RV Park and Campground Market Report 2026

Demand is holding, the mix is shifting, and the numbers lenders use to decide whether a park gets financed have tightened. This is the consultant's view of where the market stands and what a project has to prove.

FSC Consulting, Inc. Research · Feasibility Study Consultant · Published September 2026 · Data current through September 25, 2026

Executive summary

The U.S. RV park and campground market in late 2026 is not a demand story. It is a mix story and a capital story.

On demand, the base is stable. KOA's 2026 Camping and Outdoor Hospitality Report counts just over 52 million North American camping households in 2025, above pre-pandemic levels and roughly level with 2024. What has changed is how that demand arrives. On a same-store basis, RoverPass parks booked 5.8% fewer reservations over July 4th 2026 and 5.3% fewer over Labor Day. Over the same period, stays of 28 nights or more grew 19.1% in RoverPass's 2025 data, glamping reservations grew 43.6%, and the two public REITs grew annual RV rent 3.8% to 5.4%. Transient revenue fell at both: 4.8% at Sun Communities and 8.9% at Equity LifeStyle Properties in the second quarter of 2026. The weekend camper is softer. The monthly guest, the seasonal guest and the cabin guest are stronger.

On capital, the math tightened in September. The Federal Reserve raised its target range to 3.75% to 4.00% on September 16, 2026, and the prime rate moved to 7.00%. That puts the maximum variable rate on an SBA 7(a) loan above $350,000 at 10.00%. The September 10 SBA 504 debenture priced at about 6.53% for 20 years and 6.54% for 25 years. Newmark's 2026 valuation survey puts Class A and B RV parks at going-in cap rates near 8.0% and Class C parks near 9.0%. When the cost of debt sits at or above the cap rate, leverage does not help returns at the start. A project has to make money on its own operations from year one.

Three conclusions follow for owners, developers and lenders.

First, the most feasible projects in 2026 are expansions, lodging add-ons and repositioning of under-managed parks, not ground-up resorts. Expansion sites reuse existing roads, utilities, offices and amenities. In the OHI benchmarking survey, 69% of parks that added full-hookup sites reported costs under $15,000 per site, while 60% of owners who built new parks reported $15,000 or more per site before land, amenities and soft costs.

Second, the site mix is now a financing decision as well as a market decision. SBA SOP 50 10 8 makes RV parks and campgrounds eligible only if more than 50% of revenue comes from guests staying 30 days or less. The long-stay revenue that stabilizes a park can push it out of SBA eligibility. USDA's Business and Industry program has no such test, which makes it the natural lender for rural parks with a large seasonal or monthly book.

Third, lenders are underwriting to stress, not to the pro forma. A park that shows 1.35x debt service coverage in the base case can fall to about 1.1x when transient revenue drops 10%, which is roughly what happened to the REITs' transient books in 2025 and 2026. Lenders want to see coverage hold above 1.0x in the downside and above 1.25x in the base case, with working capital sized to carry the park through its slowest months.

The rest of this report sets out the data, explains how parks are financed through SBA 7(a), SBA 504 and USDA B&I, and walks through worked examples of the coverage tests a lender will apply.

The market at a glance

1. The market in one page

What the industry is

An RV park or campground rents sites to recreational vehicles and tents, and increasingly rents on-site lodging such as cabins, park model RVs and glamping tents. Stays run from one night to twelve months. In federal classification the industry is NAICS 721211, RV parks and campgrounds.

The product ranges widely:

• Rustic campgrounds: tent and dry-camping sites with a bathhouse.
• Traditional RV parks: full-hookup sites with water, sewer and 30- or 50-amp electric.
• Resorts: paved pads, pools, clubhouses, activity programs, stores and lodging units.

Operationally, a park is a hospitality business on land. Revenue depends on online visibility, reservation systems, pricing, reviews and the balance between nightly and long-stay guests as much as on the physical plant.

