Some of California’s most coveted campsites will be available through a lottery system, the state parks agency has announced.

The system has been tested since 2023 for cabins at Mount Tamalpais and now will be expanded to three more parks whose sites are hard to book: McArthur-Burney Falls, Morro Bay and Malibu Creek.

The new lotteries were announced along with a revamping of the California parks website , billed as an improved integration with its reservations service, ReserveCalifornia.com.

Names will be selected in the lottery seven months in advance; a winner then has 30 days to claim and pay for the reservation. There is no fee just to enter the lottery, but applicants must create a ReserveCalifornia account.

Currently, the lottery is open for dates in April 2026. The map abov

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