RoverPass reported that same-store campground reservations for the July Fourth holiday weekend declined 5.8% year over year in 2026, while key guest booking patterns, including length of stay, advance booking and cancellation rates, remained largely stable.
The report is based on first-party reservation data from campgrounds active on the RoverPass platform during both the 2025 and 2026 July Fourth holiday windows. The same-store comparison was intended to provide a year-over-year view of demand without including the effects of platform growth.
Although reservation volume was lower than a year earlier, the bookings that occurred showed little change in traveler behavior.
Average length of stay was 3.09 nights, average lead time increased by 2.8 days to 61.7 days, and the cancellation rate remained nearly unchanged at 14.2%.
Pet-inclusive reservations accounted for 31.9% of bookings, while the share of guests returning to the same campground for the holiday rose to 11.2%. RoverPass described the weekend as softer in volume rather than evidence of a broader change in camping behavior.
“July 4th is the peak of the summer season, which makes it the cleanest read we get on where demand is actually heading,” Ravi Parikh, CEO and founder of RoverPass, said in a press release.
“The volume was softer this year, but the shape of the weekend held. When owners can separate a slower holiday from a real shift in behavior, they plan the rest of their season with a lot more confidence,” Parikh added.
The report also found continued movement toward direct online booking channels. Direct online bookings represented 60.4% of the channel mix, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous year.
Marketplace bookings declined to 15.5%, while phone reservations remained near one-quarter of total bookings.
Within the RoverPass same-store cohort, Michigan accounted for the largest share of reservations at 15.1%, followed by Nebraska and Texas. South Dakota recorded the largest increase in reservation share.
“Owners kept telling us they wanted fewer headlines and more numbers they could actually use,” Melisa Chang, marketing director at RoverPass, said.
“So we built this recap around a same-store comparison and first-party reservation data, with no surveys. It answers the questions operators are asking after the weekend: was demand really down, are guests still moving to direct booking, and where did the bookings come from,” Chang added.