Whats the truth? What % of nights spent where?

Full time:

Probably 2/3 private, 1/3 state/public.

As we full time, we prefer decent amenities not a wilderness experience but the public campgrounds frequently win out due to the location being nicer.

We've wallyed it once but that was because we making miles due to an emergency and just needed a place to crash for the night.

2013 trip 129 day Maine to Alaska, Colorado, and back to Maine: State, National, and Provincial Parks 69 nights, Private CG 53 nights, Wallyworld 7 nights. We prefer more time in public CG as they usually have more space and are closer to the outdoor activities we enjoy. The private CG number would have been much lower if we were not visiting family and had to stay nearby in private CGs.

40% Forest Service CG (never hookups, usually pit toilets, frequently no electrical service for miles)
40% State/Federal Parks (at least partial hookups)
10% Private CG (as a stopover or base camp, never a destination)
10% Boondocking

We camp almost 100% at state parks and COEs. We need electricity to power our medical equipment. I have no interest in spending the night in a Walmart parking lot or boondocking out in the middle of nowhere. I'm too concerned about security.

Matt,
nice land yacht, your GMC. This thread shows that there is a place for all camping opportunities, however your idea is a subject for another topic.
State park proximity could be an asset if you provide above level amenity and site spaces as wide and longer in size as well as in time. Then the bigger rigs with $ will seek you out.
Max

Matt_Colie,

I don't know how long it's been since you have camped in Michigan State Parks but they are nothing like you described. 3 SP CG's have full hookups and 3 more are in the process. Virtually all have 20/30/50 amp electric and all electric is included in the camping fee. Nearly are SP CG's have water spigots/hydrants spaced all over the CG so you can get all the water you want close by. RV's do have freshwater, gray water, and black water tanks and they were installed in the RV for a reason. The Michigan State Parks without FHU's have free dump stations and all the very safe fresh water you could ever use. Most have new very nice bathouses and some have state of the art bathouses with individual doored from the outside shower rooms and several have tiolets in the shower rooms and also have large individual family shower rooms. Sure cuts down on needing to dump your tanks so often as 2 weeks is the stay limit anyway.

I'm very happy that most Michigan SP's do not have water or sewer at the individual site as it's a state park and meant for many to be able to use the CG as we the taxpayers/citizens of the state own all of them! The 2 week stay limit is great and so needed. Many people/families only have a week or two of vacation each year and a CG hog ruins it for so many. Having FHU's brings in those who want to stay on a site or in a CG for a month or two or all season. You can have all of those people since it plugs up the SP CG's for other people to be able to even use. BTW, these long time stayers pay a lot less per night and use considerably more utilities so the revenues drop greatly while the expenses increase. Not a good formula!

Having served on the board of directors of a very large CG/resort for 9 years, I can tell you there's more to it than you may realize. I do wish you good luck in your venture though as done right and operated right, it can become profitable in maybe 10 years if you are lucky! Cheap out in the campground layout, interior roads and dust/dirt control, level decent sized CG site/pad construction whether gravel or concrete and well maintained etc, the electrical/plumbing,and waste disposal system installed, bathouse design/construction and materials used and how manitained constantly, policing of the CG, manager/employees attitude towards customers, very very low debt to service, keeping liability insurance reasonable which more than doubles with having a pool and/or playground, desirable location of CG is so important to even draw campers in, open long enough or as long as possible to maintain a cashflow, etc. If these and several other CG ownership factors are not well into the positive column side, the CG may not even last the ten years to have a chance of being profitable as what was cheaped out on will need repairs or replacement and costs don't go down as years pass so sticker shock will get your attention quick!

Max,

I read all of this carefully.
I have a running dream to turn some acreage we have into and RV park. Yes, the state places will have the great location for scenery/camping, but they are routinely short on facilities and hook-ups. If not looking to rough it/boondock, it should be easy to out sell them. I don't think you can meet their price, but it still should not be too tough to put in a pool (with no-kids hours), nice showers and a laundromat (with working machines).

Matt

Traveling, about 90% comercial RV parks, for availability and services available. A COE or state park if convenient and available, which usually means off-season when public parks are not packed tight with visitors.

Destinations, six of our nine annual club outings are public parks, chosen for the setting, access to nature, and convenient locations. The RV resorts we use for 3 of 9 are selected for sevices, e.g. golf course, climate controlled clubrooms for difficult weather parts of our extended season. I'm loosely connected to another camping club which almost always goes to a COE, one of a half dozen campgrounds on just three nearby reservoirs.

Most of my personal destination camping alone is public parks: state parks, tribal facilities, or COE parks, all on nearby reservoirs. They are plentiful in this area on the Arkansas River system. Call it 100% almost, since I don't go to any private RV parks locally, and anything further than a couple hours would be in the travel category for me.

I don't Wallydock, have no free public lands in this area, though I might take a nap at a rest area I don't consider it camping.

7 years traveling. Average 150 nights per year divided between 2 trips. We are NOT weekend warriors.

A SP, COE, NP or county park is almost always first preference, over 50%. Private CG if serious WIFI time or laundry needs to be done, over 45%. Some states are getting very pricey so private CGs are looking better. Wally if late & on the move or late & need to stock up on groceries anyway. Only did Wally 3 or 4 times this year.

We do bluegrass festivals wherever we come across them so there is a fair amount of dry camping in the mix as well for us.

magnusfide wrote:
Our choices are based on the goal of the trip. When visiting the sights of an area we'll choose a cg based upon proximity and length of stay. En route/one nighters are that only.

Not sure you why want the info.

Magnus, and all, thanks for commenting,
I'm just trying to make sense of the common comments we read of those that say we only 'camp at '. We use any and all forms of campsite to exprore the area, to attend events. Cost of the site is of little consideration, we wish for the experience.
Of course opportunities vary dramatically all over the continent for each, we all have a different reason or wishes.
its just that statistically, by #s compiled by our dept.s . of tourism, health & hwys, private camps here even when separating special events like the Sturgis Rally, account for a high major % of RV overnights in the state even though our state parks have a virtual monopoly on prime locations. So, private camps have to appeal to, and do to another segment of traveler.
Take a look at allstays. com, layer the maps showing each type of camp for here or your state or region of travel. I wager you will find it educational.
I find your comments educational, do incorporate those ideas and the others we see in other camps we travel to into ours.
Troublesome to me in this forum is the constant comment of 'small sites' in private camps. It gives the impression to the inexperienced that all private camps are this way; when . In 12 years of snowbirding, mostly using private camps, we've never felt a site was too small or crowded. Again, this may be due to our penchant for price being secondary to quality, or to where we go.
Thanks, Max