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Part
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Campgrounds Research
Key Takeaways
- Campground directories list up to 14,451 campgrounds in the United States.
- About 49% of parks/campgrounds are sole proprietorships/LLCs, 23% are corporately-owned, and 23% are partnership LLCs.
- About 78% of the campgrounds and RV parks in the United States are "individual/independently owned small businesses ."
- There are at least 13,000 campgrounds in the United States.
- The campground and RV park market was valued at $6.32 billion in 2021.
Introduction
This research provides the approximate number of private campgrounds in the United States. We could not find the exact number of privately-owned or operated campgrounds in the United States. From the data provided by campground listings, we estimated the total number of campgrounds in the US as calculated in this spreadsheet. The research strategy section provides further details on our logic and calculations.
Number of Private Campgrounds
- Campground directories list up to 14,451 campgrounds in the United States.
- About 78% of the campgrounds and RV parks in the United States are "individual/independently owned small businesses ." "Far fewer are corporate-owned (14%), a franchised brand (7%), are membership or member-owned (2%), or have some other operational structure (5%)." There are up to 10,140 individual/independently owned campgrounds in the US.
- There are at least 13,000 campgrounds in the United States. Up to 13,900 privately-operated campgrounds and RV parks in the United States.
- There are over 1,600 state parks in the country. The National Park Service lists 130 campgrounds in active operation. The Bureau of Land Management owns more than 400 campgrounds.
- One of the biggest campgrounds in the region is the Ocean Lakes family campground located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
- The largest campground in the world is the Philmont Scout Ranch located in New Mexico.
Useful Private Campground Findings
- The campground and RV park market was valued at $6.32 billion in 2021. The graphic below shows the value of this market over the years in billions of US dollars.
- About 49% of parks/campgrounds are sole proprietorships/LLCs, 23% are corporately-owned, 23% are partnership LLCs, 1% are government-affiliated, and 4% have some other ownership type.
- Private campground operators state that Millennials enjoy group camping.
- Nonetheless, not all Millenials desire the same camping experience, even within their groups.
- The image below shows the income grouping of private campground customers.
- The image below shows the ethnic grouping of private campground customers.
- Public and private campgrounds in warm climates enjoy year-round visitation.
- Campgrounds strategically located close to natural resources such as lakes, forests, and even monuments and landmarks, are usually in higher demand.
Research Strategy
For this campground research, we gleaned data from government publications, surveys, and studies from reputable sources. Our research revealed approximately 13,000 to 13,900 privately-owned campgrounds in the US. Next, we examined campground industry reports on reputable sources such as IBISWorld. Available reports did not mention the number of campgrounds. Then, we turned to top travel databases and directories to find the number of such campgrounds. Data on the travel sites focused on popular privately-owned campgrounds and RV parks. The campground directories provided a rough estimate of the number of campgrounds in total. From the data provided by the listings, we estimated the total number of campgrounds in the US as calculated in this spreadsheet. Other calculations run as follows:
- If there are 13,000 private campgrounds in the country, then there are 10,140 individual/independently owned campgrounds (78%).
Although we did not find the exact number of privately-owned or operated campgrounds in the United States, we located some resources with a wealth of potentially valuable data and insights.