Book These Campsites Now For The U.S. ‘Ring Of Fire’ Solar Eclipse—Before It’s Too Late

29.08.2023 - 11:43 / forbes.com

I’m the world’s only “eclipse journalist” so for the very latest on the “ring of fire” solar eclipse—including the latest travel and lodging options—please press the big blue “follow” button above or check my main feed .

If you’re yet to plan a trip to see the “ring of fire” solar eclipse on October 14, 2023, you have less than 50 days left to make a plan—but it’s not too late.

The rare sight of a circle of light around a new moon during the morning will be visible from a 125 miles wide path stretching across eight U.S. states that day, from the Pacific Northwest to the U.S. Southwest. Everyone else in the U.S. will see just a regular partial solar eclipse, which has caused thousands to make plans and book-up hotels, RV parks and campsites in .

Check out my recent post that featured eight hotels, lodges, festivals and RV parks to be for October 14.

A future post coming soon ( check back! ) will look at hotel options, but here I’m focusing only on campsites and RV parks.

A lot of campsites in the path are sold out, though that mostly applies only to those either in U.S. National Parks and State Parks or private campgrounds on or near the centerline of the path.

But here’s the thing. You really don’t need to stay on or even near the centerline of the path.

Sure, the centerline is where the “ring of fire” will be visible for the longest (over four minutes), but even relatively close to the southern or northern limits of the path you can easily get over two minutes. That’s enough to see the “ring of fire!” Besides, you can also rise early and drive further north or south to the centerline.

Armed with that knowledge, a whole world of new lodging opportunities opens up.

These campsites are all in the path of the eclipse and were sourced from Hipcamp’s useful Best camping spots for the 2023 Solar Eclipse page. I have no affiliation with Hipcamp whatsoever—it’s just such a great resource for travel planning for this eclipse.

Sure, many of the campsites on the map are sold out, but as of today (Aug. 29, 2023), the campsites below have availability for two nights, October 13-15, 2023.

Times given are for the “ring of fire” moment for each location, though bear in mind that there will be a beautiful partial solar eclipse to watch for about 80 minutes before and after.

Time of “ring of fire”: 9:17 a.m. PDT, 4 minutes 4 seconds

This camping spot next to Winema National Forest near Chiloquin, Oregon has four bring-your-own-tent campsites ($70/night) and three Native American Tipi ($180/night). More information.

Time of “ring of fire”: 9:19 a.m. PDT, 3 minutes 25 seconds

Four RV sites are available ($35/night) on this working farm close to Lake City and the Warner Mountains in Surprise Valley. It’s