Terms of Service
Last updated: April 27, 2026
The short version
You're using a service that texts you when sold-out California campsites become available. We do our best, but we cannot guarantee you'll actually book a site — that's between you and ReserveCalifornia. Use the service responsibly. Don't try to break it. We can refund you if you're not happy.
The rest of this document is the longer version of the above.
1. About these terms
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Campkey (the "Service"), operated by Ian Richardson ("we," "us," "our") as a sole proprietorship based in California.
By using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, don't use the Service.
We can update these Terms over time. If we make a material change, we'll email you at least 14 days before the change takes effect and update the "Last updated" date.
2. What the Service is
Campkey is a monitoring service that:
- Checks public reservation systems (ReserveCalifornia and, in the future, Recreation.gov) at regular intervals
- Sends you SMS alerts when a campsite matching your preferences becomes available
- Provides a web dashboard for managing your subscription, parks, and date preferences
What the Service is NOT:
- A campsite booking service. We do not book sites for you. You receive an alert with a link, and you book the site directly through the official reservation system.
- A guarantee of campsite availability. Cancellations are first-come-first-served. Other people may book the site before you do.
- An affiliate of, partnership with, or endorsed by California State Parks, ReserveCalifornia, the National Park Service, Recreation.gov, or any government agency.
3. Your account
To use the Service, you need to provide your name, email, phone number, and a payment method. You agree that:
- The information you provide is accurate and current.
- You are at least 18 years old.
- You will keep your account credentials secure and not share them.
- You are responsible for activity that happens under your account.
If you suspect unauthorized access to your account, email us immediately at ianxrichardson@gmail.com.
4. Subscription, billing, and refunds
Pricing. As of launch, the Service costs $9/month for our founding-member tier. Pricing for new tiers may change in the future, but we will not change the price for founding members who maintain a continuous subscription.
Free trial. Your subscription begins with a 14-day free trial. We will not charge you until day 15. You can cancel at any time during the trial without being charged.
Renewal. Subscriptions renew automatically each month at the same price unless you cancel. We use Stripe for billing — your payment method on file will be charged on the same day each month.
Cancellation. You can cancel anytime through your account settings or by emailing ianxrichardson@gmail.com. When you cancel, your subscription ends at the close of your current billing period (we don't pro-rate refunds for unused days, but see below).
Refunds. If you are unhappy with the Service for any reason, email ianxrichardson@gmail.com within 30 days of being charged and we will refund the most recent month, no questions asked. For longer-tenure refund requests, we will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and generally err on the side of issuing the refund.
Failed payments. If your payment method fails, we will retry the charge up to 3 times over 7 days. If it still fails, we will pause your alerts and email you. We will not delete your account for non-payment for at least 30 days.
5. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- Use the Service to spam, harass, or harm anyone.
- Reverse-engineer, scrape, or copy the Service's code or operations.
- Resell access to the Service or share your account with others.
- Use the Service to coordinate scalping, hoarding, or commercial booking of public campsites for resale.
- Attempt to disrupt the Service through automated requests, denial-of-service attacks, or any other technical means.
- Use the Service to violate any law or the terms of any reservation system we monitor (including ReserveCalifornia and Recreation.gov terms).
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these rules.
6. SMS messaging
By providing your phone number and subscribing, you consent to receive SMS messages from us. Specifically:
- Alert messages when a campsite matching your preferences becomes available
- Service messages related to your subscription
- Standard message and data rates from your carrier may apply
You can stop messages at any time by replying STOP. For help, reply HELP.
We send messages through Twilio and comply with all US 10DLC requirements.
If you stop SMS messages, you cannot use the Service in any meaningful way (the alerts are the product). If you reply STOP, we will email you to confirm whether you want to fully cancel your subscription or just pause alerts.
7. Our service obligations — and limits
What we promise:
- We make a good-faith effort to deliver alerts accurately and on time.
- We respond to support requests within 48 hours (usually much faster).
- We will not sell your data, share it for marketing, or otherwise misuse it (see Privacy Policy).
What we cannot promise:
- 100% uptime. The Service may be down for maintenance, outages, or events beyond our control.
- That every cancellation will trigger an alert. Reservation systems sometimes fail to expose availability data, or have delays we cannot control.
- That you will successfully book any specific campsite. Cancellation grabs are first-come-first-served, and other people use similar tools.
- That ReserveCalifornia, Recreation.gov, or other reservation systems will continue to be accessible to monitoring tools. If a provider blocks us, we will notify you and refund the most recent month.
8. Intellectual property
We own the Service: the website, code, brand, content, and design. You may not copy, modify, or redistribute any of it without written permission. We grant you a personal, non-transferable, non-exclusive license to use the Service for your own personal campsite-booking purposes for as long as your subscription is active.
You retain ownership of any content you submit (e.g., feedback, park preferences). By submitting content, you grant us a non-exclusive license to use it to operate and improve the Service.
9. Disclaimers and limitation of liability
The service is provided "as is" and "as available." To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
We are not liable for indirect, consequential, incidental, or special damages arising out of or related to your use of the service. Our total liability to you for any claim related to the service will not exceed the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim.
Some jurisdictions do not allow these limitations. If you live in one of them, the above limitations may not apply to you.
10. Termination
You can stop using the Service and cancel your subscription at any time.
We may terminate your access if:
- You violate these Terms.
- You repeatedly attempt to charge back payments.
- We discontinue the Service entirely (in which case we will notify you 30 days in advance and refund any prepaid amounts).
11. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California. Any disputes will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in California, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.
12. Contact
For any questions about these Terms:
Email: ianxrichardson@gmail.com
We respond personally to every message, usually within 24 hours.