How big it is

No single source measures the industry the same way. The most recent Census count found 4,513 RV parks and campgrounds with employees in 2017, generating about $3.1 billion in revenue and employing 22,673 people in 2018. That count leaves out the large number of owner-operated parks with no payroll. Private research estimates of total industry revenue run several times higher because they include small operators and related camps. For a feasibility study, national size figures are context only. The study is built from the local supply survey.

Who owns it

The industry is highly fragmented. In the OHI (formerly ARVC) 2023 benchmarking survey, 78% of responding parks were independent small businesses, 9% corporate, 6% franchised and 4% membership parks. The median park had 92 rentable sites on 23 acres and had been in operation for 40 years. The median owner had held the park for 10 years.

At the large end, Equity LifeStyle Properties and Sun Communities operate the largest institutional RV portfolios, and KOA runs the largest franchise system with more than 500 campgrounds. Private platforms continue to buy independent parks. Most parks by count remain in the hands of families and small operators, which is exactly why SBA and USDA financing matter so much here.

Where parks sit

Private parks cluster near public lands. In the OHI survey, 76% of private parks were within 25 miles of a government-owned park, whether a national forest, national park, Army Corps of Engineers lake or state park. Being near public land is typical, not a differentiator. What matters for a new project is whether the nearby public campgrounds are full enough to push overflow demand to private parks.

2. Demand in 2026: a stable base with a shifting mix

The household base is flat

KOA's 12th annual report, released April 14, 2026, surveyed 4,088 households (2,834 in the U.S. and 1,254 in Canada). Its main findings:

• Just over 52 million North American households camped in 2025, above pre-pandemic benchmarks.
• Campers spent $66 billion in local communities, up $5 billion from 2024.
• Average daily spending per person, not counting accommodations, topped $200.
• Glamping accounted for 29% of camping trips, and 31% of new campers chose glamping.
• 31% of campers planned to camp more nights in 2026 than in 2025.
• About a third of adults called camping the easiest way to travel with children and the most affordable way to travel.

KOA's leadership described 2024 and 2025 as nearly identical. For a feasibility study, that means growth in any given submarket has to come from capturing share, not from a rising national tide.

Holiday weekends softened

RoverPass's holiday recaps are the clearest view of the transient weekend guest in 2026.

July 4th 2026 (same-store parks):

• Reservations down 5.8%.
• Average stay 3.09 nights, flat year over year.
• Average lead time 61.7 days, 2.8 days longer than 2025.
• Cancellation rate 14.2%.
• 31.9% of reservations included pets.
• Online direct booking 60.4%, marketplace and OTA bookings 15.5%, with the rest mostly by phone.

Labor Day 2026 (same-store parks):

• Reservations down 5.3%.
• Average stay 3.00 nights, up from 2.93, with fewer single-night bookings.
• Cancellation rate 15.74%, up from 12.61% in 2025. RoverPass treats that figure as a floor because late cancellations were still coming in.
• Cancellations two to seven days before arrival rose 4.3 points. Those made 30 or more days out fell 4.7 points.

Late cancellations are the costly kind because the site usually cannot be resold. A pro forma should assume a gross cancellation rate of 14% to 16% and treat cancellation policy as a real lever.

Long stays and lodging grew

RoverPass's calendar 2025 data show the shift:

Other 2025 findings: total reservations fell 1.0% while revenue rose 5.2% to a record. Returning guests rose to 47% from 41%. Friday and Saturday fell from 46% to 43% of bookings as midweek gained. November bookings rose 18.7%, the biggest monthly shift in the dataset, which suggests the off-season is shrinking.

Operators confirm the pattern. Northgate Resorts said in spring 2026 that it was largely flat on the RV side while lodging was trending up. Cabins and glamping units can also be sold through Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia, while most RV sites cannot, which gives lodging a distribution advantage.

Fall is now a second season

Campspot, whose platform covers more than 2,600 parks, reported on September 22, 2026 that September was pacing up 2% year over year at 39% occupancy, with October, November and December each pacing about 1% ahead. Campspot named Arkansas, the Dakotas, Wyoming and Louisiana as strong fall markets. Softer markets included New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada and Florida, many of which depend on Canadian visitors.

