Apps like The Dyrt are great for finding campgrounds and reading reviews. CampSage is built for the harder problem: getting into one that’s already booked by catching cancellations the second they happen — and it’s free to do it.
CampSage exists to do one thing well: catch a site the moment someone else gives it up. The whole map is openings — not a directory you have to check by hand.
Set an email alert on any campground for free and we'll tell you when a spot opens. Most apps put availability alerts behind a paywall — ours are free, forever.
Pro re-checks contested parks every 15 minutes and texts you the instant a site frees up — the difference between booking it and watching it vanish.
See how many sites are open on the same dates and how many are right next to each other — so a group can actually camp together. Nobody else surfaces this.
Filter by nights, weekends, dates, group size, feature (lakeside / river / national forest) and 📶 cell coverage — then share that exact view with a link.
Know before you go whether you'll have a signal, from real camper reports, right on the park page.
One map across Recreation.gov and ReserveCalifornia (including the hard-to-book coastal state beaches) — most tools cover only one.
Works in any browser on any phone — nothing to install, and no sign-up needed to see the live openings map.
| CampSage | The Dyrt | Rec.gov / ReserveCA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Map built around live openings & cancellations | ✓ Free | ~ Discovery-first | ✗ |
| Availability / cancellation alerts | ✓ Free (email) | Paid (Pro ~$36/yr) | ✗ |
| Instant SMS the second a site opens | ✓ Pro $5/mo | ✗ | ✗ |
| “Just opened” detection with timestamps | ✓ | ~ | ✗ |
| Group availability (sites open together + adjacent) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Cell-coverage info per site | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reviews & photos | ~ Some | ✓ Best-in-class | ~ |
| Shareable filtered map link | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Works with no app & no account | ✓ | App + account | ✓ |
| Price to catch a cancellation | Free · Pro $5/mo or $50/yr | ~$36/yr Pro | Free (no alerts) |
✓ yes · ~ partial · ✗ no. Comparison reflects each service’s publicly listed features and pricing as of 2026 and may be out of date — spot something wrong? Tell us. The Dyrt is a trademark of its owner; we’re not affiliated.