How SiteWatch works
Recreation.gov campgrounds — national parks, national forests, and other federal lands — release cancelled campsites back into inventory the moment a reservation is cancelled. At the most popular campgrounds those sites can disappear again in minutes. SiteWatch exists to catch them.
Setting up a watch
You tell us four things:
The campground. Any campground that takes reservations on Recreation.gov.
Your stay. A fixed arrival date and number of nights, or — on paid plans — a flexible arrival window with a minimum number of consecutive nights.
Your equipment. Tent, trailer, or RV, the minimum site length you need, and any true must-haves like a hookup or an accessible site — so we never alert you to a site you can't use.
Your sites. On the free plan, any site that fits. On paid plans, up to five exact sites — the waterfront loop, the spot you had last year — or sites matching your requirements, like a specific loop or pull-through sites.
Matching, honestly defined
By default we only alert when the same site is available for all of your nights. We don't stitch together a stay out of different sites unless you turn on partial-stay alerts (paid plans), and we say so plainly in the alert when we do.
Exact-site watches come with a trade-off worth knowing: the fewer sites you'll accept, the rarer openings are. Most campers do best with a short favorites list rather than a single site.
When an opening appears
Your alert includes the site number and a direct link to that campsite on Recreation.gov. Book quickly — you are racing everyone else who wants it, and SiteWatch cannot hold it for you. If it's gone before you book, your watch simply continues: no new fee, no need to set it up again. Your watch ends when your trip date arrives, when you tell us you booked, or when you cancel it.
Common questions
- Do you book the site for me?
- No. We monitor and alert; you book and pay on Recreation.gov. That keeps your reservation in your name, under Recreation.gov's rules.
- How fast are the checks?
- Free watches check about once an hour. Paid watches check about every 15 minutes.
- Is a campsite guaranteed?
- No — and be wary of anyone who promises one. If nobody cancels a site that fits your trip, there is nothing to alert. What we guarantee is the watching itself.
- Can you watch a specific site number?
- Yes, at campgrounds where Recreation.gov reserves individual sites — that's exactly what the paid plans are for. Where a campground only releases pooled or first-come inventory, only any-site watches are possible, and we say so on that campground's page.
- Which campgrounds can you watch?
- Any reservable campground on Recreation.gov. Start with our campground directory.
- How do I pay?
- By card through Stripe at watch setup. The monthly plan renews until cancelled and can be managed in the customer portal. Details on the pricing page.