State parks officials say they’re unveiling a lottery-style drawing system for select campsites in three of California’s most sought-after state park campgrounds: Malibu Creek, Morro Bay and McArthur-Burney Falls.
The new system began this month at Malibu Creek, allowing would-be campers to enter a lottery for possible openings eight months away — in this case, from March 1 to April 1, 2026.
Drawings are held seven months ahead of the stay, giving the winners 30 days to claim and pay for reservations. There’s a limit of one entry per visitor per drawing. ADA sites are included. Malibu Creek has about 63 campsites.
The programs will begin later this summer at Morro Bay in San Luis Obispo County (over 140 campsites) and McArthur-Burney Falls in Shasta County (about 128 campsites and cabins), where growing crowds have posed challenges for visitors and rangers in recent years. Campsite reservation costs (which include nightly rates and an $8.25 reservation fee) are unchanged and the lottery process is free, but fees could be added later.
Meanwhile, the parks department has also streamlined its reservation websites so that campers can move more easily between the informational site parks.ca.gov and the booking site reservecalifornia.com and see fresher information on what’s available. In announcing the coming changes, parks officials said travelers will able to see “almost real-time campsite status and availability at other nearby campgrounds.”
The move to a lottery system had been expected since late 2023, when California’s legislature approved several measures designed to reduce no-shows and give more people access to the most popular spots. In previous years, reservations at many campgrounds have vanished within minutes of opening.
State parks communications staffers were unable to say Monday exactly how many of the campsites at Malibu Creek, Morro Bay and McArthur-Burney Falls would be part of the drawing.
The system is based on a pilot project at the State Ravine Cabins in Mt. Tamalpais State Park, where rangers started using a reservation drawing system in 2023. That system is still in place.
To level the playing field among those who make repeated use of the campground drawings, the state has set up a points system. “Unsuccessful applicants will receive one point to be used in future drawings, which increases their chances of winning until they are awarded a reservation,” the state’s FAQ on the system explains. “Once a visitor wins a reservation, their points are removed and their balance starts at zero.”
Statewide, California’s campground system continues to open most of its 15,000 campsites for online reservations at 8 a.m., six months ahead of the booking date, on a rolling basis. (In other words, at 8 a.m. Aug. 3 the state will start taking reservations for stays on the night of Feb. 3.) Telephone reservations are still possible at (800) 444-PARK (7275).
In May, a state parks spokesman said the state’s most sought-after campgrounds for the last two years have been Pismo State Beach, Crystal Cove State Park, Refugio State Beach, Half Moon Bay State Beach, Doheny State Beach, Bolsa Chica State Beach, San Clemente State Beach, New Brighton State Beach, San Elijo State Beach and Morro Bay State Park.
