• You do not need millions to start a campground, but you do need a plan and some patience.
• Location, permits, and knowing what campers want are more valuable than fancy amenities at the beginning.
• Real-world feedback beats perfect business plans. Take small steps, test, and adjust.
• Start small and build out. This reduces risk and helps you learn as you go.

Starting your own campground is not as complex as many think. In short: you need land, permission, and a sense of what campers want. A good location comes first. After that, you build facilities and handle the paperwork. Constantly listen to guests to improve. Anyone willing to learn, adapt, and work hard can launch a basic campground and grow it over time. Now, let’s get into each step in detail.

How Much Money Do You Need?

The startup cost for a campground can be all over the place. I used to think you needed a massive loan, but that’s not always the story. Some people get started with $50,000, and others spend over $1 million. It depends mostly on your location and how fancy you want things to look at the start.

Campgrounds can begin with little more than land, toilets, and a water source. The rest builds over time. From the start, expect costs for:

• Buying or leasing land
• Permits and insurance
• Basic facilities (think porta-potties if needed)
• Simple roads and parking
• Some marketing (even just a website)

Banks might give you the side-eye if you ask for a lot up front, so sometimes it works better to start small and self-fund. If you can prove people will come, then you can expand. I’ve seen campgrounds run on limited budgets for years before scaling up.

Choose the Right Location

Not every piece of land makes sense for a campground. Avoid swamps. Try to stay close to highways or at least one busy road. Water access helps, but too much water (like flooding) is a problem.

• Is there a tourist spot nearby? (National park, lake, etc.)
• Are there other campgrounds already in the area?
• Can you get utilities to the site?
• Is it easy to find?

Picking a spot is like picking a business partner , choose wrong, and nothing else works quite right.

If you have a unique spot, like land with historic trees or an old barn, you can stand out. I’ve seen small woodlots near mid-sized cities do shockingly well. Ask yourself: If you drove in for the first time, what would you notice? Sometimes, even having a pretty field and privacy works for people who don’t care about amenities.

Understand Zoning and Permits

No one likes local government paperwork. Still, getting the right permissions is probably the least fun but essential part. Watch for zoning laws. Not every plot is approved for a campground.

If your land is farmland, you might get special permission to run a campground part-time, depending on local laws. In some towns, one neighbor complaint can shut everything down. It is easier to make friends and communicate than to fight city hall later.

Permit headaches can kill good ideas faster than bad weather. Don’t skip this part, even if it feels like a roadblock.

Design Your Campground: Start Simple

Campers do not always want the works. You do not need pools, archery ranges, or climbing walls at first. Many people prefer woods, a fire ring, and a toilet that works.

• Mark out clear, flat campsites
• Add fire pits or rings
• Gravel roads and defined driveways
• Safe, clean water source
• Toilets or portable restrooms

When people ask me what must go in, my answer is: start with basics. Kid’s playground? Maybe later. High-speed Wi-Fi for every site? Tempting, but not urgent at the beginning. Good lighting is nice but costs money. Use what you have. If you have unique trees or tall grass, make it part of the experience.

How Many Campsites to Start?

This is heavily debated. Five to ten campsites can get you started and help you learn what people want. More than twenty is tricky for one person to manage.

I met someone who ran a four-site tent campground near a popular trail and stayed fully booked all summer. He said he would rather have happy campers than too many empty spots. Once the basics work, scale up.

Figure Out Utilities: Water, Power, Toilets

Water should always be clean and safe. If you do not have city water, test your well. Tank in water if you need to. Showers are a bonus and can be added later. Some successful campsites operate with nothing but portable toilets and handwashing stations at the start.

Electricity pulls in certain kinds of guests (like RV owners), but it is expensive to add to every site. For tents and rustic cabins, people can live without it.

Plenty of campers want the basics done right, clean water, toilets, and some shade, before they even care about Wi-Fi or AC hookups.

Legal and Insurance Needs

Some people avoid talking about insurance and legal stuff, but ignoring it is risky. Get liability insurance. Protects you if someone trips and falls or claims you caused an injury.

• General business liability insurance
• Property insurance (buildings, trees, etc.)
• Workers comp (if you hire employees down the line)

Meet with an insurance agent who insures campgrounds. Not every agent understands what you need. Be honest about expected guests and the activities allowed.

Draft campground rules in plain terms:

• Check-in and out hours
• Quiet hours
• Pet rules
• Campfire policy
• Alcohol rules

Post rules online and at the camp, and include them with every booking.

Marketing: Get Your First Guests

Word of mouth wins long term, but you have to kick things off. The best marketing for a new campground is being listed online. Use Google Maps, Hipcamp, The Dyrt, and basic Facebook and Instagram pages. People want to see real photos, not renderings.

• Add your campground to park and camping directories
• Ask early guests for honest reviews (even if they say it was basic)
• Post photos of each campsite, restrooms, and scenery

A simple website with a map, prices, and what is available beats a fancy design with no real info.

Your first guests are test drivers. Listen to their feedback. If they hate the outhouse, fix it. If they like your fire rings, highlight it.

