Campsites

The top three complaints we have heard from other campers have been:

• The increased cost of fuel
• The increased cost of campsites and
• The decreased availability of campsites

The convergence of these three events during the summer of 2022 made camping more difficult and stressful than necessary. While many have continued camping, the cost is more for fuel and campgrounds, and the least expensive campsites have been booked way in advance (especially weekends and long holiday weekends).

Cost of Fuel

There isn’t much we as individuals can do about the price of fuel. And it doesn’t seem like most of the elected individuals in our government much care about reducing fuel prices. Except perhaps one Connecticut governor and the CT House of Representatives.

In March 2022 the Connecticut House voted unanimously to pass House Bill 5501 to suspend the state’s 25 cent per gallon sales tax from April 1st to June 30th. Gov. Ted Lamont then extended this tax suspension until November 30th. Thank you, we really appreciated this break when driving through CT! Connecticut lawmakers unanimously pass bill to cut 25 cent gas tax by Adam McPhail and Yash Roy, March 29, 2022

Cost of Campsites

While the cost of camping at state and national parks has remained relatively affordable, commercial campground fees have escalated. Some commercial campgrounds have increased the cost of staying a Friday or a Saturday night and/or have added a mandatory minimum number of days per stay policy, especially during holiday weekends.

Like everything else, the cost of campsites has increased with supply and demand. The more demand, the more the cost.

One campground owner we talked with said until a couple years ago, the standard in the industry was that if you had a full campground, it would indicate the campground management was not charging enough per night for their sites. This resulted in fees for sites increasing. Again, supply and demand.

For this one campground owner, he said he kept his site fees steady as long as he could because he had families who had returned to his campground for years. In some cases, generations. The small increase barely covered his increased fee of products (toilet paper, ice cream, etc.) and the cost of fuel (lawn mowers, trimmers, etc.).

Availability of Campsites

It may not be the availability of campsites overall, but the availability of camping sites that can accommodate the amenities and services modern campers are looking for. Larger, more technologically advanced RVs have changed what sites are available to them.

When we were looking for an RV, we did a lot of looking. Probably just like you!

During our search we looked at this gorgeous 45’ Ellipse with a marble interior. It was MUCH more than we were looking for but it was fun to look at. The price was high and I don’t think many people in Maine really wanted such a large, fancy RV. It sat unsold for a few years. We heard later the man who bought the RV took the Ellipse on its maiden voyage to his favorite privately owned campground. He was going to meet up with his friends to camp for the weekend like he had done dozens of times before. Only now he had the Ellipse, not the 5th wheel he had traded in. He left the campground Friday night in the dark, livid because he had spent an hour trying to maneuver his new 45’ motorhome into his usual camping site and then finding out that since the campground only offered 30 amp service. He couldn’t even open the slides on his fully electric Ellipse.

Since at the time there were few campgrounds offering the length site he needed and 50 amp service, he put the Ellipse at a seasonal campground site. And to our knowledge, he never moved it or took it out again. A pretty expensive lesson.

However, we learned from him. This story is one of the reasons we chose our 35’ Winnebago. We have rarely found a campground that couldn’t accommodate us. And why we chose a motorhome with dual services:

• Water heater: propane and electric options
• Heat: propane and electric options
• Refrigerator: propane and electric options

So, it may not be so much that campsites are not available, as much as the campsites that are available are not ones that will accommodate the needs of your RV.

New RVs Sold

Another factor affecting the number of camping sites available is that there has been an explosion of RV sales by dealerships in the last two years. You may have noticed or heard about this. One dealership in Katy, Texas, that we visited is known for having “hundreds and hundreds of RVs in their inventory!!”. “Acres of RVs!!!” When we visited in 2021 there were 40 RVs on their empty lot. Twenty of those were on hold waiting financing by hopeful new owners. The dealership could not get RVs due to supply chain difficulties and what they could get was sold almost immediately.

So how many more RVs were sold in 2020 and 2021? 1,000,000. That number does not include the number of RVs that had been sitting and were sold privately, putting more RVs on the road.

Units sold in thousands

2020 – 430.41
2021 – 600.24

Statista.com – Wholesale Shipments of Recreational Vehicles in the US

During a time people found they could work from literally anywhere, one million new RVs increased the demand on campsites. See our blog: Full Time RV Life vs Living in a House

Total Number of Campsites

Now you know there are a million new RVs on the road just in the last two years alone. So, how many campsites are there out there?

There are more than 14,000 public and private campgrounds to choose from. And if that wasn’t enough, there are other free options like dispersed camping on land managed by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), and boondocking on public lands, for example, Padre Island in Texas.

Commercial or Private Campgrounds
Examples include KOA, Good Sam, Thousand Trail, etc.
Approximately 8,000 campgrounds (may not reflect some private campgrounds)
Counts Vary on Number of U.S. Campgrounds

State Parks
1,600 campgrounds
Get to Know America’s State Parks

ACE, Army Corp of Engineers
450 campgrounds
11 Army Corps of Engineers Campgrounds to Add to Your Bucket List

NPS, National Park Service
130 RV campgrounds
Where Can I Camp?

USFS, United States Forest Service
Approximately 4000 RV campgrounds
RV Camping – US Forest Service Campgrounds

One of the other things we have noticed is the stark difference in availability of boondocking sites east and west of the Mississippi. There are very few federal lands available for boondocking east of the Mississippi. West of the Mississippi? A whole different story! Bureau of Land Management (BLM) controls massive amounts of lands in western states, for example:

• 85% of land in Nevada is federal
• 66% of land in Utah is federal
• 62% of land in Idaho is federal
• 62% of land in Alaska is federal
• 53 % of land in Oregon is federal

Federal Lands in the West: A few facts and figures – WesternPlanner.org

Using a rough calculation of 14,180 commercial and public campgrounds times 100 sites per campground that equals about 1,418,000 campsites available on any given night. Plus, of course, whoever is boondocking!! It really helps explain why on some weekends it can be tough to find a spot!!

Take-away Point

It isn’t just the number of campground sites available on any given weekend, but finding one on the weekend that will accommodate the size of your RV, the services you want for example, 50 amp service, sewer at your site, etc. Happy hunting for the perfect spot!

Your partners in travel,
Kathryn, Dave and Lucky
RVing Nomads

It’s a lifestyle

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