Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Cape Lookout Beach on the Oregon coast.

You can now book same-day camping reservations on the Oregon coast. Find out more here.

SALEM, Ore (KTVZ) — Visitors hoping to camp last-minute at the coast can now check online to view and book same-day openings when sites are available, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department said Wednesday.

Previously, visitors could only make online reservations 24 hours or more in advance of their arrival. Now coast visitors can make online reservations on the same day that they plan to camp.

The new option is part of a pilot program at the coast. The goal is to offer campers the security of knowing they have a site booked before they leave home, and to give park staff more time to offer interpretive opportunities and maintain park facilities and landscapes and provide a safe camping experience.

“Same-day reservations at the coast give those traveling the peace of mind that there is a place ready for them when they arrive,” said Coastal Region Director Dennis Comfort.

The coast is the busiest region in the Oregon State Parks system, with an estimated 1.9 million camper nights reserved each year across the 17 campgrounds. A camper night is one camper for one night, so a group of four camping two nights totals eight camper nights.

SEE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE BY KTVZ HERE