Making reservations to camp at two of Clallam County’s most popular recreation areas just became a lot more like staying at a preferred hotel.
The Clallam County Parks Department recently announced that beginning Jan. 1, 2015, all camping reservations for Salt Creek and Dungeness recreation areas must be made online with a credit or debit card.
The busy Clallam County recreation areas originally began accepting reservations for individual camp sites in 2008.
According to Clallam County Parks and Fair Supervisor Bruce Giddens, “From that time through the present it has been a mail-in [reservation] system.”
That process, which will be used through the end of the year, required prospective campers to send reservation slips by mail along with a check or money order.
Giddens says some campers even tucked cash into their envelopes.
The new system should help limit the money-stuffed envelopes floating around government offices.
“With this new online reservation system, people will be required to use their credit/debit card,” Giddens said.
“That’s kind of where this started, is people were asking to streamline the process. They wanted to be able to use their credit card and they wanted to be able to get a confirmation on their reservation quicker.”
Further facilitating the parks department’s need to update the reservation process is the fact the current system will no longer be supported by the contracted provider.
For those campers that lack banks cards, Internet access or simply prefer to pitch a tent on a whim, half of the recreation areas’ individual camps sites will continue to be set aside on a first-come/first-serve basis.
Campers that find an open site will have to pay with cash up front.
According to Giddens, up to 80 percent of the visitors to Salt Creek and Dungeness recreation areas come from outside of Clallam County, despite the fact that county residents receive a small discount on their camping fee.
These reservation changes come with a few rising costs.
A standard campsite at either recreation area will cost $20 for Clallam County residents and $23 for visitors from outside the county.
Utility campsites, which are currently only available at Salt Creek, will cost $25 for Clallam County residents and $28 for non-residents.
Those fees are all up one dollar from this year.
Six people are allowed per camp site.
Additionally, campers who make reservations online will be required to pay a $10 reservation fee.
Campers who elect to forego the reservation process and wind up finding the campsites full will be happy to know that there are numerous other camping areas in the near vicinity.
According to Giddens, the parks department employs a year-round staff at both parks that can help individuals locate a nearby substitute campsite.
Giddens noted several private campgrounds out by Salt Creek, including the Elwha Dam RV Park.
He also suggested adventurous types try out one of the numerous National Park campsites in the area or the Department of Natural Resources site on the Lyre River, just a little west of Joyce on Highway 112.
Near Dungeness Recreation Area, Giddens noted Sequim Bay State Park and an assortment of private parks for alternate camping plans.
Giddens says that Salt Creek and Dungeness recreation areas are the only campsites in the county currently slated for the online reservation program.
In order to make your own reservations, visit either the Salt Creek (www.tinyurl.com/pdnSaltCreek) or Dungeness (www.tinyurl.com/pdnDungenessCamp) recreation area websites.
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Jordan Nailon is a veteran outdoors writer in western Washington. He is an assistant baseball coach at Forks High School who in his spare time is a hog and vegetable farmer and beekeeper.
