The camping year, January to December

This index reads across all six destinations for one month at a time. Use it when the month is fixed and the place is not, or to see what you should be booking this month for a trip later in the year.

Campgrounds operating, by month

The count is every campground that was open on at least one day of the month in 2026.

Zion's May and September counts assume Lava Point keeps its typical May-to-September season. Joshua Tree and Pfeiffer Big Sur are left out of the table: the first closes campgrounds in summer without posting fixed dates, and the second is a single campground.

January

• On the ground. Winter rosters at Yosemite, Zion, Algonquin and Banff. Joshua Tree is in its busy season, with weekends usually full.
• On sale. Yosemite's January 15 release covers arrivals from May 15 to June 14. Watchman, Joshua Tree and Pfeiffer Big Sur are selling July, a day at a time. Algonquin is selling June.

February

• On the ground. Unchanged, except that Joshua Tree reports most weeknights full from mid-month as well.
• On sale. Yosemite: June 15 to July 14. The six-month parks: August. Algonquin: July, up to the 28th. Banff held its one-day launch for the whole 2026 season on February 12.

March

• On the ground. Zion's South Campground opens early in the month, and from mid-March the park describes its campgrounds as full almost every night.
• On sale. Yosemite: July 15 to August 14. The six-month parks: September. Algonquin: August, plus July 29 to 31 on March 1. Pfeiffer Big Sur also opens August 29 to 31 on March 1.

April

• On the ground. The first spring openings: Lower Pines and North Pines in Yosemite Valley on April 21, then four Algonquin campgrounds on April 24 and 25. Banff is still on its two winter campgrounds.
• On sale. Yosemite: August 15 to September 14. The six-month parks: October. Algonquin: September.

May

• On the ground. The biggest opening month. Banff adds seven campgrounds between the 7th and the 29th, Algonquin adds six between the 8th and the 14th, Crane Flat opens in Yosemite on the 21st, and Lava Point typically opens at Zion. It is the last month of Joshua Tree's busy season.
• On sale. Yosemite: September 15 to October 14. The six-month parks: November. Algonquin: October, the final month for most of its campgrounds.

June

• On the ground. Banff reaches its full fourteen on the 18th. Yosemite adds Tamarack Flat and Porcupine Flat on the 22nd and 23rd. Joshua Tree's campfire ban starts on the 15th and its summer closures are in effect.
• On sale. Yosemite: October 15 to November 14. The six-month parks: December. Algonquin: November, when only Mew Lake is open.

July

• On the ground. Yosemite's last four campgrounds open in the first three days, and every campground at Yosemite, Zion, Algonquin and Banff is scheduled to be operating. Ontario Parks counts its peak period from July 1.
• On sale. Yosemite: November 15 to December 14. The six-month parks: January.

August

• On the ground. The same full rosters as July. In 2026 Yosemite's Bridalveil Creek closed early, on the 14th.
• On sale. Yosemite: December 15 to January 14. The six-month parks: February.

September

• On the ground. The closing season starts in the first week. Eight Banff campgrounds shut between the 6th and the 27th, Tea Lake closes at Algonquin on the 7th, and three of Yosemite's high-country campgrounds close, the last of them Tuolumne Meadows on the 27th. Weekend crowds return to Joshua Tree.
• On sale. Yosemite: January 15 to February 14. The six-month parks: March, a month both Zion and Joshua Tree describe as full.

October

• On the ground. The largest closing month. Banff drops to three campgrounds after the 5th and two after the 12th. Nine Algonquin campgrounds close between the 12th and the 25th. Five Yosemite campgrounds close between the 11th and the 26th. Zion's South Campground closes at the end of the month. Joshua Tree's busy season begins and its fire ban ends on the 1st.
• On sale. Yosemite: February 15 to March 14. The six-month parks: April.

November

• On the ground. Winter rosters again. Zion still describes itself as full almost nightly until late in the month.
• On sale. Yosemite: March 15 to April 14. The six-month parks: May. Algonquin: April, when its first campgrounds reopen.

December

• On the ground. Winter rosters in full: four campgrounds in Yosemite, one each at Zion and Algonquin, two in Banff.
• On sale. Yosemite: April 15 to May 14. The six-month parks: June. Algonquin: May.

How the sale columns work

"The six-month parks" are Watchman Campground at Zion, the reservable campgrounds at Joshua Tree, and Pfeiffer Big Sur. Each opens one new arrival date per day, six months ahead. Yosemite's monthly release applies to Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines, Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow, and happens at 7 am Pacific on the 15th. Algonquin opens each date five months ahead at 7 am Eastern. Banff has a single launch day each winter, and its 2027 date had not been posted when this page was checked.

Zion's South Campground and Lava Point, and Yosemite's higher campgrounds, sell only 14 days ahead, so they never appear in the sale lines above. Their dates open during the month you travel or the one before.