Planning a trip to a National Park? Book campsites and rooms now.

Although taking that summer road trip may be far from your mind, if you’re thinking of a stay at a national park, make reservations now. Lodges, cabins and campsites fill up fast, but can be booked up to six months in advance.

A few years ago, we stayed in a Rough Rider cabin near the Roosevelt Lodge at Yellowstone National Park in June and booked it in January. The advantage to planning ahead is that knowing where you need to be, at least part of the summer, helps organize the rest of it. From Yellowstone, we headed to Pocatello, Idaho through Utah, on to California and back to Ohio through New Mexico visiting friends and family along the way.

If you want to hook a vacation around Yellowstone, there are several lodging options in and around the park. This link lists many of them.

If you’re interested in camping–or renting a cabin, head to recreation.gov where there is a drop down menu that lists campground and cabin options. RV camp sites are included. You can book online by using the date function.

If you’re thinking of a Rough Rider cabin, know that they don’t come with a bathroom. There is a communal facility with toilets and showers.For us, it was a perfect stay and the price was right. We ate breakfast in the Roosevelt Lodge’s dining room. There are other more expensive cabins located elsewhere that do have a bathroom if that’s your preference. The photo is of the inside of a Rough Rider cabin.

To book one of these rooms or lodge rooms or cabins at some of the other national and state parks, go to Xanterra Parks & Resorts. There are availabilities, but some lodges have filled up.