Next day camping reservations at five Wisconsin State Parks this summer

Peninsula State Park (Wisconsin DNR photo)

In a pilot program beginning today (May 12), the Wisconsin State Park System is allowing customers to make next day campsite reservation at the following five state parks:

• Big Bay State Park
• Devil's Lake State Park
• Kohler-Andrae State Park
• Peninsula State Park
• Perrot State Park

Currently, reservations may be made for camping up to 11 months in advance or as late as two days before the date of occupancy for reservable campsites at state park properties.

Under this pilot program, customers will be able to reserve an available reservable campsite for the next day, according to Dave Benish, state parks camping program manager for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

"So on a Thursday, if available, a camper would be able to reserve a site for Friday night and up to 13 additional nights if available. If the pilot project is successful and customers find it helpful, the State Park program plans to add additional campgrounds to this project this summer," Benish said.

Benish says many park campsites are already filling up for the summer camping season, especially on weekends. Through March 2014, advanced camping reservation were up almost 2 percent over the same time last year.

"The next day reservation program will be most beneficial for people to take advantage of camping reservations that are cancelled at the last minute, and to camp for shorter periods that may be available in between reservations for a campsite.

There are two ways to make campsite reservations at Wisconsin State Parks. You may call 888-947-2757 or on the web at wisconsinstateparks.reserveamerica.com.

For more information on Wisconsin State Parks, search the DNR website dnr.wi.gov for keyword "parks." To find a park location, search for "find a park."