The hardest part of a fly-in RV trip isn't the driving. It's the morning six months before, when the one campground your route depends on opens at 10 am Eastern. That's 4 pm in Berlin, often during work. This tool puts every opening, lottery and release for your route and dates on one list, in your time zone, with a calendar file so your phone reminds you.
Covers the five classic park loops. The six offbeat routes mostly use state parks and private campgrounds; each one lists how and when to book in its “Where you sleep” section (all day-by-day trips).
Your timeline
Pick your pickup date to see your timeline.
The calendar file works with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook. Timed releases get a reminder 30 minutes before. Times are saved in UTC, so your calendar shows them in your own time zone. The page address updates as you go, so you can bookmark it or send it to whoever you travel with. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Rules change every season. These are the 2026 rules as published, checked 2026-10-28. 2027 timed entry at Rocky Mountain and any 2027 decision at Arches are not announced yet. Before each booking day, open the campground's "Seasons & Booking" tab on Recreation.gov [B1]. Not legal or travel advice; dates are a planning aid [A].
How the timeline works
- Campgrounds: most park campgrounds open on a rolling 6-month window: the same date six months before your first night, usually at 10 am Eastern (8 am Mountain) [B1]. Zion South and Bryce Sunset open 14 days ahead [B4][B5]. Dead Horse Ranch State Park (Arizona) takes bookings up to 365 days ahead [B14].
- Your time zone: 10 am Eastern is usually 16:00 in Berlin and 15:00 in London. For a few weeks in March and around late October / early November, when US and European clocks change on different dates, it's an hour earlier. The tool does this for you [A].
- Angels Landing: the seasonal lottery window depends on your hike month (for example January 1–20 for hikes March–May), and opens at 8 am Mountain. The day-before lottery runs 12:01 am – 3 pm Mountain [B2]. The tool assumes you hike on day 4, as in our plan.
- Rocky Mountain timed entry: our plan sleeps in the park, and those campground bookings include timed entry [B13]. The tool still shows the 2026 release pattern in case you sleep outside [B17].
- Order: the hard campground first, then the RV for exactly those dates, then flights, then the easy private RV park nights. That's the order from our Recreation.gov guide [A]. If your flights allow, add a buffer day: each day-by-day plan shows where (for example the Las Vegas loop).
- Window already open? If a date has passed, the step is marked "Open now: check availability": sites may still be free, so look today and set an alert. Lottery windows that have closed are marked "Closed for your dates". Our cancellation-watch plan explains what to try next.
Next step
Recreation.gov, step by stepAccount, cart, booking day, lotteries, cancellations and plan B
Sources and how we checked
Every rule in the timeline comes from these pages. We opened them on the dates shown. [A] marks our own advice, estimates and the time-zone conversions.
- [B1] Recreation.gov — Tips for Making Campsite Reservations at Popular Locations (most sites 6 months ahead; most release 7 am PT / 8 am MT / 10 am ET; digital wallet; 15-minute cart hold; one tab) and FAQ (each facility sets its window; Seasons & Booking tab) — www.recreation.gov/articles/…/281 (checked 2026-10-27; re-used 2026-10-28)
- [B2] NPS Zion — Angels Landing Permits & Hiking (seasonal lottery windows, 8 am – 11:59 pm MT, results on the 25th; day-before lottery 12:01 am – 3 pm MT, results after 4 pm; $6 application, $3 per person; page last updated October 8, 2026) — www.nps.gov/zion/…/angels-landing-hiking-permits.htm (checked 2026-10-28)
- [B3] NPS Zion — Camping, and Recreation.gov — Watchman Campground (6-month window; "full almost every night" mid-March to late November; RVs in electric loops A/B) — www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232445 (checked 2026-10-28)
- [B4] Recreation.gov — South Campground, Zion (14 days ahead; seasonal) — www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/272266 (checked 2026-10-28)
- [B5] NPS Bryce Canyon — Campgrounds (North Campground 6 months, all year; Sunset Campground 14 days, closed in winter) — www.nps.gov/brca/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm (checked 2026-10-27)
- [B6] Recreation.gov — Mather Campground (6 months; 30 ft) and NPS Grand Canyon Operations Update (Stage 4 water restrictions: dry camping only; last updated October 19, 2026) — www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232490 (checked 2026-10-28)
- [B7] Recreation.gov — Rules and Reservation Policies ($10 cancellation fee; late cancellation costs the first night) — www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies (checked 2026-10-27)
- [B8] NPS Arches — Camping, and Recreation.gov — Devils Garden Campground (nights March 1 – October 31 by reservation, 6 months ahead at 10 am ET, no later than 4 days ahead; November–February first-come) — www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/camping.htm (checked 2026-10-27)