Pricing Your Campsites

How much to charge? That is a puzzle with more variables than I expected. Check what others in the same area are charging, then consider:

• Location (near a major attraction or not)
• Facilities (power, showers, Wi-Fi, etc.)
• Site size and privacy

Do not start too high. Early on, better to fill sites and get reviews than to price out potential loyal customers.

Adjust as needed when demand rises or falls. In peak season, you might raise your prices, but do not get greedy. Filling your campground and giving good experiences leads to more bookings later.

Day-to-Day Operations

It is tempting to want to automate everything, but guests want a real person around for help or questions. Keep things simple while you start:

• Be present during busy check-in/check-out times
• Walk the campgrounds once or twice a day
• Address noise and trash before it grows into a problem
• Respond to online bookings and questions quickly

A mobile phone and an email address are enough to begin managing reservations. Eventually, you can add campground management software, but that can wait.

Managing Feedback

Listen. If someone says the showers are too cold or the mosquitoes are bad, see what you can do about it. Not every complaint is serious, but patterns tell a story. Sometimes you will get negative reviews no matter what you do. It stings, but usually, there is at least a point or two worth considering.

Occasionally, campers might expect more than you offer. Be honest about what you provide from the start. Do not promise luxury if you offer basic tenting.

Ways to Grow Over Time

Most successful campgrounds grow in small steps. That is the safer way, unless you have deep pockets and no time pressure. Once guests start coming back, think about:

• Adding more campsites
• Building a shower house
• Offering rustic cabins or yurts
• Improving road and signage
• Creating nature trails or small play areas

Some campgrounds host events, like outdoor movies or group hikes. Others sell firewood and basics (water, snacks, ice). Small extras can boost profits without big upfront expenses.

Growth works best when it fits your land, your guests, and your budget.

Examples of Campground Ideas That Can Work

• A small “dark sky” campground for stargazers with quiet hours and basic tent sites.
• A camp for mountain bikers next to popular trails, with bike wash and secure bike storage.
• Paddle-in tent sites for canoe campers, with small docks and simple toilets.
• A pet-friendly spot close to a dog park or walking trail, where dogs are the main guests.

Sometimes, serving a very specific group works better than being everything to everyone. I talked to an owner who ran a ten-site mushroom foragers’ camp, open only two months a year, and did far better than camps open all year in less unique places.

What Most New Owners Get Wrong

• Overbuilding up front. Many spend on hot tubs and game rooms when they do not even have bookings yet.
• Ignoring local rules and annoying neighbors. A single complaint can bring serious problems.
• Noisy or disruptive campers. Tight rules and personal oversight help prevent this.
• Poor online presence. If people cannot find you, they will not come, no matter how nice your place is.

I am guilty of thinking I could skip some steps. Once, I let a friend run a pop-up glamping site without city approval. It lasted three weeks before a neighbor asked too many questions. Cost me more in the end.

Questions To Ask Yourself

• Do you enjoy solving guest problems and being available, even late at night?
• Are you willing to do boring work, like cleaning restrooms and checking on garbage, again and again?
• Can you risk slow periods where bookings disappear for weeks?
• Are you ready to expand slowly instead of hoping for overnight success?

If those give you pause, maybe bring in a partner, or stick to a small seasonal campground at first. No need to rush into a twenty-acre resort if you have not even run a backyard campout.

Running a campground is more about daily care, patience, and listening than flashy business plans.

Is Seasonal or Year-Round Better?

Seasonal operations (summer only) lower costs, especially in cold places. Year-round works in warm states but means dealing with slow winter months. A few campgrounds pivot to winter guests, like ice fishers or snowshoers, but that is not for everyone.

Some campgrounds close for months and use that time to repair, clean, and improve. Less pressure. Others stay open all year and ride out the lean times. Neither way is “right,” and it comes down to your land and what you want to do.

RV parks sometimes draw snowbirds (winter travelers). Tent campers favor spring and summer. Ask the people around you what they are looking for.

Can You Buy an Existing Campground?

This skips a lot of steps, but costs more up front. You get land, facilities, a customer base, maybe a record of profits. But you also buy whatever problems the last owner left, outdated wiring, bad reviews, old loans.

Some campers love old, rustic places. Others want modern upgrades. When looking at a current campground, ask why the owner is selling. Sometimes it is age. Sometimes it is constant headaches.

Ask to see up-to-date financials and maintenance history. If you can, talk to current guests, what do they like and what would they change?

Partnering and Hiring

If you get busy enough, hiring part-timers or partnering with a co-owner helps. Friends and family can help at first but may expect too much flexibility.

• Hire help for cleaning and groundskeeping
• Use local small businesses for repairs or upgrades

For larger camps, camp hosts manage check-ins and guest relations. Just make sure anyone representing your campground shares your standards. Bad service or grumpy staff will ruin a good campground.

Learning from Others

The best lessons come from visiting other campgrounds and reading what real campers say online. Spend a night at a similar site. Watch what works and what bothers you. Ask owners what they regret. Most are frank about mistakes made.

Online forums, local business meetups, and small business centers offer surprising insight. You never know what you will find unless you get out and ask.

No two campgrounds are exactly alike. Learn as you go, and do not repeat another person’s mistakes just because you think “that will not happen to me.”