How much does it cost to build a campground or RV park?
It depends on many factors, including the choice of amenities, buildings, infrastructure and road materials.
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Estimated time to read: 5 minutes
TL;DR:
If you’re looking to build a campground or RV park, you’re probably looking at $30,000 - $40,000 per site.
This is how that breaks down:
Surveys, engineering, plans, specs, permits: ~$2,500 per site
Grading/site work: ~$2,400 per site
Paving: ~$3,600 per site
Patios/walkways: ~$3,200 per site
Sewer/septic system/lines: ~$2,500 per site
Water system/lines: ~$2,400 per site
Electrical: ~$4,000 per site
Buildings (clubhouse, bathhouses, amenities): ~$5,000-$10,000 per site
Landscaping/miscellaneous: ~$5,000-$10,000 per site
Total: $30,000-$40,000 per site (not including land/acquisition cost)
Let’s qualify this a bit before we dive into each category. These are the top factors that will influence these numbers:
The region/location in which the project is being built.
It is generally more expensive to build in blue states vs. red states. For example, the southwest will be much more favorable than the northeast.
The size/number of sites.
You’ll have a lower cost per site if you build 200 sites vs. 50 sites.
Quality of construction/materials/finishes/amenities.
Are you going to build a splash pad or water park? Spa-like bathrooms? Mini golf? Are you going to build gravel, asphalt, or concrete roads? How about your site pads?
If you’ve got an in-house design/build team, you can likely build on the low end of this range or even cheaper if you’re building a rustic campground.
The numbers I present here are relevant for a park with 100+ sites of good to excellent quality using a third-party design/build team.
Let’s dive in:
Surveys, engineering, plans, specs, permits: ~$2,500 per site
I don’t see a ton of wiggle room here. Bid these out, and maybe you can find vendors with a lull in their schedule and make a compelling proposal.
Grading/site work: ~$2,400 per site
If you have a very flat site, you can probably come in significantly under this. The biggest factors would be land clearing/tree removal, lots of hilly terrain to grade/cut into, type of soil/lots of rock to blast or dig out, etc. I’ve come across projects that have $1,000,000 just in rock blasting.
Paving: ~$3,600 per site
This will be a major line item if you choose to pave your property entirely with asphalt or concrete. However, you can likely find some savings here if you choose gravel roads.
Patios/walkways: ~$3,200 per site
Will you have long roads with sidewalks? Do you want to add concrete, paver or deck patios to some or all of your sites? You may be able to avoid this cost entirely if you have gravel roads, no sidewalks, and choose not to add patios to your sites.
Sewer/septic system/lines: ~$2,500 per site
This could end up being your biggest line item. Some municipalities may require a wastewater treatment plant for parks of a certain size. I’ve seen those cost $1MM plus. Will you have to pump sewage up a hill? You’ll need to budget for pumps to do so. How many linear feet do you need to excavate for lines?
If you have the luxury of access to city sewer, it may be cheaper to hook up to city sewer.
I’ve seen small parks do their entire septic for $100k, and I’ve seen individual leach fields at a park that has a dozen or more cost that much.
Water system/lines: ~$2,400 per site
If you must utilize private well water for your park, your biggest contributors will be pump house construction/equipment and water treatment equipment. Will you need multiple wells and pump houses/treatment systems? Whether you have private well water or access to city water, your next biggest line item will be excavating for your lines.
Electrical: ~$4,000 per site
This depends on the number of sites and the amount of service you need to bring into your park. It also depends on the layout of your park. How long will your runs be, and how many will you need? Will you be choosing underground lines or overhead lines?
Buildings (clubhouse, bathhouses, amenities): ~$5,000-$10,000 per site
This could be the biggest variable in your total cost. Will you be building multiple clubhouses/rec rooms, a waterpark or splash pad, multiple swimming pools, or lodging options?
You could minimize this cost by using prefab bathhouse trailers, building a small store, and skipping the high-ticket amenities if you think you can attract customers without them.
Landscaping/miscellaneous: ~$5,000-$10,000 per site
Will you add lots of hardscaping or screening throughout/between your sites? Do you plan to do lots of planting throughout the park? Or are you going for a more natural/wooded look?
That’s all for this week. Thank you so much for reading!
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this was very educational; thank you! I had no idea that new parks cost so much to build!