SPOKANE, Wash. — Washington State Parks and Recreation officials said there are nearly 6,000 campsites in its total reservation system. 33 of those sites are at the Bowl and Pitcher campground at Riverside State Park.
Campground officials said holiday weekends bring in the most campers and Memorial Day is no different.
"We are completely full," Teri Olson, Bowl and Pitcher camp host said.
Some campers travel light, with a tent and their essentials. Others opt to load the family up in an RV or trailer and hit the road.
Olson said during her time as a camp host, she's met campers from all over the world.
"We just had someone come in from Brazil," Olson said. "We’ve met people from Germany. I met somebody from Ireland. People from all over, it’s not just Washington state. Canada, New Jersey and everywhere. It’s great to see everyone utilizing our parks like this."
Eli Donovan said he and his family traveled to Riverside State Park from Lacey on the westside. The drive typically takes five hours, but with added Memorial Day traffic, Donovan said it took nine hours to drive across the state.
"Trucks, trailers, campers, pretty much everything," Donovan said. "It was backed up, bumper to bumper, it was not fun.”
Camper Francesca Maier drove her new camper in from the Tri-Cities. She said she's been looking forward to staying at Riverside State Park since she booked her camp site nine months ago.
"This is my first time here," Maier said. "When booking open, I jumped on it because I wanted to make sure I had a good spot. Luckily, the Washington State Park website has a lot of detailed pictures so you know exactly what you're getting."
According to Washington State Parks, Reservations can be made between nine months in advance and up to 8 p.m. on the day before the preferred arrival date.
Olson said best practice for campers booking for holidays and the upcoming summer is booking early.
"It'll be like this all summer, full," Olson said.