Mackerricher State Park in California Photo: Peter Unger / Stone via Getty
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Campers who habitually no-show on their reservations could find themselves banned from making new ones under a new California law set to take effect in 2024.
On Sunday night, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 618, which makes a number of changes to how California State Parks (CSP) will handle camping reservations. The new law, which passed the legislature unanimously, gives campers seven days before their arrival to cancel their booking or else lose their reservation fee, the cost of the first night’s stay, and an $8 cancellation fee. If campers don’t show up by the day after their reservation is due to start, the state parks agency will cancel the remainder of their booking. Additionally, the law empowers California State Parks to ban anyone who no-shows three times or more in a single calendar year from making new reservations.
Like many states, California has seen a boom in demand for campsites post-Covid, with some 6.5 million people per year camping in at least one state park and forcing would-be campers to book their spots months in advance. As in other areas around the country, campers who do make it in have reported seeing empty sites in fully-booked campgrounds due to visitors who made reservations but never showed.
“California’s public parks and beaches are treasures that should be enjoyed by all Californians and demand for them has increased greatly,” said Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, the assemblymember who introduced the measure. “Unfortunately, our current outdated reservation system has led to a situation where many campsites are left empty. By promoting responsible reservation practices, we can increase access to these vital resources.”
In addition to overhauling the rules around reserving and canceling campsites, Assembly Bill 618 requires CSP to create a lottery system for sites in up to five of the state’s most popular destinations, which the state will determine by number of bookings six months in advance, by 2025. It also provides a 25 percent discount on campsites for holders of the Golden Bear pass, a program which provides low-income residents with free admission to state parks.
