The Hardest and Easiest States to Book a Campsite In

Montana is the hardest state in the country to book a campsite in, averaging 7.6 out of 10 on Campsite Odds' booking-difficulty scale — ahead of Alaska (7.17) and Idaho (7.08). At the other end, Oklahoma is the easiest state to book, averaging just 2.95 out of 10.

Key takeaways

• Montana, Alaska, and Idaho are the three hardest states to book a campsite in, all averaging 7.0+ out of 10.
• Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Kansas are the easiest, all under 3.8.
• The gap between the hardest and easiest ranked state (Montana 7.6 vs. Oklahoma 2.95) is more than double.
• This ranking covers 39 states with at least 5 scored campgrounds each; 11 states and territories had too few campgrounds to rank reliably and were excluded.

Which state is hardest to book a campsite in?

Montana tops the list, followed by a run of mountain-and-forest states where demand consistently outpaces the number of available sites:

1. Montana — 7.60/10 (178 campgrounds)
2. Alaska — 7.17/10 (88 campgrounds)
3. Idaho — 7.08/10 (138 campgrounds)
4. Colorado — 6.74/10 (184 campgrounds)
5. Washington — 6.29/10 (141 campgrounds)
6. Oregon — 6.23/10 (232 campgrounds)
7. Arizona — 6.21/10 (83 campgrounds)
8. New Mexico — 6.21/10 (24 campgrounds)
9. California — 5.98/10 (370 campgrounds)
10. Ohio — 5.96/10 (12 campgrounds)

Which state is easiest to book a campsite in?

Oklahoma is the easiest state to book in the country, and the bottom of the list is dominated by the Midwest and South:

1. Oklahoma — 2.95/10 (70 campgrounds)
2. Mississippi — 2.99/10 (26 campgrounds)
3. Kansas — 3.71/10 (41 campgrounds)
4. Arkansas — 3.74/10 (93 campgrounds)
5. Texas — 4.07/10 (84 campgrounds)
6. Alabama — 4.08/10 (17 campgrounds)
7. Nevada — 4.10/10 (23 campgrounds)
8. Maine — 4.11/10 (7 campgrounds)
9. Iowa — 4.50/10 (29 campgrounds)
10. Vermont — 4.55/10 (7 campgrounds)

The full ranking: all 39 states

1. MT — 7.60/10 avg. difficulty (178 campgrounds)
2. AK — 7.17/10 avg. difficulty (88 campgrounds)
3. ID — 7.08/10 avg. difficulty (138 campgrounds)
4. CO — 6.74/10 avg. difficulty (184 campgrounds)
5. WA — 6.29/10 avg. difficulty (141 campgrounds)
6. OR — 6.23/10 avg. difficulty (232 campgrounds)
7. AZ — 6.21/10 avg. difficulty (83 campgrounds)
8. NM — 6.21/10 avg. difficulty (24 campgrounds)
9. CA — 5.98/10 avg. difficulty (370 campgrounds)
10. OH — 5.96/10 avg. difficulty (12 campgrounds)
11. TN — 5.93/10 avg. difficulty (51 campgrounds)
12. WY — 5.84/10 avg. difficulty (84 campgrounds)
13. NC — 5.73/10 avg. difficulty (59 campgrounds)
14. UT — 5.64/10 avg. difficulty (201 campgrounds)
15. MI — 5.57/10 avg. difficulty (66 campgrounds)
16. NH — 5.51/10 avg. difficulty (20 campgrounds)
17. KY — 5.32/10 avg. difficulty (41 campgrounds)
18. WV — 5.22/10 avg. difficulty (25 campgrounds)
19. IL — 5.20/10 avg. difficulty (21 campgrounds)
20. MN — 5.18/10 avg. difficulty (39 campgrounds)
21. GA — 5.16/10 avg. difficulty (58 campgrounds)
22. PA — 4.98/10 avg. difficulty (31 campgrounds)
23. MO — 4.96/10 avg. difficulty (58 campgrounds)
24. VA — 4.95/10 avg. difficulty (33 campgrounds)
25. FL — 4.88/10 avg. difficulty (17 campgrounds)
26. SD — 4.76/10 avg. difficulty (7 campgrounds)
27. SC — 4.76/10 avg. difficulty (11 campgrounds)
28. MD — 4.73/10 avg. difficulty (15 campgrounds)
29. WI — 4.56/10 avg. difficulty (29 campgrounds)
30. ND — 4.55/10 avg. difficulty (13 campgrounds)
31. VT — 4.55/10 avg. difficulty (7 campgrounds)
32. IA — 4.50/10 avg. difficulty (29 campgrounds)
33. ME — 4.11/10 avg. difficulty (7 campgrounds)
34. NV — 4.10/10 avg. difficulty (23 campgrounds)
35. AL — 4.08/10 avg. difficulty (17 campgrounds)
36. TX — 4.07/10 avg. difficulty (84 campgrounds)
37. AR — 3.74/10 avg. difficulty (93 campgrounds)
38. KS — 3.71/10 avg. difficulty (41 campgrounds)
39. MS — 2.99/10 avg. difficulty (26 campgrounds)
40. OK — 2.95/10 avg. difficulty (70 campgrounds)

Why do some states book up so much harder than others?

Nationally, U.S. Forest Service campgrounds average the hardest booking difficulty of any major land-management agency (6.4/10), while U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Land Management campgrounds average easiest (4.3–4.7/10). Forest-heavy mountain states like Montana, Idaho, and Colorado tend to score hard partly for that reason — they're full of small, scenic Forest Service campgrounds, the same category our size analysis shows books up disproportionately fast. States near the easy end, by contrast, have more of their reservable capacity in larger reservoir and lake campgrounds with more total sites to go around.

How to use this ranking when you're planning a trip

• Planning a trip to a hard-ranked state like Montana, Alaska, or Idaho? Book the moment the reservation window opens, and check shoulder-season timing before you commit to peak dates.
• If your first-choice campground in a hard state is full, compare nearby alternatives rather than scrapping the trip.
• In an easier-ranked state, you still want to avoid assuming every campground is a lock — check the specific campground's odds score before you skip backup plans entirely.

Methodology: state averages are the mean Campsite Odds booking-difficulty score (1–10 scale, across all scored months) for every reservable campground in that state, based on Recreation.gov reservation history from fiscal years 2023–2025, current as of August 2026.