State Parks campgrounds to take advanced reservations

Starting in April, overnight visitors to North Carolina's state parks will be able to reserve a campsite in advance. A simple thing, you may think. But a simple thing seven years in the making.

These happy campers at the Wagoner Access campground at New River State Park will be even happier when they can make reservations online or by phone.

Last month, the State Division of Parks & Recreation signed an agreement to let Infospherix (formerly known as Reserve World) handle online and 800-number registrations for the state's 2,929 campsites. Details — such as how far in advance you can make reservations and what happens if you cancel — are still being worked out. But Charlie Peek, public information officer for state parks, says those details should be finalized by year's end, paving the way for reservations systemwide come spring.

"We're making every effort to have this in place by April," Peek said earlier today. He did note that there could be a slight delay in phone reservations.

For years, visitors to state parks in Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina and other nearby states have been able to reserve campsites in advance. In North Carolina, though, it was first come/first served. That meant if you were leaving after work Friday for a weekend at, say, Stone Mountain State Park, your chances of scoring a campsite were slim.

North Carolina recognized that a reservation system would be a good idea as far back as 2001. "We got a modest grant in 2001 to look into instituting a system," says Peek. "Then the budget crisis hit." That crisis passed, then the state decided it needed all its entities on the same info technology system, and that further delayed the reservations system since, well, it depends on computers. The mission was resumed in 2006, a contract finally signed last month.

What this means is that you'll be able to bring up the state parks campgrounds online, go to your park of choice, click on the camping area, then examine it site by site. Need to be near the bathhouse? You can make that happen. Need to steer clear of sites with RV hookups? You can make that happen, too. You'll be able to make reservations both online and by phone, via an 800 number.

A couple caveats, says Peek.

1. A segment of campsites will be left for walk-up registration. A fairly common practice at most state park and forest service campgrounds.

2. Since the system won't be up and running until April, those few facilities that have taken advanced reservations in the past — the state recreation areas, including lakes Falls and Jordan as well as the cabins at Morrow Mountain and Hanging Rock — will continue to do so.

Only a handful of the state's parks, all at the coast, do not have camping. Reservations for picnic shelters and community buildings will also be available online and by phone. There will be a $3 surcharge per reservation for the service.

I'll pass along details of the reservations system when they're hammered out.