Building New Campground. Opinions Welcome!
My family is working on building a new campground from scratch and we would like to get some opinions from campers or campground owners. We considered building right off a major interstate on about 3...
Forum Discussion
A lot of this has been said already, but fwiw here’s my thoughts:
I prefer away from the interstate for Quiet reasons. I prefer a park that’s a 15-30 minute drive off the main arteries. If it’s quiet, we often end up staying more than the one night we planned on. Be sure to have a sign at every turnoff and ideally just before every turnoff so it’s easy to get into the proper lane.
I also hate RR horns if you have one of those around.
Good wifi is a Must. If I read reviews and they say ‘spotty wifi’, I won’t even consider staying there.
Of course, lotsa room for each site and easy access for the site (no sharp turns or having to drive over a neighboring site to back a trailer in). this is more for noobs, but it’s important.
I like the idea of trying to keep similar types of campers together. Not by rig, but by old age/families/singles/etc. this could be a floating target as your demographics ebb and flow thru the seasons. Eg, the sites furtherest from the pool is your older/quieter preferring folks.
Make strict rules for long termers and ENFORCE them. If you don’t do that, you will get a reputation as a trashy park. I know long termers provide a steady cash flow, but try to keep them to a minimum- they tend to drive away ‘regular’ campers. I know we have pulled into a CG more than once and then just drove on because of all the long term ‘characters’ that were visible before we ever got out of the vehicle. Your long term tenants are a reflection of you.
Put on your website a good map showing the local gas/groceries/restaurants/etc. Also on the handout you give campers. Make it a scale map or note distances on it. A good aerial shot of your CG taken by a drone would make a nice side-by-side to a park map. Don’t pay professional prices- there’s bound to be a racing drone group near you and many of those folks have photo drones too.
Be clear to the point that a 6th grader can understand your pricing on your website. Post everything so there are no surprises.
Hire friendly front desk staff. That will get you a good review above all else. People will overlook lots of minor stuff if the staff is friendly and doing whatever they can to make your stay pleasant.
Stay after any potholes that form on site. Don’t do noisy maintenance until after 9 or 10am.
Make all sites as level as possible as if a monster motorhome was going to stay on it with a toad.
I really liked the food delivery to site post that one of the earlier posters mentioned. Gonna have to lok for that from now on.
Kinda out of the box ideas:
If you have the space, putting in a few disc golf holes in the woods would be fun for kids and adults alike. Low maintenance once theyre in too.
Some people like cornhole boards tho I cannot understand that at all. Should be a inexpensive option.
We wish you all the best in this venture. Be sure to post when you are up and running and if you are anywhere near us, we’ll come and stay a bit.
I prefer away from the interstate for Quiet reasons. I prefer a park that’s a 15-30 minute drive off the main arteries. If it’s quiet, we often end up staying more than the one night we planned on. Be sure to have a sign at every turnoff and ideally just before every turnoff so it’s easy to get into the proper lane.
I also hate RR horns if you have one of those around.
Good wifi is a Must. If I read reviews and they say ‘spotty wifi’, I won’t even consider staying there.
Of course, lotsa room for each site and easy access for the site (no sharp turns or having to drive over a neighboring site to back a trailer in). this is more for noobs, but it’s important.
I like the idea of trying to keep similar types of campers together. Not by rig, but by old age/families/singles/etc. this could be a floating target as your demographics ebb and flow thru the seasons. Eg, the sites furtherest from the pool is your older/quieter preferring folks.
Make strict rules for long termers and ENFORCE them. If you don’t do that, you will get a reputation as a trashy park. I know long termers provide a steady cash flow, but try to keep them to a minimum- they tend to drive away ‘regular’ campers. I know we have pulled into a CG more than once and then just drove on because of all the long term ‘characters’ that were visible before we ever got out of the vehicle. Your long term tenants are a reflection of you.
Put on your website a good map showing the local gas/groceries/restaurants/etc. Also on the handout you give campers. Make it a scale map or note distances on it. A good aerial shot of your CG taken by a drone would make a nice side-by-side to a park map. Don’t pay professional prices- there’s bound to be a racing drone group near you and many of those folks have photo drones too.
Be clear to the point that a 6th grader can understand your pricing on your website. Post everything so there are no surprises.
Hire friendly front desk staff. That will get you a good review above all else. People will overlook lots of minor stuff if the staff is friendly and doing whatever they can to make your stay pleasant.
Stay after any potholes that form on site. Don’t do noisy maintenance until after 9 or 10am.
Make all sites as level as possible as if a monster motorhome was going to stay on it with a toad.
I really liked the food delivery to site post that one of the earlier posters mentioned. Gonna have to lok for that from now on.
Kinda out of the box ideas:
If you have the space, putting in a few disc golf holes in the woods would be fun for kids and adults alike. Low maintenance once theyre in too.
Some people like cornhole boards tho I cannot understand that at all. Should be a inexpensive option.
We wish you all the best in this venture. Be sure to post when you are up and running and if you are anywhere near us, we’ll come and stay a bit.
