If you are camping at Peninsula State Park this summer, Park Superintendent Eric Hyde asks you to make sure you are checked in and stay for your allotted time.

Peninsula State Park is one of eight in Wisconsin participating in a trial program asking its campsite visitors to check in on their phones when they arrive. The reason is to ensure campsites are filled, especially during the summer when finding an opening is easier said than done. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources already has a no-show policy, saying that you must occupy the reserved campsite by 3 p.m. on the second day of the reservation and be present for the duration of the reservation or risk forfeiting the site. 

Hyde says the issue of no-shows has been a growing problem since the pandemic when checking in for a stay no longer required a stop in the ranger's office. Hyde says compliance right now is about 40 to 50 percent, which he hopes can grow.

The practice is optional as of now, but Hyde adds that it could be after the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources discusses how the trial period went this summer. As for attendance, Hyde says the park has rebounded after a slow start due to the wet start to the season, adding that the campgrounds have been mainly full for much of the summer.