Operators describe fall as event-driven. Blue Water said peak fall weekends can rival or beat summer weekends. Northgate said much of its fall business rides on Halloween weekends. KOA said fall business was pacing slightly ahead of 2025, although only 15% of campers who planned to camp that fall had booked when KOA last surveyed them.

What this means for a demand model

A feasibility study in 2026 should model demand as three separate streams:

1. Transient: nightly and weekend stays. Flat to down mid-single digits in 2026. About three nights on holidays and about two on ordinary weekends. Holidays book 60 or more days out, ordinary weekends much closer in.
2. Long-stay: monthly, seasonal and annual guests. Growing, with annual rent increases of about 4% to 5% at institutional operators.
3. Lodging: cabins, park models and glamping. The fastest-growing product, with its own rate, occupancy, housekeeping and capital cost.

Each stream needs its own occupancy, rate and growth assumptions. Blending them into one average rate hides the risk.

3. What the REITs are telling the market

The two public REITs publish the most detailed operating data in the sector. Their 2026 results show the same split.

Sun Communities

• Q2 2026 same-property RV NOI: down 0.7%.
• Transient revenue: down 4.8% ($2.9 million).
• Annual RV revenue: up 3.8%.
• Full-year guidance: RV same-property NOI growth of about 1%.
• Conversions: close to 100 net transient-to-annual site conversions in Q2 2026. Management has moved from aggressive conversion toward what it calls balanced optimization.
• Strategy: Sun is selling its U.K. business, expected to close by year-end 2026, to focus on North American manufactured housing and RV parks.

Equity LifeStyle Properties

• Q2 2026 core annual RV and marina base rent: up 5.4% (up 4.8% year to date).
• Q2 2026 transient revenue: $15.5 million, down 8.9% from $17.1 million.
• Q2 2026 seasonal and transient combined: $21.9 million, down 9.6% from $24.3 million.
• The miss: seasonal and transient rent came in 170 basis points below guidance, mainly because of weak June transient demand, which management tied to weather and Canadian wildfire smoke.
• Q4 2026 assumption: flat transient revenue.
• Canadian demand: ELS reported Canadian seasonal booking pace down about 40% for the fourth quarter of 2025. Canadians represent about 10% of its total RV revenue.
• Membership: Thousand Trails revenue per dues-paying member rose from about $580 to almost $700, driven by rate rather than volume.

The read-through for smaller parks

At institutional scale, the RV business now behaves like two businesses. The annual and long-stay book behaves like housing: high occupancy, predictable rate growth, lower operating cost. The transient book behaves like hospitality: higher rate per night, but exposed to weather, fuel prices, smoke, consumer confidence and cross-border travel.

Independent parks with a mostly transient book should expect 2026 revenue roughly flat, with modest rate growth. Lenders reading the REIT numbers will stress the transient line harder than the long-stay line, and a feasibility study should do the same before the lender does it for them.

4. The RV fleet and why shipments matter less than they seem

Shipments are falling again

RVIA reported 342,200 wholesale shipments in 2025. The 2026 outlook has been cut sharply:

• RVIA's first 2026 forecast, issued in September 2025, called for a 3.6% increase.
• The Spring 2026 median was about 349,000.
• The Summer 2026 RoadSigns forecast, prepared by ITR Economics, cut the median to 314,000 (range 300,000 to 328,100), a decline of 8.2%.
• Year-to-date shipments through June 2026 were 163,644, down 14.2%. July added 19,948 units.

RVIA's CEO attributed the weakness to higher financing costs, uncertainty and inflation pressure on household budgets. Thor Industries expects fewer than 300,000 retail registrations in 2026.

The installed base is what fills sites

Parks draw from the RVs already on the road, not from this year's factory output. RVIA counts about 8.1 million RV-owning households, and a typical year of shipments adds only a small percentage to that fleet. RVs last a long time, so the fleet changes slowly.

