The state’s new campground registration system gets its first full-year test this year as the new camping season opens. The Department of Natural Resources Sherry Arntzen says it’s an effort to give people a chance to camp without having to stake out a spot all week. She says 50-percent of the parks in the state system are available for campground reservations.
Arntzen says the new reservation system has already been getting heavy use. Arntzen says they’ve had people from out-of-state and Canada already making reservations, and she says many of the campsites already have their areas with electric hook-ups reserved.
Arntzen says the reservations are filling up for the first big holidays of the summer. She says you can make a reservation up to three months away from the time you want to camp, and all the way up to two days before the date.To find a campsite near you and to make a reservation, surf to the D-N-R’s website at: www.iowadnr.com, then click on state parks. Arntzen says the campgrounds that aren’t part of the reservation system will remain on a first-come, first served basis.