WV State Parks set a visitor record in 2020, hosting more than 7 million guests. Residents and visitors alike flock to the state parks for camping, hiking, and various outdoor recreational opportunities. 

While this uptick has been great for tourism and brought the State Park system into modern times with online reservation systems, it has created difficulty in reserving camping spots. Many parks are filled every weekend on the reservation system, yet campsites continually sit empty. 

The WV State Park cancellation policy states: 

"If a cancellation is made within 60 days of a visit, a credit toward a future stay will be issued. Cancellations made within one week are non-refundable."

Policies also do not allow for subletting or transferring of campsites, so if someone has to cancel within one week of their scheduled stay, they just lose their investment. Even upon canceling, they forfeit their right to the spot which then allows the State Park system to open the spot for new reservations and, ultimately, be paid twice for the same space. 

West Virginia residents are requesting Governor Justice to change the reservation policy to allow for more camper-friendly terms that would reduce the number of open, unused,  camping spots throughout the WV State Park System. 

Surrounding states have camper-friendly policies that provide incentives for cancellations so others may use a canceled spot. 

Virginia's Policy:

"Cancel or transfer your reservation online up until 11:59 p.m. on the day before your arrival or by calling the Customer Service Center during operating hours or online up until 11:59 p.m. on the day before your arrival. There's no charge for transferring a reservation to another date or park."

Maryland's Policy:

"Cancellations and changes to reservations within 24 hours of the date of initial reservation are allowed without an additional fee. Reservation / transaction fees are non-refundable. No refunds will be issued for no-shows/cancellations / early departures after the scheduled date of arrival." 

PA's Policy:

"Cancellations made up to close of business seven days prior to your scheduled arrival date will incur a $10.00 cancellation fee per reservation. If you cancel six days or less prior to the arrival date, you will forfeit the first night’s fee."

As you can see, WV has the most strict, unfriendly policies of any surrounding state. 

Governor Justice, please make our beautiful WV State Park system more competitive by allowing credits for cancellations up until 24 hours before the first day of reservation. Help us to leverage our resources to allow more people to enjoy our parks and campgrounds.