Sold out? What to do next

Popular dates at the big Great Lakes campgrounds can go within minutes of opening. Missing the release isn't the end: people cancel, and those sites go back on the booking system one at a time.

1. Set a cancellation alert

Start with Campflare, which is free and sends email or text alerts when a site opens up. If you want more frequent scans and text alerts, Campnab is a paid option.

For Boundary Waters permits, Campflare's permit alerts are free too.

2. Try walk-in or another entry point

Boundary Waters quotas are per entry point, per day. Any entry point with quota left can be picked up as a walk-in permit the day before or the day of entry.

3. Check the minimum-stay rules

Ohio accepts one-night campsite stays within 7 days of arrival when sites are free. Wisconsin's 2-night summer minimum applies only to bookings made before May 15. A single night can be easier to find.

4. Stay nearby instead

Each campground page has a lodging map and, where we've checked them, private campgrounds nearby.

• Boundary Waters (BWCA) quota permits: Superior National Forest, Ely and Grand Marais, MN
• Ludington State Park: Ludington, MI (Lake Michigan)
• D.H. Day Campground (Sleeping Bear Dunes): Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Glen Arbor, MI
• Peninsula State Park: Fish Creek, WI (Door County)
• Split Rock Lighthouse State Park: North Shore of Lake Superior, Two Harbors, MN
• Hocking Hills State Park Campground: Logan, OH (next to Old Man's Cave)
• Indiana Dunes State Park: Chesterton, IN (Lake Michigan)

What never works

Booking bots and resellers. State reservation systems ban automated booking, and a resold permit can be cancelled. This site never books for you and never checks booking sites automatically.