Last year, campgrounds affiliated with Kampgrounds of America (KOA) supplemented their RV and tent sites with 317 luxury park model cabins, which it markets as Kamping Lodges.
That’s on top of 200 park models that KOA campgrounds purchased in 2009.
So what’s KOA’s conclusion?
“We need more cabins,” said Mike Atkinson, KOA’s director of lodging.
KOA’s lodge occupancies are running 20 percent or more ahead of last year’s figures. “This means we’re getting new people, people who might not otherwise come to a campground,” Atkinson said.
Indeed, KOA and other campground operators have discovered that there is strong demand for cabin accommodations with kitchens and full size bathrooms.
Other campground chains and independent campground operators have reached similar conclusions, many of whom are adding more park models in time for this summer’s camping season.
“We started out with six in 2009. We added six this winter and we’re adding three more next month,” said Amber Zachary, manager of the Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Horn Lake, Miss., near Memphis, Tenn.
Why more cabins? “Because occupancy has steadily increased,” she said.
Independent campgrounds that are not affiliated with any national chains are also getting into the act, including Hi Pines Campground in Eagle River, Wis., which just installed its first park model. “We just put it on our website three weeks ago and we have nine bookings already,” said campground manager Kristen Verhulst.
All of this is good news for the nation’s park model cabin manufacturers.
“The campground industry is our strongest market right now,” said Bill Garpow, executive director of the Recreational Park Trailer Industry Association, the Newnan, Ga.-based trade association that represents park model manufacturers.
“It’s also good news for consumers because these units make camping accessible to people who don’t have a tent or RV, but still want to enjoy the great outdoors,” Garpow said.
Indeed, while park model cabins are known for their upscale amenities, including stove and refrigerators, flat screen TVs and, in many cases, sleeping lofts for the kids, most units also come equipped with decks and barbecues. Others are set up on campsites with fire rings, so people can still sing by the campfire and roast s’mores and have a true outdoor camping experience.
Parents with young children also like park models so they don’t have to walk with their children to a public bathroom in the middle of the night.
For more information on park models and how they’re being used by campgrounds, RV parks and resorts across the country, please contact Bill Garpow at the Recreational Park Trailer Industry Association at (770) 251-2672 and visit www.rptia.com.
Here’s a sampling of campgrounds across the country that have added park model cabin rentals in time for this summer’s camping season:
Independent Campgrounds
- Big Sur Campground and Cabins, Big Sur, Calif., www.bigsurcamp.com
- Eagle Lake RV Park, Susanville, Calif., www.eaglelakeandrv.com
- Hi Pines Campground, Eagle River, Wis., www.hipines.net
- Hill Country RV Resort, New Braunfels, Texas, www.hillcountryrvresortnb.com
- Lake Chippewa Campground, Hayward, Wis., www.lakechip.com
- Lake of the Woods Mountain Lodge and Resort, Klamath Falls, Ore., www.lakeofthewoodsresort.com
- Mountain Lakes Resort, Lytle Creek, Calif., www.mountainlakesca.com
- Red Apple Campground, Kennebunkport, Me., www.redapplecampground.com
- Smuggler’s Den Campground, Southwest Harbor, Me., www.smugglersdencampground.com
Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts (www.campjellystone.com)
- Caledonia, Wis.
- Canyon Lake, Texas
- Cave City, Ky.
- Eureka, Mo.
- Frankenmuth, Mich.
- Gloucester, Va.
- Horn Lake, Miss.
- Madison, Me.
- Mill Run, Penn.
- North Java, N.Y.
KOA Campgrounds (www.koa.com)
- Pichacho, Arizona
- Eureka Springs, Arkansas
- Hot Springs, Arkansas
- Midpines, California
- San Diego, California
- Santa Paula, California
- Alamosa, Colorado
- Durango, Colorado
- Montrose, Colorado
- Pueblo, Colorado
- Davenport, Florida
- Naples, Florida
- St. Augustine, Florida
- Montpelier Creek, Idaho
- Lava Hot Springs, Idaho
- Chebanse, Illinois
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Saco, Maine
- Bar Harbor, Maine
- Northampton, Massachusetts
- Lanesboro, Massachusetts
- Covert, Michigan
- Emmett, Michigan
- Gaylord, Michigan
- Muskegon, Michigan
- Port Huron, Michigan
- Traverse City, Michigan
- Branson, Missouri
- Livingston, Montana
- St. Mary, Montana
- West Glacier, Montana
- West Yellowstone, Montana
- Silver City, New Mexico
- Herkimer, New York
- Houghton, New York
- Lake Placid, New York
- Niagara Falls, New York
- Saugerties, New York
- Smithfield, North Carolina
- Swannanoa, North Carolina
- Wade, North Carolina
- Wilmington, North Carolina
- Buckeye Lake, Ohio
- Shelby, Ohio
- Streetsboro, Ohio
- Van Buren, Ohio
- Wapakoneta, Ohio
- North Bend, Oregon
- Waldport, Oregon
- Delaware Gap, Pennsylvania
- Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
- Erie, Pennsylvania
- Meadsville, Pennsylvania
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Spartenburg, South Carolina
- Custer, South Dakota
- Deadwood, South Dakota
- North Sioux City, South Dakota
- Blountville, Tennessee
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- Junction, Texas
- South Padre Island, Texas
- Waco, Texas
- Cannonville, Utah
- Broadway, Virginia
- Charlottesville, Virginia
- Ellensburg, Washington
- Leavenworth, Washington
- Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
- Hayward, Wisconsin
- Hixton, Wisconsin
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Morgan RV Resorts (www.morganrvresorts.com)
- Lake Laurie Campground, Cape May, N.J.
Government Run Campgrounds
- Rancho Jurupa Park, Riverside, Calif.
- Lassen National Park, Calif.
- Santee Lakes Campground, Santee, Calif.
- Vineyard Campground & Cabins, Grapevine, Texas
Love these little cabins, cute as buttons, next best thing to the glamping trend. Alot better when it starts to get cold as well and a little safer from the bears!
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