How to Start an RV Park: A Step-by-Step Guide for New Owners

Why New RV Parks Still Make Sense

The RoverPass 2026 Outdoor Hospitality Report recorded a first-ever year-over-year dip in reservation volume of 1.0%, but total revenue still rose 5.2%, meaning guests are spending more per trip. Glamping grew 43.6% and long-term stays of 28 nights or more climbed 19.1%. Those numbers favor a new park that offers diverse site types and monthly-rate inventory from the start.

The Outdoor Hospitality Institute (OHI) describes the process as requiring careful planning and execution across permitting, financing, site design, and operations. The sections below follow that sequence.

Step 1: Evaluate the Market and Choose a Site

Market evaluation and site selection happen together because a great parcel in the wrong market is worthless. Answer these questions before you make an offer on any land.

Demand signals to check: How many RV registrations are in the surrounding counties? What is the nearest competing park's average occupancy? Is there a demand driver nearby (national park, lake, motorsports venue, employer with traveling workers)? Are there seasonal demand spikes that would leave sites empty for months?

Site checklist to run before any offer:

Once you have a site that passes the checklist, run a simple break-even model. Estimate annual operating costs, debt service, and the average nightly rate you can charge. Divide total fixed costs by that rate to find how many site-nights you must sell per year. Divide by your site count and 365 to find the break-even occupancy rate. If that number is above 60-65% in a market with unknown demand, the deal deserves hard scrutiny.

The RoverPass 2026 Outdoor Hospitality Report shows the Midwest as the fastest-growing region at 11.6%. If you are evaluating multiple regions, that data point is worth weighing alongside land prices.

• Zoning: Is RV park or campground use permitted by right, or does it require a conditional use permit or rezoning? Confirm with the county planning office before going under contract.
• Utilities: Is water, sewer, and three-phase electric available at the road, or will you need to extend service? Extension costs can run into six figures.
• Topography and drainage: Flat or gently graded land reduces earthwork costs. Poor drainage is expensive to fix and creates ongoing guest complaints.
• Access: Can a 40-foot Class A motorhome or a fifth-wheel pulling a tow car enter and exit without backing onto a highway?
• Flood zone: Check FEMA flood maps. Sites in a 100-year flood zone affect insurance costs and financing options.
• Environmental: Wetlands, protected species habitat, and brownfield history each require separate review and can stop a project.

Step 2: Secure Zoning Approval and All Required Permits

Permits are not a formality. They are a sequence, and getting that sequence wrong costs months.

The two permit categories every new park encounters are land-use approvals and construction permits. They run on different tracks and are issued by different agencies, but a construction permit is almost never issued before land-use approval is final.

At the state level, most states require a dedicated permit for RV park development. Oregon's Building Codes Division explains the model: new park construction, additions to an existing park, and alterations to an existing park each require what Oregon calls an Area Development Permit. Even if a local agency no longer allows new park construction, a permit is still required for any changes to an existing park. Most other states follow a similar structure, though the name of the permit varies.

Sanitation and health department review is a parallel track. A state campground license from the health department is required in virtually every state and covers site plan review, sanitation facilities, water supply, and electrical systems. Start that application as soon as your site plan is stable enough to submit.

For state-specific detail, see our guides to starting an RV park in Texas and starting an RV park in Florida. Texas permit requirements are covered in depth at how to build an RV park in Texas.

Permit timeline tip: schedule a pre-application meeting with your county planning department before you finalize your site plan. Many delays come from submitting a plan that does not match what the agency needs to see.

• County or municipal zoning approval or conditional use permit
• State-level Area Development Permit (or equivalent) for RV park construction
• State health department campground license (covers sanitation, water, electrical inspection)
• Building permits for any permanent structures (restrooms, laundry, camp store)
• Electrical permit for pedestal hookups and service extensions
• Water and sewer connection permits from the utility authority
• Stormwater management permit if your site disturbs more than one acre (EPA threshold in most states)
• Sign permits from the municipality

Step 3: Write a Business Plan and Arrange Financing

A lender will not underwrite your project without a written business plan. More important, you will not catch a fatal flaw in your numbers until you have written them down.

Your business plan needs to answer these specific questions for a lender:

On financing: Woodall's Campground Magazine notes that SBA 7(a), SBA 504, and USDA Business and Industry loans offer long terms, competitive interest rates, and flexible structures for new RV park and campground projects. These government-backed programs are the dominant financing path for new park construction because conventional construction lenders typically require operating history that a ground-up project cannot provide.

SBA 7(a) loans are the most flexible. They can fund land, construction, equipment, and working capital in a single loan. SBA 504 loans pair a bank first mortgage with an SBA-guaranteed second mortgage and are best suited to large real-estate-heavy projects. USDA Business and Industry loans are worth exploring if your site is in a rural area, as they can reach projects that SBA programs sometimes cannot.

