I have 30 acres of property at the edge of the Nantahala National Forest. About 20 minutes from Lake Jocassee and Table Rock. I'm getting the idea of building a campground on it.
Having never run or even worked at one before, I'm looking for pointers and ideas.
Thanks
In reply to Toyman01:
You and I are way too much alike.
No advice, just watching.
In reply to Toyman01:
I'm not a camper, but having a large number of campgrounds nearby that we drive past, there seems to be a big difference between the good ones, and not-so-good ones. Quite a few look like refuges for meth-cooks and parolees, while others look quite nice.
I'd think you need to determine your clientele first, then figure out their price range and how to reach/draw them in.
Rustic camping or are you digging it up to put water/sewer/electric/cable TV for the types of spots people pay more than $9 a night for?
I don't know anything about this business except I'm your worst customer. When I am looking for a campground I am looking for as close to free as is possible. I don't want amenities except occasionally a coin operated $ for Xmin of hot shower - but a nice view of a lake/stream/river and no other humans whatsoever is ideal. State/Fed campground type stuff is often free or under $10 even at spectacular locations. So... rustic-wise that is what you are competing with.
I think you would want to woo all the things I hate to find at the end of a day where I'm just settling for the only thing that is open - 200 RVs paying $90/night, a pool, pavillion, full service food/ice-cream store, camp store with beer/firewood/bathing suits, cabins with AC... the grating laughter of children... otherwise I just can't see how it makes it worth the effort. Buying an existing, quaint but defunct one in the Catskills (they litter the Delaware river valley) has crossed my mind but they went out of business for a reason.
Yeah, my short response as someone who camps in campgrounds frequently and understands construction costs...
If I was gonna do it, I'd buy an existing campground and make needed improvements. Today's campers have very high expectations of amenities, and these would be very costly to install from scratch.
Without the amenities, it would be next to impossible to attract a new clientele from scratch.
Even an outdated campground has most of the costs in place. It might not have WIFI, but it has sewer hookups, roads, drainage systems, some existing revenue base, etc.
In reply to Huckleberry:
I think that with 30+ acres, I could probably do both.
I'm thinking a highfalutin section for the snowbirds to make their spring and fall stopovers. A few cabins for the leaf peepers, non-camping campers and the cruiser motorcycle crowd. Call it 20 RV sites and 4 cabins to start.
Then another section for the people that want to be left alone with a spot to drop a tent. A little over half of the property is forested. I can put the primitive sites back in the woods by themselves and away from the RV campers.
I haven't laid eyes on the property in 10+ years. My eldest and I have a camping trip up there in a couple of weeks.
Wasn't there a recent thread discussing people paying for catered & curated glamping at $300 for a weekend?
If that's a real thing, you should set yourself up to have a half dozen of those clients every weekend.
I watched an RV park get built just down the road over the past year. Every spot has a concrete pad, water, water, electric, sewer and cable. Watching them put the infrastructure in was like watching an apartment building get built but stopping short of actually constructing the building. I know this isn't what you're taking about doing, but they've had a pretty steady stream of people staying there even without the grass being fully grown in yet. Is this what people want and expect? Maybe?
SVreX wrote: In reply to Toyman01: You and I are way too much alike. No advice, just watching.
Me too
In reply to mazdeuce:
Interesting that their website doesn't have any pictures of the place.
I'm thinking more like this.
Instead of this.
One thing to consider (and I expect you already have, but I'll mention it) is that anytime I've been camping at a campground...it seems pretty much like a lifestyle for the owner/manager/employee folks. Not necessarily a bad thing. Basically...always on duty. But I also expect these folks are raking in cash.
Here in MO, there are lots of Ozarks float trip type campgrounds. They're hokey and run down...and PACKED with partying folks every weekend of the floating season.
We also found something we like in a campground: Quiet hours. We'll look for this in the future. A posted policy on "no loud music" after a certain hour and enforcement of that policy.
Here are some misc ramblings from an old man on the subject.
I like Toyman's idea. I've thought about it myself, but own no land and now its too expensive where I want to go (the mountains).
I've never stayed in a campground that had sewer to each spot. They have a dump for your trailer which you leave.
You don't want Huckleberry as a client. He's too damn cheap. Think of the trash (riffraff) you are going to be getting at $9/night. I haven't stayed in any county, state or federal campground in years that hasn't cost into the $20/night range. Most of these campgrounds are on lakes with nice facilities.
Someone tried to build an RV park near Landrum near the Block House(think snotty steeple chase place). This park was going to be for large expensive RVs to stay two weeks then move on. But the locals didn't want it (NIMBY) and muscled the state regulatory agency into not issuing a septic tank permit. Mind you we have no zoning here outside of city limits.
I met a guy that owned a good sized tract of land in the Estatoe River valley near Lake Jocassee. He had built a small RV park beside the river that is only for self-contained RVs. You have to take your poo with you. The rates aren't cheap, but he says they are full from spring through fall with many repeat customers.
When I go camping, I pretty much want to get away from everything. No TV, cell phones, video games etc. Smokemont federal campground near Cherokee is ideal. I just wish they had hot water.
We did an environmental assessment on some mountain land in NW SC that was being donated to the state. The owner also had a campground in Cashiers, NC that needed some attention. I seriously considered contacting him (and may still) to see if I could arrange something on that campground.
In reply to spitfirebill:
You've got mail.
Big believer in repeat customers being the foundation of any business.
So that said, why would people come to your campground over one next door and what will bring them back?
I don't have any direct experience owning a campground, but I have pretty much spent all temperate months in campgrounds since about 8 years old. I've stayed at unmanaged 'stick your money in an envelope and pick out a site' campgrounds, and $80/night 'here's your schedule for the weekend and don't forget happy hour at the tiki bar' RV resorts, and most everything in between.
In my humble opinion, you'll need to have a little of both to be successful- A nice pool, camp store, and amenities (electric and water especially) are a must. Shady and non-sardine'd sites are also a huge value add. GRM'ers are not a good barometer for the bulk of the camping crowd, which is typically more 'glamping' than anything.
So at the very least, you'd need to invest a good bit in infrastructure to get started. I will say this though, from a lot of people who live seasonally in campgrounds and live as work-campers (free sites in exchange for hours worked at the campground)- there is little to no money to be made off of rustic/primitive camping. You'll need to cater to the 'glamping' side in order to turn profits. They have the money as well as the numbers.
I've always dreamed of doing it as a retirement project, but have ultimately realized that it wouldn't be worth it. It's a 24/7 job really. You're always on call keeping peace, watching over your investment, fixing things, cleaning sites, etc...
take a hard look at what draws people to the area. Is it the scenery? Do you have that scenery on your property (or visible from)? Is it activities? Hiking, biking, whitewater rafting, a theme park, etc? If families are staying, are there various things for each family member to do (access to shopping, kids activities, etc.) If you plan on being a family-centered campground having activities for the kiddies on site or accessible by foot is key. Are you within sight of the interstate between Florida and states north? If so then being a layover stop could be good.
My experience camping is that most people camp as a way to access some other activity, not just as an activity itself. Those that do camp just to camp want to be able to see the Yosemite valley from their site, or they're backpacking off into the middle of God knows where to camp.
But I've often thought it could be an interesting way to make a living. Looking forward to hearing all the responses here.
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