The real risk to park demand is not a weak shipment year. It is owners camping less when fuel prices rise or budgets tighten, and a thinner pipeline of new entry-level owners over time. Both show up in transient bookings before they show up in shipments, which is why the 2026 holiday softness deserves more weight in a feasibility study than the shipment decline.

5. Supply, development cost and product

Cost per site

The best primary benchmark is the OHI 2023 Industry Benchmarking Report. Its findings on site costs:

• Among parks that added full-hookup sites to an existing park, 69% reported an average cost under $15,000 per site.
• Among owners who built a new park, 60% reported $15,000 or more per full-hookup site, and 20% reported $30,000 or more.
• These are site-level infrastructure costs. They exclude land, amenities, soft costs, financing and contingency.
• The new-park sample was small (22 respondents), so treat it as an indicator.

KOA's 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document gives the other useful range. It estimated the total investment for building a new KOA campground at $3.8 million to $8.9 million, including a $30,000 franchise fee, and for converting an independent campground to KOA at about $34,000 to $483,000. These figures predate 2023 to 2026 construction cost increases and should be escalated.

Both sources point to the same conclusion: expansion is structurally cheaper than new construction. In the OHI survey, 65% of parks had land available for expansion, with a median of 5 acres.

Density and layout

The median OHI park had 92 sites on 23 acres, about four sites per gross acre. Density varies widely by region, from a median of 42 acres in the Northeast to 8 in the West, so density assumptions must be local.

Code requirements drive layout and cost. The National Electrical Code's park service load table (NEC 551.73) assigns 9,600 volt-amperes per 50-amp site before demand factors, which sets the size of the electrical service. Fire code spacing, fire lane width and turnaround requirements set how many sites fit on a parcel. In Texas, NFPA 1194 is now the statewide standard (see section 14).

Wastewater and utilities

Water and wastewater often decide feasibility on rural sites. A park on its own well that serves enough people for long enough becomes a regulated public water system. Wastewater design flows determine whether a site can use septic, needs engineered treatment, or needs a package plant. Tap fees, will-serve letters and treatment capacity belong in the budget before site planning, not after.

Product choices that move revenue

• Full-hookup sites carry most of the revenue and the highest occupancy. The OHI survey found average full-hookup occupancy of 68% during operating months.
• Tent and rustic sites had the lowest occupancy of all categories at 25%. Tent inventory makes sense only where land is cheap and there are no hookups to fund.
• Pull-through and 50-amp sites command premiums and suit larger modern RVs.
• Lodging units earn two to three times the revenue of an RV site but cost several times as much to install, and they need housekeeping. Price them from current vendor quotes, not national averages.
• Pet amenities are now a baseline. About a third of holiday reservations include pets.

Supply is thin, but local conditions vary

New park development slowed after 2023 as costs and interest rates rose. The public REITs have largely stopped ground-up building, and new supply adds only a small share to the national site base each year. That is favorable for existing parks and expansions. It does not protect a specific trade area where several new parks open at once, which is what happened in parts of Texas after 2022. A feasibility study must count every existing, under-construction and entitled park in the market area.

6. Operating economics and benchmarks

What a median park looks like

From the OHI 2023 benchmarking survey (282 qualified respondents):

• Median main-season staffing: 3 full-time and 2 part-time employees.
• Median general manager salary: $52,200.
• Median general staff wage: $15.01 per hour, ranging from $14.28 in the South to $16.92 in the West.
• 75% of parks pay above minimum wage, and 42% pay $3 or more above it.
• Main-season median full-hookup nightly rates sat in roughly the mid-$50s to about $60, depending on weekday, weekend or holiday.
• In 2023, 64% of parks raised nightly and weekly rates, 29% held them and 2% cut them.

Expense ratios

Newmark's RV park expense analysis covers 62 parks, 10,682 sites and 13 states, using actual financial statements from 2015 to 2021. Per site, it reports revenue of $4,645 and total operating expenses of $2,611. Newmark prints the expense ratio as 53.7%. The per-site dollars themselves work out to 56.2%. A careful study should cite both and note the difference. The largest lines are payroll ($721 per site) and utilities ($671 per site). The schedule includes a management fee but no replacement reserve or franchise fee, and its insurance line predates the 2022 to 2025 insurance increases, so it should be treated as a floor.

