RV parks in C.O., across country are full, with long waitlists – a ‘pain’ for trailer travelers

(Update: Adding video, comments from RV and trailer owners)

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- RV parks are filling up in Central Oregon, with wait times a few months long. And it's much the same elsewhere in the country. 

Ryan Brady and his family have been traveling across the country from Maryland and have stopped at 22 different RV parks.          

"Pretty much everyone we've been to has been full,” Brady said Friday.

He said when they were scheduling the trip in February, they originally tried to find an RV Park in Bend, but reservations for the ones they were interested in were full already. 

They are taking the trip to visit family, but also as an escape from the pandemic.

Apparently, they're not the only ones.

Kristin Black is from Bend and says she's noticed the increase. 

"Every RV park, every campsite, is just full for the summer,” Black said. 

She recently moved out of her home into a trailer, and says the increase in occupancy this summer has been difficult.

"It definitely has been a pain in the butt to find places to stay,” Black said. “Especially in RV parks, because it's just packed right now."

An employee at the Expo Center RV Park in Redmond told NewsChannel21 that last summer, during the height of the pandemic, it saw a huge increase in interest.

The employee said it's possible people trying to travel safely during the pandemic could have been a factor.

 The employee said this summer, a year later, the interest has nearly doubled.

Several other RV parks in Central Oregon told NewsChannel21 they are booked through Labor Day, with waitlists of up to 20 people.

A manager at an RV park in Eastern Oregon said in her 14 years of managing, she has never had a waitlist -- until this year.

Gaylene Mann was leaving the Expo Center RV Park Friday to return home to Dallas, Oregon.

She said she booked far enough in advance to get a spot, but the process has definitely changed.

"It used to be that people could come in, and you just get in,” Mann said. “Without a reservation, that's not so any more."

This is Brady and his family's first time traveling with a trailer, and he thinks it won't be their last.

"My kids seem to like it, my wife really likes it, so I think we'll continue,” Brady said. 

For Black, she hopes the craze ends soon and that finding a space becomes a bit easier.

"I hope it's just a peak,” Black said. “The past few years, it's been getting more and more popular, so I hope it's just a wave."