How much should a night of camping cost?
Okay all, I pose that question to you. Now, I am talking about trailer camping, electric at least and more than likely water. We live in Hamilton County, Indiana. It's a quite wealthy set of towns ...
Forum Discussion
bikendan wrote:
in California State Parks, basic campsites with NO hookups of any kind, cost $35 per nite on average.
We pay at most $35 with hookups and $20 or less for sites without hookups at CA state parks. There are also some day use areas where if you are self contained you can stay overnight at no cost but must leave by 9 am. But we do pay for the maintenance of the state parks through our taxes.
A private campground owner has to pay for the land, the cost of adding sewer and water and electrical service to each campsite, pay constructing a building with showers and a laundry and in some cases a rec room, sometimes an outdoor pool. They have cable or satellite service and internet service and providing a Wifi signal to the campsites. They have the cost for the electricity used and the cost for the real estate taxes and cost for their employees and cost for maintenance of the property. They have many of these costs year round regardless of how full or empty the campground is and the revenue they get from campers.
In many areas there is a 3 month season where the park owners make or break it for the year. They need to charge enough to stay in business.
Anyone who stays in a campground knows the costs involved before they drive in and they know or should know the cost for staying somewhere else in the area. If you think a place is too high then go elsewhere.
We can stay at a BLM or USFS primitive campground for $6 a night or stay in a private RV park for $25 to $75 a night but have hot showers, internet access, water and electricity for the RV, dump station, and where we can make reservations in advance.