Expense ratios depend heavily on the operating model:

Franchise costs

KOA's franchise site lists an 8% royalty and a 2% advertising fee on camping registration revenue, with no royalty on store, propane, food or other services. KOA also advertises a staggered royalty for conversion parks that starts at 4% in year one and rises over time. The initial fee differs across sources ($15,000 on the current KOA site against $11,250 in the 2022 FDD), so the current FDD should be read before modeling.

The seller statement problem

Seller financial statements for small parks often show expense ratios of 35% to 40%. The low number usually means owner and family labor is unpaid, there is no management fee, reserves are missing, and insurance is priced on an old policy. A buyer and a lender will pay for all of those. A stabilized park run by paid management should typically be underwritten at 50% to 60% of revenue, and higher for transient-heavy or franchised operations.

7. Valuation: cap rates and development yields

Cap rates

Newmark's 2026 North American Market Survey added an RV park section for the first time. According to Business Valuation Resources' summary:

• Class A and B RV parks trade at going-in cap rates near 8.0%, with discount rates near 9.5%.
• Class C parks trade closer to 9.0%, with discount rates near 10.5%.
• The survey assumes about 3% annual growth in both rents and expenses, and reserves of about $75 per pad.
• RV parks trade at a 50 to 150 basis point premium over manufactured housing communities.

Development yield

A new park has to earn more than an existing one to justify the risk of building and filling it. At an 8.0% to 9.0% exit cap rate, a stabilized yield on total cost of about 9.5% to 10.5% is a reasonable minimum for ground-up development, a spread of roughly 150 to 250 basis points. That is our professional judgment, not a published benchmark. Expansion sites that reuse existing infrastructure often clear 12% or more at the site level, which is why they rank first in the current market.

Price per site

Transaction pricing varies too widely for a national average to be useful. Most stabilized parks trade somewhere between about $15,000 and $40,000 per site, with resort and coastal parks higher and rural seasonal parks lower. Always recompute broker per-site figures from price and site count. Listings sometimes get the math wrong.

8. How RV parks are financed

RV parks draw from a narrower set of lenders than most commercial property types. Understanding who lends, on what terms, is the first step in deciding whether a project is feasible.

The lender landscape

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac finance manufactured housing communities but not RV resorts. That removes the cheapest long-term debt available to the neighboring asset class and is one reason RV parks trade at higher cap rates.

Why feasibility studies matter so much here

RV parks are seasonal, operationally intensive and special-purpose. If the operation fails, the improvements have little alternative use. For a new park, repayment rests entirely on projections. For an acquisition priced on future gains, it rests partly on projections. Lenders in all three government-guaranteed programs rely on an independent feasibility study because it answers a question an appraisal does not: will this park, with this site mix, in this market, under this operator and this capital structure, generate enough cash in its weakest months to pay its debt?

9. SBA 7(a) and 504 for RV parks

The transient test

The SBA excludes passive real estate investment from its programs. Lodging-type businesses are eligible only when their revenue comes mainly from short-term guests. SOP 50 10 8, effective June 1, 2025, states:

"Hotels, motels, recreational vehicle parks, marinas, campgrounds, or similar types of businesses are eligible if more than 50% of the business's revenue for the prior year is derived from transients who stay for 30 days or less at a time and the business complies with all zoning and other legal requirements. If the Applicant is a Start-Up Business, the Applicant's projections must show that more than 50% of the business's revenue will be derived from transients who stay for 30 days or less at a time."

