Bay Area Startup Uses AI to Find Open Campsites in California

In California’s crowded and competitive camping world, a new Bay Area tech startup is offering a technological edge to those hoping to secure a coveted campsite.

CampChimp, which launched in May, is a three-person venture founded by Kyle O’Keefe-Sally, formerly chief innovation officer at troubled coworking startup WeWork. It joins a growing group of software services piggybacking on government campground booking platforms like ReserveCalifornia and Recreation.gov to help campers plan their trips.

What’s unique about CampChimp is that instead of sending notifications about available campsites in parks or forests that people know they want to visit, the company uses an artificial intelligence search function to present users with menus of bookings based on the type of experience they’re looking for and which sites are available on the dates they want to camp.

For example, a search for “remote campground under redwoods with hike to lake” for two nights in late August turned up listings for Hawk and Haypress Campgrounds, a pair of hiking spots in the heart of the Marin Headlands, as well as locations in Portola Redwoods State Park in La Honda, Los Padres National Forest near Carmel Valley, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton (Santa Cruz County), and elsewhere.

A search for “Northern California Wine Country 10 minutes from a winery” for a two-night stay in September yielded locations in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park east of Santa Rosa, Bothe-Napa Valley State Park in Calistoga, Point Reyes National Seashore and other areas in the North Bay.

Each search result links to the corresponding booking platform. CampChimp does not place bookings for you.

These searches aren’t foolproof. The search for Wine Country suggested a site in the Presidio and another near Lake Tahoe. As with any AI-powered tool, CampChimp users would be wise to do some fact-checking and background research before making a purchase.

But it’s refreshing to have help sorting through California’s thousands of campgrounds. Often, web searches for great campgrounds lead people to popular campgrounds in well-known parks like Yosemite National Park — the most competitive bookings — and there are services that alert potential campers to last-minute campground openings in places they know they want to go.

“What we’ve found is that if people can find open sites first and then research the locations, that saves people time and effort and gets them out much faster,” said Luke Williams, CampChimp’s marketing director. “We want to be an availability aggregator.”

“We believe that if we continue to lead the way in availability and AI, we can provide campers with the best tool out there,” he added.

CampChimp has no outside investors and no plans to raise funds in the near future, Williams said. The service costs $5 a month and has paying subscribers, though Williams declined to say how many.

Currently, the platform only plugs campgrounds on Recreation.gov (national parks and forests) and ReserveCalifornia (state parks and beaches). The company hopes to soon integrate county parks and private campgrounds in California, Williams said, and will eventually expand to other western states.

Contact Gregory Thomas: [email protected]