Recreation.gov Availability Checker

A Python CLI for checking campsite availability on recreation.gov — National Parks, National Forests, BLM, and other federal campgrounds.

Overview

This tool queries the recreation.gov public API to find available campsites for specific dates. It supports:

• Multi-campground queries — Check several campgrounds at once
• Consecutive night searches — Find sites available for your entire stay
• Type filtering — Tent, RV, electric, cabin, group sites
• Amenity filtering — Pets allowed, shade, fire pits, vehicle length
• Smart status detection — Distinguishes sold out, not yet released, and first-come-first-served

Covered Campgrounds

Recreation.gov handles reservations for:

• National Park Service (NPS) campgrounds
• USDA Forest Service (USFS) campgrounds
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sites
• Army Corps of Engineers recreation areas
• Bureau of Reclamation facilities

For state parks and private campgrounds, use the companion reserveamerica skill.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• No API key needed (uses public endpoints)

Installation

cd /Users/doop/moltbot/skills/recgov-availability
# No dependencies to install — uses only stdlib

Quick Start

# Check availability for Tillicum Beach (ID: 233965)
python3 scripts/check.py --campground 233965 --start 2026-07-10 --nights 2
 
# Check multiple campgrounds
python3 scripts/check.py -c 233965 233900 --start 2026-07-10 --nights 2
 
# Filter to tent sites only
python3 scripts/check.py -c 233965 --start 2026-07-10 --nights 2 --type tent
 
# JSON output
python3 scripts/check.py -c 233965 --start 2026-07-10 --nights 2 --json

Finding Campground IDs

Campground IDs are in recreation.gov URLs:

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233965
                                              ^^^^^^
                                              This is the ID

Or use the ridb-search skill to find campgrounds near a location:

python3 ../ridb-search/scripts/search.py -l "Newport, Oregon" --camping-only

CLI Options

python3 scripts/check.py [options]

Required

Filtering

Amenity Filters

These require additional API calls per site (slower):

Output

Examples

Basic availability check

python3 scripts/check.py -c 233965 --start 2026-07-10 --nights 2

Output:

🏕️  TILLICUM (233965)
   ✅ 5 site(s) available out of 58
   🔗 https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233965

   📍 Site 04 (STANDARD NONELECTRIC)
      ✅ 2026-07-12 → 2026-07-14

   📍 Site 08 (STANDARD NONELECTRIC)
      ✅ 2026-07-12 → 2026-07-14
      ✅ 2026-07-13 → 2026-07-15

Check multiple campgrounds

python3 scripts/check.py \
  -c 233965 233900 234502 \
  --start 2026-07-10 \
  --nights 2 \
  --type tent

Pet-friendly RV sites with electric

python3 scripts/check.py \
  -c 232448 \
  --start 2026-08-01 \
  --nights 3 \
  --type rv \
  --electric \
  --pets \
  --vehicle-length 30

JSON output for scripts

python3 scripts/check.py -c 233965 --start 2026-07-10 --nights 2 --json

[
  {
    "campground_id": "233965",
    "campground_name": "TILLICUM",
    "url": "https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233965",
    "total_count": 58,
    "available_count": 5,
    "status": {
      "available": 0,
      "reserved": 37,
      "nyr": 0,
      "fcfs": 0,
      "not_yet_bookable": 21,
      "other": 0
    },
    "sites": [
      {
        "id": "80504",
        "name": "04",
        "type": "STANDARD NONELECTRIC",
        "loop": "Loop 1",
        "available_ranges": [
          ["2026-07-12", "2026-07-14"]
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
]

Understanding Availability Status

The tool distinguishes several booking scenarios:

Booking Windows

Recreation.gov uses a rolling 6-month booking window for most campgrounds:

• You can book up to 6 months in advance
• Dates beyond the window show as "NYR" or "Not Yet Bookable"
• Some popular campgrounds release reservations at specific times

Example output:

🏕️  Popular Campground (123456)
   ⏳ NOT YET BOOKABLE — Check back when 6-month window opens

Campsite Types

Common campsite_type values:

Use --type to filter:

• tent → matches TENT
• rv → matches RV, TRAILER
• standard → matches STANDARD
• electric → matches ELECTRIC
• nonelectric → matches NONELECTRIC

Combine with flags: --type rv --electric

Architecture

scripts/
└── check.py       # Single-file CLI (stdlib only)

references/
└── api-docs.md    # Recreation.gov API documentation

API Endpoints Used

How It Works

1. Fetch monthly availability — Gets the availability calendar for each month in the search range
2. Check consecutive nights — Finds sites where ALL requested nights are "Available"
3. Apply filters — Type filtering is fast (from calendar data); amenity filtering requires additional API calls
4. Analyze status — Determines why sites aren't available (sold out vs not yet released vs FCFS)

Technical Notes

No Dependencies

Uses only Python standard library (urllib, json, argparse). No pip install needed.

Rate Limiting

Recreation.gov doesn't strictly rate limit, but:

• Be reasonable (~1-2 requests/second)
• Amenity filters (--pets, --shade) require one extra API call per matching site
• Uses a browser-like User-Agent

Caveats

1. Availability changes constantly — Popular sites book up fast. Check again before booking.

2. Some campgrounds are seasonal — They may show 0 sites outside their operating dates.

3. Group sites excluded by default — Use --include-group to see them.

Workflow: Finding and Booking

# 1. Find campgrounds near your destination
python3 ../ridb-search/scripts/search.py -l "Yosemite Valley" --camping-only
 
# 2. Check availability for your dates
python3 scripts/check.py \
  -c 232447 232448 232449 \
  --start 2026-07-15 \
  --nights 2 \
  --type tent
 
# 3. Open the booking URL in your browser
open "https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232448"

Combining with Reserve America

For comprehensive availability, check both recreation.gov and Reserve America:

# Recreation.gov (federal)
recgov=$(python3 scripts/check.py -c 233965 233900 --start 2026-07-10 -n 2 --json)
 
# Reserve America (state parks)
ra=$(node ../reserveamerica/dist/cli.js availability -l "Newport, OR" -d 2026-07-10 -n 2 --json)
 
# Both results in one view
echo "=== Recreation.gov ===" && echo "$recgov" | python3 -m json.tool
echo "=== Reserve America ===" && echo "$ra" | python3 -m json.tool

License

MIT