Three practical consequences follow:

1. The site mix is an eligibility document. For a start-up, the feasibility study's revenue projections are what the lender uses to test the rule, so every projected year should show the transient share explicitly.
2. Long-stay growth can disqualify a park. Monthly, seasonal and annual guests staying more than 30 days count against the test. A park that plans to convert transient sites to annual sites after closing should understand the effect on current covenants and future SBA eligibility.
3. Workforce demand needs care. Crews on month-to-month stays longer than 30 days do not count as transient. A workforce-heavy park may belong in USDA B&I or conventional financing instead.

How lenders count month-to-month guests varies, so the calculation should be settled with the lender before the site plan is final. Mobile home parks are ineligible, which matters for hybrid communities.

Loan limits

• 7(a): up to $5 million per borrower.
• 504: the CDC debenture is up to $5 million for most projects. With the bank first mortgage, total 504 project size can be much larger.
• Combined: under SBA Policy Notice 5000-879058 (dated May 18, 2026, effective July 4, 2026), a borrower who takes a 7(a) loan first may hold up to $5 million in 7(a) and up to $5 million in 504 at the same time, for a combined $10 million. Before this change, the combined cap had been $5 million since 2010. The sequencing matters: this is not an unconditional $10 million limit.

Rates in September 2026

• 7(a) variable maximums under SOP 50 10 8: prime plus 6.5% for loans of $50,000 or less, plus 6.0% for $50,001 to $250,000, plus 4.5% for $250,001 to $350,000, and plus 3.0% above $350,000. At 7.00% prime, the maximum on a typical park loan is 10.00%. Lenders may price below the maximum.
• 504 debenture: the September 10, 2026 sale priced at an effective rate of about 6.53% (20-year), 6.54% (25-year) and 6.60% (10-year), including fees. The bank first mortgage is priced separately by the bank.

Fees

• FY2026 7(a) guaranty fees (loans over 12 months): 2% of the guaranteed portion for loans of $150,000 or less; 3% for $150,001 to $700,000; and 3.5% of the guaranteed portion up to $1 million plus 3.75% above that for larger loans. The upfront fee waiver applies only to manufacturers.
• FY2027 504 fees (loans approved October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, SBA Information Notice 5000-881796): for non-waived borrowers, an upfront guaranty fee of 0.50% and an annual service fee of 0.203%. Both fees are waived for manufacturers, food supply chain businesses and businesses located in rural areas. Many campgrounds sit in areas that may qualify as rural under the notice. That is worth roughly 20 basis points a year on the debenture and should be checked project by project.

Equity injection

• 7(a): start-ups and changes of ownership typically require at least 10% equity under SOP 50 10 8.
• 504 (13 CFR 120.910): 10% base; 15% for a new business or a limited or special-purpose property; 20% when both apply. Many lenders and CDCs treat campgrounds as special-purpose property, so a ground-up park built by a first-time operator often falls into the 20% tier. Confirm the classification with the CDC early.

7(a) or 504?

Use 504 for larger real estate and construction projects. The fixed long-term debenture rate is well below the 7(a) maximum, and on a large project the savings on debt service often decide whether coverage clears 1.25x.

Use 7(a) for smaller projects, acquisitions with goodwill or working capital needs, and expansions where speed and flexibility matter more than the rate. For projects above $5 million, the new combined limit lets a borrower layer a 7(a) and a 504.

10. USDA Business and Industry financing for rural parks

Program fit

The USDA B&I guaranteed loan program, administered under the OneRD rule at 7 CFR Part 5001, supports lenders financing businesses in rural areas. A rural area is generally any area other than a city or town of more than 50,000 people and the urbanized area next to it. Many of the best RV park sites qualify: near lakes, reservoirs, national forests, state parks and interstate corridors outside metro areas.

Key features for FY2026:

• Guarantee: 85% for loans under $5 million; 80% for loans of $5 million or more.
• Loan size: up to $25 million, well above SBA limits.
• Term: up to 40 years for real estate.
• Rate: negotiated between the lender and borrower, fixed or variable.
• Fees: an upfront guarantee fee (historically 3% of the guaranteed amount) and an annual renewal fee. USDA's program page currently lists the renewal fee at 0.55% of the outstanding principal, while an older USDA FAQ lists 0.50%. The FY2026 OneRD annual notice in the Federal Register governs, so confirm the current figures with the lender.
• Equity: the OneRD rule requires minimum tangible balance sheet equity at closing, set higher for new businesses than for existing ones (generally 20% for new businesses and 10% for existing businesses). Confirm the current requirement with the lender.