Key factors lenders look for, according to Woodall's Campground Magazine: the borrower's creditworthiness and relevant industry experience, a realistic pro forma with conservative occupancy assumptions, a detailed construction budget, and evidence that the market can support the projected revenue.

Do not conflate the business plan you write for lenders with your operating plan. The lender version is a financial and market document. Your internal operating plan covers staffing, pricing strategy, site rules, and the software systems you will use to manage reservations and track revenue.

• What park, where, how many sites, and total project cost
• Why this location and this market (demand evidence, competitive landscape)
• Projected revenue by site type and season, with occupancy assumptions stated explicitly
• Operating cost detail: utilities, labor, maintenance, insurance, property tax, management software, marketing
• Break-even occupancy rate and the assumptions behind it
• Financing structure: how much equity you are contributing, how much you are borrowing, and from which programs
• Owner and management team background relevant to hospitality or real estate

Step 4: Design the Layout and Build the Park

Site layout is one of the highest-leverage decisions you will make. A poor layout reduces your capacity, limits the rig sizes you can accommodate, and generates guest complaints you cannot fix without expensive reconstruction.

Hire a civil engineer with RV park or campground experience. A general civil engineer can grade land and design stormwater management. One who has done RV parks will know turning radii for 45-foot Class A rigs, back-in versus pull-through ratios, and how to position utility pedestals so they are accessible regardless of which direction a rig is parked.

For layout ideas and density benchmarks, see our small RV park layout ideas guide.

Construction sequence typically runs: site clearing and rough grading, utility trenching and underground work, road base and paving, utility pedestal installation, site-level gravel or concrete pads, amenity building construction (restrooms, laundry, camp store), landscaping, and signage. Do not pave roads before underground utility work is complete.

Build amenities in phases if your budget requires it. Full hookup sites (water, sewer, 30/50-amp electric) generate the most revenue per site and should be your first priority. Tent sites and primitive sites can come later. A camp store and pool are valuable but not required to open.

The OHI recommends connecting with industry resources and expert networks during this phase. Their community includes operators who have built parks recently and can give you real contractor names and budget benchmarks.

• Minimum road width for two-way traffic with large rigs: 24 feet is a common standard; check your state permit requirements for the required minimum
• Pull-through sites command a premium and are preferred by solo travelers and larger rigs; aim for at least 30% of your inventory if the topography allows
• Standard full-hookup site pad: 12 feet wide by 45-70 feet long depending on your target rig size
• ADA-accessible sites are required; confirm the minimum number with your permit agency
• Site each utility pedestal so the power cord reaches the rig's hookup point without crossing traffic lanes
• Separate the dog walk area from children's play areas

Step 5: Set Up Operations Before You Open

Guests will attempt to book your park before construction is finished. If you have no reservation system, you will lose those bookings or manage them in a spreadsheet, which creates double-bookings and refund headaches.

Set up your reservation and park management software at least 60 days before your target opening date. This gives you time to load your site map, set rate rules, configure payment processing, and test the booking flow before real guests use it. RoverPass connects parks to online booking channels and handles the reservation workflow so your staff is not managing bookings by phone and email.

Pricing structure to configure before launch: set a base nightly rate by site type, a weekly rate (typically 10-15% below 7x the nightly rate), and a monthly rate for long-term stays. The RoverPass 2026 Outdoor Hospitality Report recorded 19.1% growth in stays of 28 nights or more, so monthly pricing is not optional.

Staff to hire before opening: a front desk or check-in person, a maintenance technician, and a groundskeeper. One person can cover multiple roles at a small park, but you need someone who can troubleshoot a broken water connection or a tripped breaker at 10 p.m.

Operating policies to write before you open: quiet hours, check-in and check-out times, pet policy, maximum rig length per site type, cancellation and refund policy, speed limit, and rules for long-term tenants. Post them on your website and in your confirmation emails. The RoverPass 2026 Outdoor Hospitality Report shows cancellations at a record-low 15.2% across the industry, and a clear, fair cancellation policy is part of keeping that number low.

For a deeper look at the revenue side of operations once you are open, see running a profitable RV park business.

Legal Structure and Insurance

Form your legal entity before you sign a purchase contract on land. An LLC is the most common structure for a single-park operation because it separates personal assets from business liabilities. If you are taking on partners, a multi-member LLC with a written operating agreement is the minimum; some operators use an LP or S-Corp depending on their tax situation. Consult a business attorney in your state before choosing.

Insurance lines a new RV park needs: commercial general liability, commercial property, workers' compensation (required in most states once you have employees), and umbrella liability. If you allow tent camping or glamping structures, confirm those are covered. Your lender will require proof of insurance before closing.