It’s happening in West Virginia too - campground reservations are up 2-3% this year over last year (which was also up 2-3%). State Park officials chalk it up to the economy as more families are choosing less expensive summer vacation alternatives like camping. Of course a 2-3% increase isn’t all that much given the poor state of the economy - instead we suspect population growth and the ease of telephone reservations may also be contributing to the increase. If West Viginia added internet reservations the increase would probably be more like 5%.

Either way, the good news is that the state of West Virginia is responding to the growth in camping interest by adding more capacity including a new 75 site campground near Beckley. The new campground will be in addition to the 26 state campgrounds in the state.

If you haven’t already made your reservations yet, don’t worry - only half of the campsites in each campground may be reserved in advance meaning there are still plenty of good old fashioned “first come, first served” sites available. Planning ahead is overrated anyway