The public can now book campsite reservations at Montana state parks for 2012 online at stateparks.mt.gov or by phone at 1-855-922-6768 for the summer season that runs from the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day.

The reservation window allows campers to plan their camping visit up to nine months in advance.

The campsite reservation program launched in March 2011 and had more than 7,500 campers making their reservations through the new program during the 2011 spring/summer season.

Twenty of Montana’s State Parks participate in the reservation program, with 12 of the 20 parks featuring electric hookups. There are more than 500 sites in total to reserve, including several yurts, cabins and tepees. Nearly 40 percent of all campsites booked in 2011 were made through the reservation system.

 The state parks that received the most online and phone reservations were Tongue River State Park (1,113), Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park (862), Big Arm State Park (678) and Cooney State Park (640).

A majority of the new reservation program participants were Montana residents.

 “The reservation program let campers plan ahead not only on their favorite park to camp at, but for their favorite campsite,” said Dave Landstrom, regional park manager for the Flathead area. “We saw more weekday bookings and an increase in our overall visitation.”

 Montana State Parks reservation campsites include Bannack, Beavertail Hill, Big Arm, Black Sandy, Brush Lake, Cooney, Finley Point, Hell Creek, Lake Mary Ronan, Lewis and Clark Caverns, Logan, Makoshika, Missouri Headwaters, Placid Lake, Salmon Lake, Thompson Falls, Tongue River, Wayfarers, West Shore and Whitefish Lake.

Basic campsite costs are $15 per night for residents and $23 per night for nonresidents during peak spring/summer season. To reserve a campsite online or by phone is $10.

 Spontaneous campers are not left out since each park holds back approximately 25 percent of their campsites outside of the reservation program, for traditional first-come, first served camping visits.

To make a reservation, visit stateparks.mt.gov.