reservation system and cancel. You only take a hit for the first night like than and ususlly get a better site. Some of the Basin sites are pretty bad, especially if you have a big tent or get stuck in one of the small sites with no shelter or next to the dump station.

Cottonwood is usually a little more open - no reservations taken  - 31 sites
RGV - Reservations only in 43 out of 100 sites.

I just checked the Reserve America and there are NO reservations available for the Thur-Sun.

Have a plan B just in case you can't get in the campground - There are about 30 primitive sites, but thay also fill fast.

[01ACRViper]

if it's possible, zone camping is ALWAYS an option.

[Voni]

Even at the busiest of times, I've found campsites just outside the park in Study Butte/Terlingua at the west side of the park.

It's awesome here then . . .

Voni
  sMiling

[Texan4life]

I was thinking of taking a last minute vacation over Thanksgiving (Th-Su) at Big Bend since I've never been to the park.  I would be arriving on Thursday around 10 am.  What are the odds that any of campgrounds would have space? 

Thanks for any feedback.  Before I spend money on the airfare from Wisconsin, I'd like to have some idea of my lodging/camping possibilities.

I'm thinking about doing the same... I've never been out there during that time o year. I just checked resereveamerica.com and there are plenty of spaces still open. I'm probably going to reserve mine this week. As long as its not as busy as spring break we should be okay.

[badknees]

I was thinking of taking a last minute vacation over Thanksgiving (Th-Su) at Big Bend since I've never been to the park.  I would be arriving on Thursday around 10 am.  What are the odds that any of campgrounds would have space? 

Thanks for any feedback.  Before I spend money on the airfare from Wisconsin, I'd like to have some idea of my lodging/camping possibilities.

I'm thinking about doing the same... I've never been out there during that time o year. I just checked resereveamerica.com and there are plenty of spaces still open. I'm probably going to reserve mine this week. As long as its not as busy as spring break we should be okay.

I just looked at Reserve America and there are no reservable places (Thurs-Sunday- Thanksgiving) available except a Group Campground at Cottonwood.

Everthing is "walk up" only. - which means first come basis. Technically, that means there ARE spaces........if you get there first.

[Texan4life]

I was thinking of taking a last minute vacation over Thanksgiving (Th-Su) at Big Bend since I've never been to the park.  I would be arriving on Thursday around 10 am.  What are the odds that any of campgrounds would have space? 

Thanks for any feedback.  Before I spend money on the airfare from Wisconsin, I'd like to have some idea of my lodging/camping possibilities.

I'm thinking about doing the same... I've never been out there during that time o year. I just checked resereveamerica.com and there are plenty of spaces still open. I'm probably going to reserve mine this week. As long as its not as busy as spring break we should be okay.

I just looked at Reserve America and there are no reservable places (Thurs-Sunday- Thanksgiving) available except a Group Campground at Cottonwood.

Everthing is "walk up" only. - which means first come basis. Technically, that means there ARE spaces........if you get there first.

sorry.... I was assuming Turkey day was the last thursday of the month. After re-checking there is nothing left open. But like badknees said that doesn't mean you can't find a spot.

[RichardM]

Best bet is to get there as early as possible and make friends with the campground host.  Also, if you drive by and see an empty site that has a "reserved" tag on it, go ahead and stop and check the exact dates on the tag.  Sometimes the tag will be for a night or more in the future, leaving the site empty for the current night.

See the Basin Campground Info topic for a map of the reserveable sites.

[RVB]

Thanks for all of the advice.  I've been calling the Chisos Mt. Lodge every day and someone cancelled so I'll be there for a night.  Unfortunately, it looks like I am bringing Wisconsin weather with me.