Why B&I often fits RV parks better than SBA

1. No transient test. A rural park with a large seasonal, monthly or workforce book can be financed without the SBA's 50% rule.
2. Larger loans. Multi-phase resorts and larger acquisitions fit within the $25 million ceiling.
3. Longer terms. A longer amortization lowers annual debt service and improves coverage.

Over the life of the loan, B&I fees can add meaningfully to cost compared with SBA, so borrowers should compare total cost, not just the rate.

Feasibility study requirement

USDA is explicit. The OneRD rule defines a feasibility study as a report by an independent qualified consultant evaluating the economic, market, technical, financial and management feasibility of a project, as outlined in Appendix A to Subpart D. Under 7 CFR 5001.306, a study acceptable to the Agency is required for guaranteed loans over $1 million to a new business. The Agency may require one in other cases where the file does not otherwise establish feasibility.

For an RV park, each component has a concrete meaning:

1. Economic: the site, the rural economy and visitor base, land and labor availability, and the project's effect on the community. For recreation markets, this includes the stability of the draw itself: reservoir levels, park access, fire and closure history.
2. Market: the market area and demand generators, visitor counts, competing private and public supply, competitor rates and occupancy by season, demand by segment and ramp-up.
3. Technical: site plan and layout, water, wastewater and electrical capacity, stormwater, floodplain status, construction budget and schedule, permits and zoning.
4. Financial: monthly revenue by stream, operating expenses, debt service coverage by year and through the seasonal low, break-even occupancy and sensitivity cases.
5. Management: operator experience, staffing plan, reservation and pricing systems, franchise or third-party management and continuity.

A USDA reviewer reads the study component by component. A study that covers market and financial analysis thoroughly but treats technical and management feasibility in a paragraph invites conditions or requests for more information.

11. What lenders expect to see: the feasibility thresholds

This section sets out the tests a bank, SBA lender, CDC or USDA lender will apply to an RV park. The SBA and USDA rules set minimum requirements for repayment ability and equity. Individual lender credit policies set the specific thresholds, and those thresholds are tighter for seasonal, special-purpose properties like RV parks.

Debt service coverage ratio (DSCR)

DSCR is net operating income divided by annual debt service. It is the single most important number in the credit decision.

SBA rules require the lender to establish repayment ability from the business's cash flow. They do not fix a single ratio for every loan, but most SBA lenders apply the thresholds above. USDA B&I lenders apply similar standards and the Agency reviews the analysis.

Other tests

What makes a lender say no

The most common reasons an RV park loan fails credit review:

• DSCR that only works in the base case. Coverage near 1.25x with no cushion falls below 1.0x under a modest stress.
• Seller financials taken at face value. An expense ratio of 35% that becomes 55% once management, labor and insurance are added.
• Rates from national averages. Platform-wide rates or posted rack rates in place of a local, net-of-discount survey.
• Annual occupancy calculated from operating-month occupancy. This overstates revenue by a third or more in seasonal markets.
• Ramp-up that is too fast. A new park at stabilized occupancy in year one.
• Transient share too close to 50%. Eligibility risk for SBA loans.
• Floodplain, water or wastewater unresolved. Technical risk that can stop the project.
• Thin management plan. A first-time operator with no systems and no third-party management.

12. Worked examples: testing coverage

The examples below are illustrative. They use round-number assumptions consistent with the benchmarks in this report and are meant to show how a lender reads a pro forma, not to predict any specific project.

Example A: ground-up rural park with cabins

The project: 100 full-hookup RV sites and 12 cabins on a rural parcel near a reservoir.

Stabilized revenue:

Operating expenses at 56% of revenue (in line with Newmark's implied ratio): $854,454.

