U.S. Forests, Parks Change Reservations

Both the National Forest Service and the National Park Service are making changes in their reservation systems.

Last week, the National Forest Service opened a new nationwide reservations line, called the National Recreation Reservation Service, shared with the Army Corps of Engineers. Eventually, it will offer about 40,000 campsites, according to Steven McQuinn, marketing manager for Park.Net in Ballston Spa, N.Y., which runs the service. Not all are available as yet, he said.

The reservations line, which uses a new toll-free prefix, is (877) 444-6777; also, for the hearing-impaired, (877) 833-6777. On Nov. 16, Park.Net plans to add an online reservation service--a first for the forest service--on its Internet site, https://www.reserveusa.com. Individuals and families can reserve sites 240 days in advance; groups can reserve 360 days in advance.

Meanwhile, the National Park Service will begin staggering dates for campsite and tour reservations at 25 of its parks and allow reservations to be made up to five months, rather than three months, in advance, starting with calls made Jan. 1. The phone numbers haven’t changed. On the 15th of each month, you can call (800) 436-7275 to reserve Yosemite campsites; on the 5th, call (800) 365-2267 for Death Valley, the Grand Canyon and 19 other parks; and on the 25th, call (800) 967-2283 for tours of Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, Mammoth Cave in New York and Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington, D.C..