Campground Prices Have Hit An All-Time High

Above, at the Tucson-Lazydays KOA Kampground in April. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Like everything else these day, campground prices have risen.

According to Nanci Dixon at RV Travel, prices seem to have hit an all-time high. Still, camping in an RV is cheaper than staying at hotels and motels, even at budget ones. Last March, it was hard to find decent hotel and motel prices in the Phoenix area under $200/night.

She begins with:

It feels like campground prices have hit an all-time high. We are traveling from Arizona to Minnesota and staying almost exclusively at private RV park campgrounds. Not by choice, but because I was too wishy-washy on travel plans and didn’t book the now-sold-out state and COE parks early enough.

We have traveled similar routes from Arizona to Minnesota over the last eight years and I have come to expect higher campground prices near National Parks and major cities, but not this! The major chains are running around $70+ a night, not including the add-ons of state tax, county tax, town tax and lodging tax. These are the corporate buyouts, remodels and new builds. A few are even using booking software similar to hotels that upcharge as the park gets fuller. Don’t procrastinate—the price goes up daily.

Mom and Pop spots have caught on too. What was once $25 to $35 a night two or three years ago is now $55 to $60. I was overjoyed when we camped for four days near a National Park for $45 a night. However, when our assigned site was too small to put the slides out we were charged an additional $2 a day to move. We are at their mercy.

During my April trip in Arizona, I made use of my KOA Kampground Rewards Points to camp at lower prices in Willcox and Tucson. That's why it pays to become a KOA member and, also, at Good Sam campgrounds, using membership discounts.

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