campsite-checker

This is a python script which attempts to automate the process of reserving sites on recreation.gov. It is especially made for sought-after campsites which have limited booking windows.

Dependencies

• OS X or Unix variant

• Python

• Selenium (current release)

• geckodriver (current release)

• Firefox (current release)

• If you're unfamiliar with the above tools, and using OS X: You already have a version of Python preinstalled.

• You can install Selenium by opening a Terminal window and entering the following command: sudo easy_install selenium or pip install selenium

• On OS X you can install the geckodriver using homebrew, like so: brew install geckodriver

Running the script

Copy checker_example.ini to checker.ini and edit all the fields as required. You must have a [reservation_#] section for each reservation that you are trying to make. See below for how to find site_id and park_id values from the recreation.gov website.

Once you've edited the configuration file, open up a Terminal window in the directory containing this script and enter the command python ./checker.py to run the script.

Recommended use pattern is to begin the script shortly before reservations are due to open, with a low number of retries. Recreation.gov network usage is monitored and you risk account termination if you just leave this running all day.

If a site is found that matches your requirements, you will have 15 minutes to complete the purchase in the browser window.

Note: If you find, after playing with this script, that you have lots of Firefox windows open, you can kill them all on a Unix based platform with a command like $ killall firefox-bin.

Finding park_id and site_id

Find the campsite you wish to book on recreation.gov - do not enter selected dates. Go to the 'Site List' page, and hover over the 'Enter Date' button by the site you are interested in. In the lower left of your browser, you will see a URL like the following:

http://www.recreation.gov/camping/Wawona/r/campsiteDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&siteId=204305&parkId=70924

The site ID and park ID are the numbers specified at the end of the URL.