Manifesto
Why Campflare exists
Hey there,
Camping is no longer available to everyone. In fact, it's rigged. Places that were set aside for the public, are now only available to the rich and technically advanced. Let me explain.
In most areas, the demand for campsites far exceeds the supply. When campsites are released, they are booked in seconds. In turn, people take whatever reservations they can find — months in advance. Given that people don't get their ideal dates, and don't know their plans months ahead of time, tons of people end up canceling. This is not the problem.
The problem arises when paid services take advantage of this fact. These companies have created expensive paid services that will let you know when someone cancels their reservation, so you can snag it. This has led to their customers being the majority of people getting canceled campsites.
Not everyone can afford to pay $30/mo+ for the off-chance of getting a campground reservation — everyone deserves equal access to our public lands. Regulation and captchas are not the solution as tech will always find a way around it. The only way to stop the paid services is to drown them out.
Campflare is a free service that will send you a text or email when a campground becomes available. It's free, available to everyone, and it always will be.
It just works, no games
Raw emails, comments, and feedback we have received
Hi, I just wanted to say that your website has been a blessing for my family (with 2 young kids!) and I. Despite campgrounds going quickly, in a matter of seconds, we still have been able to nab campsites on weekends in highly sought areas like Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. Thank you for providing a free platform amongst others who have charged $10-$15/month for this service. This is a true blessing to families who otherwise could not afford this service. You are amazing!! I love that you allow email and texts alerts. And that you don’t have us make an account to use the website. THANK YOU!
Your alerts are faster than Campnab every time.
Can attest to this. I’ve literally gotten campsites at Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Zion, Arches, Grand Canyon, Big Sur and Pinnacles because of this website. Thanks so much!
I can’t thank you and your brother enough for creating Campflare. We all deserve to experience the beautiful outdoors and this DEFINITELY helps level out the playing field. I’ve used it myself and have passed the info along to family and friends. Some of them have gotten to experience national parks for the first time because they were able to secure a site through this site and I am forever grateful for that. Thank you!!!
I am not exaggerating when I say Campflare has changed my life. THANK YOU GUYS!
I can't thank you enough for creating this website. I was able to get a camp spot at Upper pines for two nights and see the Fire Falls. This would not have been possible without your site as it also allowed me to enter the park. I now have a memory to last a lifetime! Thanks again!
Thank you! If Campflare hadn't come through for us we would have had to cancel our kids' spring break plans! We made plans months ago to travel to Joshua Tree, but due to a change in plans there was no way for us to meet the limit of only 1 vehicle per site on our prior reservation. We were checking ourselves for cancellations every hour until someone told us about Campflare. Within about a week we scored a cancellation, at the site right next to our other one. Thank you so much! We have camped in CA our entire lives and it has become more and more challenging to get reservations, thank you for leveling the playing field.
This service is honestly incredible. I was able to get the perfect campsite at Joshua Tree less than a day after signing up for notifications. Thank you so, so much. You've made us some very happy campers!!
Ok I stumbled across this post a few weeks ago. I'm not an advance planner - never can commit to dates early enough for it to matter. Put a few sites on watch last weekend - and GOT THE SITES yesterday and today at two different campgrounds! Campflare is my new favorite!! No more refreshing recreation.gov 5 times a day and hoping to get lucky!
Just wanted to say thank you. I didn't think we would get a campsite for Yosemite and my wife (Dr) has to take time off 6 weeks in advance. Just got a site today for next weekend!! Woohoo, thanks so much!
This is such an amazing service! We got campsites at upper pines in Yosemite for this weekend after they’ve been booked solid for months. Thank you!