California State Parks switching to new reservation system on Aug. 1

Click ahead to see some places where you can go camping for free in California. Click ahead to see some places where you can go camping for free in California. Photo: Westend61/Getty Images/Westend61 Photo: Westend61/Getty Images/Westend61 Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close California State Parks switching to new reservation system on Aug. 1 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

California campers who utilize the state's parks will need to use a different reservation system starting in August.

California State Parks will now offer camping and lodging reservations via ReserveCalifornia, a site that launches on Aug. 1, instead of ReserveAmerica, its former vendor. According to the ReserveCalifornia FAQ, the system will work like other sites that offer hotel or airfare bookings.

From ReserveCalifornia:

The new reservation system will move from a block or on-sale day reservation period to a rolling window. The public will be able to reserve the highly sought-after campsites and lodging six months in advance from the current date. Camping and lodging inventory will become available each day for a period of six months in advance. Bookings may extend from the arrival date to the desired departure date – based on availability and the park's maximum stay rules.

The service encompasses 110 state parks currently, and will expand to include 41 more by the end of 2018.

Customers with ReserveAmerica profiles will need to create new accounts through ReserveCalifornia, but if you have a prior reservation made for any date through Feb. 2018, it will be automatically migrated to the new system.

To find out more about the new system, visit the ReserveCalifornia website here.