The downside: Until Tuesday morning, the state’s current website and phone reservations system will be offline. The upside: If you already have a campground or tour reserved between now and February, it’s still good; you don’t need to make a new reservation.
As explained on the state parks website: “ReserveCalifornia will be easy-to-use and similar to booking hotels, airline tickets and other similar services. A variety of new features will be phased in … including moving from first-of-the-month on-sale days to a new rolling window reservation service. … Reservations can be made six months to the day in advance of the arrival date. The rolling window also adjusts for months longer or shorter than 30 days.”
The site further explains: "Camping and lodging inventory will become available each day for a period of six months in advance. Bookings may extend from the arrival date to the desired departure date — based on availability and the park’s maximum-stay rules. For example, on Aug. 1 (Tuesday), a visitor will be able to reserve a campsite beginning Feb. 1, 2018, through as many consecutive days as the park allows. The reservation could extend from Feb. 1, 2018, through Feb. 14, 2018, if the park allows a 14-day stay. The rolling window adjusts for months longer or shorter than 30 days."
The vendor for the new system was New Jersey-based Conduent.
Between now and March, the following upgrades are also planned:
- Ability to view your reservations in real time.
- More payment options at locations that currently accept only cash and checks.
- Additional trip information to make it easier for you to plan your visits.
- More campsites available for online reservation. An additional 41 state parks will be added to the new service. These units will be added incrementally through 2018. Currently, visitors are able to book at 110 parks. Part of this effort included awarding a new comprehensive reservation system contract to Conduent to support field operations and enhance the experience of visitors with a modern platform.
