Reservations for campsites and shelters at Illinois state parks and historic sites will transition to an updated platform beginning May 1.

The new system offers park users a more user-friendly system for making reservations and securing permits, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said.

Users will continue to use exploremoreil.com – the customer service platform of the IDNR – to make campsite and shelter reservations, but will notice an improved interface, the department said in a news release.

To accommodate the transition, electronic reservations will be unavailable April 27-30.

Although the online system will not be available, customers will be able to make walk-up reservations at campgrounds as availability allows.

One improvement in the new system is that picnic shelters will be available on a 12-month rolling window, the IDNR said in the release.

Existing reservations for customers will automatically migrate to the new platform and will be required to use the same email to access reservations. All customers will need to create a new account and password in the new system, the IDNR said in the release.

Existing customers should watch their inbox for an email from IDNR with further instructions.