LCRA New Park Reservation System (Texas)

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

LCRA is transitioning from the old reservation system to a new one, which will end the current ability of campers to go through Texas Parks & Wildlife or call the parks directly for reservations. Until the transition is complete on Jan. 15, campers can still call and make reservations as usual. However, after that, reservations must be made under the new system.

Starting Jan. 15, 2013, visitors can view online pictures before choosing the campsites and cabins they’d like to reserve. Cabins and campsites at six LCRA parks will be available for reservations through the new system: Black Rock Park, Oak Thicket Park, Park Prairie Park, Matagorda Bay Nature Park, and Lake Bastrop’s North Shore and South Shore parks.

Beginning Jan. 15, park reservations can be made by calling 1-855-392-7638 or logging into www.lcra.org/reserve. NOTE: That web site is not active until Jan. 15th.

Down here at Matagorda, this is going to be a real learning curve for the campers who drive in and set up in a site without checking in first. Old habits die hard.

Carolyn
Park host, Matagorda Bay Nature Center RV Park

[DQDick]

This was a one year nightmare when the COE when to a similar system. Works well now, however.

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

Dick and Joyce, the new system here is already causing problems, and it's not even in effect yet. The "regulars" are complaining bitterly about not being able to cruise in at the last minute and get the spot that they always get, and no, they do NOT want to make reservations because they've never had to make reservations. The computers here have also been down more than up during the last 2 weeks, adding to the problems. Add that to the learning curve the employees here at the park are facing, and the makings of a perfect storm, so to speak, are in the works.

Carolyn

[dieselguy]

We had similar issues in Kansas last year when most of the sites at the state parks went to being able to be reserved online. Regulars just about had "out of mind experiences". After a few months, they learned to get mad and glad in the same pair of pants. In the long run it has made things a bit more even as to being able to access certain sites ... the local good ole boy system can't buck the State ... yet.

[DQDick]

Not only are the states and feds going that way, but even Escapee's is going to computer reservations in their parks. Folks are going to have to put on their big girl panties and get used to it.

[worknomore]

Michigan has, generally, the same type of SP reservation system & it is a real pain in the A..! You MUST reserve at least 6 mo. in advance; no guarantee you can get in if you don't. Some (very few) parks have 'local' open sites that are 1st come, 1st serve. Makes it real hard for those travelling thru Michigan to get an overnight site. We've been complaining for years, but it falls on deaf ears - all about money...

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

The ReserveAmerica system, which all LCRA parks now use, is proving to be a real sore spot with our campers. While we may look as though we have empty sites when campers pull in as "walk-ins" (without reservations), those sites may be reserved for the next couple of days, and we can't let anyone use them because of the danger of overlapping stays. The reservation fees charged by ReserveAmerica irritate campers, too: $7.50 charge for a phone reservation, $6.00 for an online reservation. Campers know that if they gamble and come in without reservations, they aren't charged that fee.

People using this particular park have a habit of coming a day or two early, prior to when their reservation begins, and they get irate when we tell them that they can't have their spot for the extra days. Or, we get campers who don't check out on time then disappear until dark. It's impossible to force an absent camper to move when he's left his rig in the site and gone to the beach for "one last afternoon" before coming back to use our shower facilities and, finally, leave the park; it happens more than you'd think it does, too. In those cases, we can't find the owner of the rig to make him move. Sure, he'll be charged for another day, but if the incoming camper is waiting for Site #4 on the water, and an abandoned motor home is sitting in that spot all day, it's difficult on everyone. We tell campers that checkout time is noon (it's also printed on the card we give them), but a lot of people conveniently forget that. Towing a rig out of a space is always a possibility, but when the slides are still open and everything is still connected, towing is not always a possibility.

People who drive in without reservations are generally told that they are good to stay for one night IF we have an empty spot, but more than that can't be guaranteed. Park hosts don't get the advance registration printout, either, so when we are in charge of handling incoming campers, we have no way of knowing what may be available for more than one night.

I'm sure the kinks will be worked out eventually, but in the meantime, we are dealing with very unhappy campers a lot, and we certainly understand their frustration. It's hard on us, too. We like to travel without reservations for the most part, so we know how nice it is when parks have a few unreserved spots available. But, we know we're always taking a chance that we will be staying at a truck stoop or Walmart.

You can still call bypass ReserveAmerica and call the LCRA parks directly and ask for a reservation that falls within 48 hours of the call; if there's a space available, you can reserve it. Farther out than that, the request has to go through ReserveAmerica. And, if you call an LCRA office after 5:00 PM, no one is in the office to take your call.

Carolyn
Park host until February 25th, Matagorda Bay Nature Center RV Park, Matagorda TX