TIPS FOR USING THE MAINE STATE PARK RESERVATION PUBLIC WEBSITE SYSTEM

In 2010, we will reveal the new Maine Campground Reservation System. The system will look and feel much differently than the previous reservation system, so we’ve prepared the following list of tips to help make your reservation experience as easy and quick as possible.

User Login:
The first big difference you’ll notice is that you no longer need to log into the online system as you have in years past. Because the system is used once or twice a year by most people, we decided to eliminate the user login requirement. We’ll collect the camper’s name and address, and billing information as we complete your reservation rather than before-hand.

Searching for a Campsite:
To get started, you will have the option of searching for a campsite by any number of search options including park, arrival date, and number of nights. No matter the search options you provide, please note that it is important that you specify the size of your equipment when you do your initial search; this will allow us to return the appropriate campsites for which your equipment will fit. Also note, that this service requires you to make your reservation at least two business days before your stay is scheduled to start.

You’ll notice that we allow you to specify whether or not you prefer a site with water/electricity hookups. Sites with water/electricity hookups are only available at Sebago Lake and Camden Hills. There is an additional fee per night, per site for these sites.

Adding a Site to My Shopping Cart:
Based on your search, we will provide you with a list of sites available for you to reserve. To add the site to your cart, you will need to specify the number of nights if you haven’t already, and click the “add” button. Your selection will be held temporarily for 15 minutes. This will allow you the opportunity to add another site to your reservation or to make payment for the site. If you have not made your payment by the end of the 15 minute window, the sites that were in your cart will be put back into the inventory for other customers to reserve.

You may reserve a maximum of two sites in one internet transaction. To add a second site to your shopping cart, simply supply the new search criteria in the search options area of the site and click the “New Search” button.

Rules and Disclaimers:
Please take the time to read the entire agreement/disclaimer which explains some of the important rules, and the Bureau’s refund and cancellation policies. You’ll have the opportunity to print out those rules after you complete your reservation.

Completing a Reservation:
After you add the appropriate sites to your cart and determine that you are ready to proceed to checkout, you will need to provide the online service with some information about the occupant. This includes the occupant’s name and address, their residency, and whether or not the occupant is 18 or older. After providing this information, you will need to review the information you provided, including the rules, disclaimers, and cancellations policies for your site before being directed to the payment page. The payment page will allow you to provide your credit card number, billing name, and billing address. If you’ve added any Maine State Park Passes to your reservation, this screen will also allow you to specify a mailing address for that park pass.

After we collect payment, your reservation will be assigned a permit number which can be viewed immediately. You must bring this reservation permit to the park and present it to staff upon arrival – don’t worry if you lose this paper though; we provide an online service that allows you to reprint a permit at anytime up until your reservation has passed.

Canceling or Making Changes to an Existing Reservation:
If you need to cancel or make changes to your reservation, you must have your permit number. To process a complete cancellation of your reservation, you can go online, enter the number, the occupant name and the last four of the credit card used for the transaction to process this cancellation yourself. To make a change or a partial cancellation, you will need to call the call-center. Having your permit number available will expedite any future changes.

Other Information - Session Cookies:
This online service, like most eCommerce services around the Web and on www.Maine.gov, utilizes “cookies” in order to complete your reservation. Cookies are small text files that a web server may ask your web browser to store, and to send back to the web server when needed. Cookies allow us to distinguish between different users, and to use information provided at one stage of an application at a later time (for instance, items placed in a 'shopping cart' might need to be displayed on a later 'check-out' screen). When we use cookies in this way, the cookie is stored on your web browser only temporarily; the cookie is destroyed at the end of the transaction or at the end of the browser session.

To set your web browser to accept cookies, please follow the instructions below:

For Internet Explorer:
Tools > Internet Options > Privacy > move slider to the middle to "Medium" > Apply > OK

For Firefox:
Tools > Options > Privacy (button) > Cookies (tab) > check box for "Allow sites to set cookies"

For Netscape:
Edit > Preferences > Privacy and Security > Cookies > select Enable all cookies