CALIFORNIA ONLY · 100 CAMPGROUNDS

Get the campsite cancellations everyone else misses.

California's best campsites are fully booked six months out. But people cancel constantly, and those spots quietly reopen. You just never catch them in time. Campkey watches 100 California campgrounds, state, federal and county, and texts you when we see a site open. Plus a quality rating so you skip the duds, plus wildfire alerts, surf, and tides.

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We only watch California parks, nothing out of state. See the full list before you sign up.

Saturday 4:47 PM
🏕️ CAMPSITE OPEN — San Onofre Bluffs #14 9.5/10 · ocean bluff view Fri 6/5 → Sun 6/7 🌊 Surf 4ft @ 16s · 🌅 Low tide 1:45pm Book: reservecalifornia.com/park/712/674

Sound familiar?

You set a midnight reminder for the booking window. You refresh ReserveCalifornia for an hour. By 12:01 AM, every site you wanted is gone.

Or worse — you check casually a week before your trip and every site that weekend is taken.

Cancellations happen constantly. You just never see them in time.

How Campkey works

Three steps. No app to download.

1

Tell us where and when.

Pick from the 100 California campgrounds we monitor (state, federal and county, coast to Sierra to desert) and set your trip date window. Cancellations only fire to you when they match BOTH the parks you care about AND dates you can actually camp. No spam.

2

We watch for cancellations around the clock.

Our scanner checks ReserveCalifornia + Recreation.gov around the clock for openings at the parks you watch. Check timing varies by park and provider.

3

You get a text with everything you need.

Site name, dates, quality rating, and a direct link to book it yourself on the official site. Plus: wildfire alerts when a fire threatens parks you watch, surf forecast for coastal alerts, tide predictions for your camping dates.

Campkey membership

$9/mo, or $90/yr (2 months free). Your price never goes up as long as you stay subscribed.

What you get

  • SMS alerts for cancellations across 100 California campgrounds we monitor (state, federal + county)
  • We watch for openings at your selected parks, day and night
  • Quality ratings on every site (so you don't get pinged for the parking-lot site)
  • A direct link to book it yourself on ReserveCalifornia or Recreation.gov
  • California-specific extras: wildfire alerts when a fire threatens parks you watch, tide predictions for your camping dates, surf forecasts for coastal sites
  • Direct line to the founder — email me directly; every message lands in my personal inbox
  • Your price is locked for as long as you stay subscribed

This is the tool I wanted to exist.

I built this scanner originally just for myself. I'm a SoCal surfer and I camp at San Onofre and Leo Carrillo more than anywhere else — both fully booked months in advance.

A few weeks ago, the scanner texted me about a San Onofre Bluffs site opening up for the first weekend of June. I tapped the link and locked it in within 30 seconds. That moment — getting a text and watching a site I'd given up on land in my calendar — is exactly why I built this.

I'm now sharing the same tool with other California campers.

— Ian, founder

Questions

What if I just want a free option?

Free options exist, and for one campground they can be enough. ReserveCalifornia has its own Notify Me button that emails you when a matching site opens, and free apps like Campflare send alerts too. What Campkey adds: texts for the parks and nights you choose, watched together across ReserveCalifornia and Recreation.gov, with every site rated so you know if it's worth jumping for. If a free tool covers your trip, use it. If you want rated California alerts by text, from a person you can email, that's what Campkey is built for.

Will this guarantee I get a campsite?

No tool can. A cancelled site goes to whoever books it first, so hearing quickly helps. Campkey checks the parks you watch every few minutes, day and night, and texts you when it sees a matching opening. Speed isn't the whole story on ReserveCalifornia, though. California State Parks says most cancelled sites become available at 8 a.m. the day after the cancellation, so many openings appear at once while many campers are looking. Be logged in to ReserveCalifornia with your payment saved before 8 a.m., and book straight from the link in your text.

What if I want a refund?

New customers get a 14-day free trial. Cancel before the trial ends to avoid the subscription charge. For new signups, request a refund of your latest subscription payment within 30 days of the charge if no qualifying campsite-opening alert was delivered during that billing period. We honor existing customers' earlier refund promises. See the Terms for details.

What parks do you cover right now?

100 California campgrounds across three reservation systems: state parks like Crystal Cove, Leo Carrillo, San Onofre, and Big Sur, federal sites like Yosemite, Sequoia, Joshua Tree, Lassen, and Tahoe, plus Orange County's O'Neill and Caspers. Coast, Sierra, redwoods, and desert. Don't see your park? Email me and I'll look at adding it.

What about Yosemite, Sequoia, or other national park campgrounds?

Good news — we already cover them. Campkey watches both California state parks (through ReserveCalifornia) and the major federal campgrounds (through Recreation.gov): Yosemite (Upper Pines, Tuolumne Meadows), Sequoia (Lodgepole, Dorst Creek), Joshua Tree (Jumbo Rocks, Indian Cove), Lassen Volcanic, the Tahoe National Forest sites, the Big Sur federal campgrounds (Kirk Creek, Plaskett Creek), and Channel Islands (Scorpion and Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island). Don't see a specific campground? Email me and I'll look at adding it.

How is this different from free tools like Campflare?

Campflare is free, covers California state parks and Recreation.gov, and sends text and email alerts. It says it checks about every 45 seconds, which is more often than we do. If it covers your trip, try it. Campkey is a paid service built only for California. A text about one park rates each open site out of 10, often with a short reason like "ocean bluff," so you know which ones are worth jumping for. Our own send log shows how often each park reopens. Questions? Email [email protected]. It goes straight to Ian. And if no matching alert reaches you in a billing period, new members can ask for a refund of that payment within 30 days (see the refund answer above).

What if I miss the alert because I'm asleep?

An opening may be booked before you see the alert or reach the booking page. Choose more parks or a wider date range if your trip is flexible. Campkey does not reserve or hold a site, and another opening is not guaranteed.

Do you have an app?

Not yet. Campkey sends alerts by text, so you do not need to install an app. Delivery timing depends on your mobile carrier and connection. Use your web dashboard to pick parks, set dates, and manage your subscription. A native app is on the roadmap.

Will my phone number be sold or used for marketing?

No. Your phone number is used only to send you cancellation alerts you've explicitly subscribed to. Reply STOP to any message to unsubscribe instantly. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Who's behind this?

Ian Richardson, solo founder, building this in California. You can email me directly: [email protected]. I read every message.

Catch your next California campsite.

Whatever price you join at is locked for as long as you stay subscribed.

  1. Welcome text in ~2 min with your private dashboard link
  2. Pick your parks + dates from the dashboard (under 2 minutes)
  3. Add a payment method to start your 14-day free trial, no charge until day 15
  4. We text you when we detect a matching opening

Before you enter your number: Campkey covers California parks only. Check that yours is on the list.