- [B9] Recreation.gov — The Needles Campground, Canyonlands (Loop B 6 months, mid-March to mid-November; Loop A first-come; 28 ft) — www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/permitsandreservations.htm (checked 2026-10-27)
- [B10] NPS Capitol Reef — Fruita Campground (reservation only, 6 months ahead, all year) — www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/fruitacampground.htm (checked 2026-10-27)
- [B11] NPS Grand Teton — Camping (reservation only on Recreation.gov, up to 6 months ahead; length limits) — www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/camping.htm (checked 2026-10-27)
- [B12] NPS Yellowstone — Camping (rolling six-month window; 2026 dates) and Yellowstone National Park Lodges — Camping (2027 bookings for Bridge Bay, Canyon, Grant, Madison and Fishing Bridge through Recreation.gov) — www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm (checked 2026-10-27)
- [B13] NPS Rocky Mountain — Camping (6 months on Recreation.gov) and the timed-entry page (campground bookings at Aspenglen, Glacier Basin, Moraine Park and Timber Creek include timed entry from 1 pm on arrival day; Timber Creek without Bear Lake Road) — www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/camping.htm (checked 2026-10-28)
- [B14] Arizona State Parks — Reservation Policies (campgrounds: up to 365 days ahead, at least one day ahead; cancel more than 60 days ahead for a refund of user fees) and Camping at Dead Horse Ranch — azstateparks.com/reservation-policies (checked 2026-10-28)
- [B15] NPS Arches — Fiery Furnace Permits (2 to 7 days ahead; $10 per person) — www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/fiery-furnace-permit.htm (checked 2026-10-27)
- [B16] NPS — Arches lifts entry reservation requirement for 2026 (news release February 18, 2026); no 2027 decision found — www.nps.gov/arch/learn/news/news02182026.htm (checked 2026-10-28)
- [B17] NPS Rocky Mountain — Timed Entry Permit System (May 22 – October 12/18, 2026; monthly releases at 8 am MDT on the 1st; 40% at 7 pm the night before; $2, non-refundable; confirmation with QR code; page last updated May 14, 2026) — www.nps.gov/romo/…/timed-entry-permit-system.htm (checked 2026-10-28)
- [B18] Cruise America — RV Rental FAQs (pickup normally 1–4 pm, returns 9–11 am, $25 an hour late fee; call the rental center the day before departure; closed Sundays and holidays; down payment refunded if cancelled 7+ days before pickup, not on one-ways) — www.cruiseamerica.com/…/rv-rental-faqs (checked 2026-10-28)
- [B19] U.S. Customs and Border Protection — ESTA (Visa Waiver Program; e-passport required; apply as soon as you start planning or before buying tickets; admission decided on arrival) — www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/esta (checked 2026-10-28)
- [B20] USAGov — Driving in the U.S. if you are not a citizen (IDP rules depend on the state; get it before the trip) — www.usa.gov/non-citizen-driving (checked 2026-10-27)
- [B21] NPS — Entrance passes ($250 Non-Resident Annual Pass; $100 nonresident fee per person 16+ at 11 parks) — www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm (checked 2026-10-27)
- [B22] NPS Yosemite — Camping reservations (released at 7 am Pacific; five months ahead on the 15th for Upper, Lower and North Pines, Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow; Tuolumne Meadows half two months ahead on the 15th, half 14 days; Crane Flat 14 days; release table, page updated September 11, 2026), Campgrounds (no hookups, generator hours, length limits), Tioga Road (usually open late May or June to November; 2026: May 15) and Entrance reservations (none in 2026) — www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/camping.htm, …/campgrounds.htm, …/tioga.htm, …/reservations.htm (checked 2026-10-29)
- [B23] NPS Joshua Tree — Campgrounds (reservable up to 6 months ahead; busy season October to May; water and dump station at Black Rock and Cottonwood) — www.nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm (checked 2026-10-29)
- [B24] NPS Death Valley — Camping (Furnace Creek reservable for October 15 – April 15, up to 6 months ahead; $30, full hookups $44; other campgrounds first-come) — www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/camping-in-death-valley.htm (checked 2026-10-29)
- [B25] Rental rules in California: El Monte RV FAQs (Death Valley not permitted June 1 – September 30; $1,500 deposit) and Los Angeles depot hours; Road Bear RV Los Angeles (same Death Valley rule; closed Sundays); Cruise America RV rental FAQs (Death Valley in July and August “with EXTREME CARE”) — www.elmonterv.com/faqs, elmonterv.com/…/los-angeles-california, roadbearrv.com/…/los-angeles-california, cruiseamerica.com/…/rv-rental-faqs (checked 2026-10-29)
Night-by-night campgrounds follow our day-by-day plans (California routes: the plan on each cost page). Not from a source [A]: the account-setup reminder one week before, booking the RV the day after your key campground, the private-park nights last, and the offline-copies reminder.
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