Originally Posted by
staehpj1
I'd add that it isn't just rates, it is also the no turn away policy that makes hiker biker sights important. For those not familiar with hiker biker sights they are usually either a group site of a regular camp site that you share with other hiker or cyclists.
On the east coast, assuming decent rates, it would be wonderful if the hiker biker system was implemented. For much of the middle of the country it is a lot less of an issue since it is usually pretty easy to find a place to camp for free in plain sight. Small town folks there seem to be a lot more laid back about a cyclist pitching a tent in their town park or sleeping under a picnic pavilion roof. In a lot of the west and the plains states I find I camp for free much more often than not.
Even in the western states that have the Hiker/Biker policy it frequently is only offered in a subset of parks. In California most of the parks along the coast have Hiker/Biker sites, but they aren't that common in other state parks. Some of the rangers are sympathetic and will let a bicycle tourer stay somewhere in the park even if all sites are already reserved, but it would be nice for this to be a uniform policy rather than dependent on the whims of individual rangers.
Given the vagaries of wind and other weather it's hard for a bicycle tourist to stick strictly to the kind of schedule that's needed to be able to make reservations months in advance (which is nec. in many of our state parks)