A view of the Phippsburg coastline on Hermit Island in 2022. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

I was prepared as I could be. I had my calendar marked for the day reservations opened at Hermit Island Campground in Phippsburg, a rustic spot replete with private beaches and home to some of the state’s most coveted campsites.

I’d settled on an ideal weekend and had some others in mind that would work. I’d studied the campground map and scoured the photos of sites on the website to make a list of my seven favorite, in order of preference, and noted a handful more as backups. I had the number for the office dialed in my phone at 8:59 a.m. that Monday — March 3 — and, when the clock changed, I hit send.

It was busy. A couple minutes later, I tried again. Busy again. I repeated this a few more times until I figured I should probably get to work, realizing this could constitute another full-time job if I let it. I continued to dial the number at random during the campground’s business hours until the 32nd time, at 9:52 a.m. that Thursday, I got through.

It’s a process familiar to anyone who has tried to book a stay at any of Maine’s most sought-after campgrounds, each of which has its own intricate system for taking reservations. Reading up on how it works ahead of time — something that I’ve started doing every January — is crucial to securing the site of your dreams, but after that, it’s mostly luck.

People wade into the water on Hermit Island in Phippsburg in 2022. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

All the Hermit Island sites I’d handpicked were booked on all the weekends I’d chosen, so I leaned on the person who answered the phone to tell me what my best options were. We landed on one with some shade, a path to the beach nearby and peek at the ocean through the trees.

I can consider myself one of the lucky ones. Two weeks after reservations opened, the campground was already full from mid-July to mid-August, said business office manager Katie Westrum. Little did I know, ocean view sites in the peak months had been booked since January, when people making weeklong reservations can send their requests by mail. Their letters are pulled at random — Westrum estimated they got about 1,500 this year — and some are sent a note in return saying they didn’t get their choice.

Camping reservations at most Maine State Parks opened on Feb. 6, and three days earlier at Sebago Lake and popular Lily Bay, on Moosehead Lake, where last week there were only a smattering of openings left in July and August. An hour away, Peaks-Kenney State Park in Dover-Foxcroft is almost fully booked on weekends in July and August. At Rangeley Lake State Park, that goes for late June as well, though each park keeps at least a few sites open for walk-ups.

Two state parks, Aroostook and Cobscook Bay, aren’t taking reservations as they undergo site improvements that are scheduled to be finished before the end of the camping season but have uncertain completion dates. Because of that, it’s hard to compare overall reservations so far this year to previous years, said Jim Britt, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry. But the more than 37,000 nights on the books at other parks are about on pace with previous years.

That also means Cobscook, in Washington County, can’t serve as a backup plan for people hoping to camp at the Cutler Coast Public Land, home to the popular Bold Coast hiking trail and five primitive first-come, first-served campsites — where you won’t know if you can stay until you get to the log-in book at the trailhead.

While Stephen Phillips Memorial Preserve in Oquossoc is taking reservation requests for this year and next through forms on its website, its office doesn’t open until May, so it’s hard to say how many of its popular 67 waterfront campsites on Mooselookmeguntic Lake still have availability. Because the campground accepts reservations more than a year in advance, some visitors book for the following year while they’re there.

A canoe drifts silently across Kidney Pond in Baxter State Park with Katahdin in the background in 2021. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

At Baxter State Park, reservations are rolling, opening on a day-by-day basis, four months ahead of time. Meaning, right now, you can book for as late as the last week of July. For a multi-day stay, you can book the first day online when reservations open at midnight, then the following day, call at 8 a.m. to extend your trip for up to a week.

If you’re looking to book a cabin at Kidney or Daicey ponds, hike up to the lean-tos or bunkhouse at Chimney Pond or get a site near a Katahdin trailhead, you’re sure to face stiff competition, especially this year, when reservations were up 30% in the first month they were open, said Lori Morrison, director of administrative services at the park. But, she said, if you’re flexible enough, you’ll find something.

“Our staff is very, very good at helping people figure out alternatives,” she said.

Plus, people cancel. So, though some sites might book up right away, it’s always worth going back to check later, Morrison said.

Duck Harbor at sunset from Isle au Haut. Photo courtesy of National Park Service/Jane Gamble

Last year, Acadia National Park launched an online alert system that gives visitors real-time updates when a campsite, among other things, becomes available. National Park Service spokesperson Amanda Pollock said, at Acadia’s campgrounds, RV sites tend to book up faster than tent sites — with one notable exception.

The five lean-to shelters at Duck Harbor Campground on Isle au Haut “usually sell out in minutes after they are made available,” Pollock said, and that’s yet to happen this year. Reservations for the boat-access-only campground open online at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 1.

So, I’m saying there’s a chance.