Questions, answered
Everything you might want to know before you set your first watch. Still stuck? Reach out anytime.
The basics
CampWatch continuously monitors campground booking systems for cancellations. When a sold-out site that matches your trip opens up, we send you an instant alert with a link to book it — before most people even know it’s available.
No — and that’s deliberate. We alert you the moment a site is available and link you straight to the official booking page. You complete the reservation yourself, directly with the park, at their normal rates. We never auto-book or hold sites.
On the Outfitter plan we re-check each source about every 60 seconds and push an alert the instant a match appears — to the CampWatch app, Telegram, or both. For hotly contested weekends, those seconds are the difference between getting the site and missing it. Basecamp and Summit check every 5 minutes.
Setting up watches
Park and campground, arrival date, minimum and maximum nights, party size, and equipment fit (tent, trailer, big rig, hookups, ADA). You can also add a flexible date window of up to ±14 days if your plans are loose.
On the free Basecamp plan you get one active watch. Summit includes 3 active watches, and Outfitter includes unlimited watches, so you can track several parks or date ranges at once.
Yes. Watches run until you stop them. You can pause, resume, or delete any watch at any time from your dashboard.
Alerts & delivery
Two ways, and you can use either or both. App push notifications land on your lock screen from the installed CampWatch app, and Telegram messages arrive in your linked chat. Pick your channels in Settings — every alert includes a tappable link straight to the booking page.
Both are instant, free, and reliable without carrier delays. Push notifications and Telegram arrive in seconds and include a tappable booking link — ideal when timing is everything. Email simply isn’t fast enough for a hot cancellation.
No. We dedupe aggressively and only alert you when a site genuinely matches your watch. A buzz from CampWatch always means there’s something real to book.
Apps & install
On iPhone and iPad, yes — install it straight from Safari with Share → “Add to Home Screen.” It launches full-screen like a native app and can send push notifications to your lock screen, no App Store required. A native Android app is coming soon to the Play Store.
A native Android app is on the way to the Play Store. In the meantime you can install the web app from Chrome’s menu → “Add to Home screen” for full-screen access and push notifications, or simply receive your alerts on Telegram.
Not at all. CampWatch works in any browser, and you can route every alert to Telegram without installing anything. Installing just adds lock-screen push notifications and a full-screen, app-like experience.
Coverage & accuracy
Washington State Parks (via GoingToCamp) and Recreation.gov (federal — National Parks, USFS, BLM) are live today, with WA DNR rolling out. That spans 600+ campgrounds from the Pacific coast to the Cascades crest.
No. CampWatch is an independent service. We read publicly available availability the same way the official websites display it — we just do it relentlessly and tell you the moment something changes.
Account & privacy
With a passkey — Face ID, Touch ID, or your device’s screen lock. There’s no password to forget or leak. It’s faster and dramatically more secure than traditional logins.
We use your trip details only to run your watches and send your alerts. We don’t sell your data and we don’t share your plans. Private by default.
Ready when you are
Set your first watch free and let the radar take the night shift.