Net operating income: $671,356.

Transient share for SBA purposes: transient RV sites plus cabins equal $1,075,290, about 79% of site and lodging revenue. The project passes the SBA test with room to spare.

Project cost:

Yield on cost: $671,356 divided by $7,200,000 equals 9.3%. That is just below the 9.5% to 10.5% range a ground-up park should reach. The project is marginal, which is typical of ground-up builds in 2026.

Financing option 1: SBA 504 (new business, special-purpose property, 20% equity)

DSCR: $671,356 divided by $487,910 equals 1.38x. The project passes a 1.30x to 1.35x seasonal standard in the base case.

Financing option 2: USDA B&I (80% loan to cost, 20% equity for a new business)

DSCR: $671,356 divided by $510,790 equals 1.31x. Coverage clears 1.25x but is thinner than under 504. A longer amortization, which B&I allows, would improve it. B&I fees would add to total cost.

A single SBA 7(a) loan cannot fund this project because the 7(a) maximum is $5 million.

Example B: the stress test

Now reduce transient RV and cabin revenue by 10%, roughly what the REITs' transient books lost in 2025 and 2026. Transient revenue falls by $107,529, and ancillary revenue tied to it falls by about $12,903. Hold operating expense dollars flat.

• Stressed NOI: $671,356 minus $120,432 equals $550,924.
• Stressed DSCR under SBA 504: $550,924 divided by $487,910 equals 1.13x.
• Stressed DSCR under USDA B&I: $550,924 divided by $510,790 equals 1.08x.

The park still pays its debt, but coverage falls well below 1.25x. A lender reading this would likely ask for one or more of: more equity, a larger interest and operating reserve, a phased build (open the RV sites first and add cabins once demand is proven), or a longer amortization. This is exactly the kind of result a feasibility study should show before the lender runs it.

Example C: expansion at an existing park

The project: add 24 full-hookup sites and 6 cabins at an existing, stabilized park, using its existing office, amenities, roads and utility capacity.

Incremental revenue:

Incremental operating expenses at 45% (existing staff and systems absorb much of the work): $214,839.

Incremental NOI: $262,581.

Project cost: 24 sites at $15,000 ($360,000), 6 cabins at $120,000 ($720,000), soft costs and contingency ($120,000). Total: $1,200,000.

Financing: SBA 7(a) at 10.00% (the current maximum), 25 years. Annual debt service: about $130,850.

• DSCR on the expansion alone: $262,581 divided by $130,850 equals 2.01x.
• Yield on cost: about 21.9%.

Even at the highest 7(a) rate, the expansion covers its debt twice over. The same 10% transient stress barely dents it. This is why expansions and lodging add-ons are the strongest projects in the 2026 market. The site-level cost excludes some items a new park would carry, and a real study would still need to confirm utility capacity, permits and demand.

Break-even occupancy

Break-even occupancy is the occupancy at which revenue just covers operating expenses and debt service. A quick check for Example A under SBA 504: expenses plus debt service equal $1,342,364, which is about 88% of stabilized revenue. The park breaks even at roughly 88% of its projected stabilized occupancy, meaning transient and cabin occupancy could fall by about 12% before the park stops covering its costs. Lenders want that cushion to be comfortably wider than the variation the park has seen, or can expect, from year to year.

13. How a consultant models demand for a specific park

National data frames the market. The feasibility decision is made in the market area. A lender-grade study builds demand in steps.

Step 1: define the market area. Use drive time, not a radius. Weekend leisure demand typically comes from within about two to four hours. Destination demand comes from further. Snowbird and workforce segments each need their own market definition.

Step 2: inventory demand generators. National and state park visitation (from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics dashboard and state agencies), lake and reservoir use, events, interstate traffic counts from the state DOT, major employers and construction projects.

Step 3: survey competing supply. Every private park in the market area, with site count, hookup type, amperage, pull-through share, amenities, age, brand, online presence, rates by season and estimated occupancy. Include public campgrounds, their rates, their seasons and whether they fill.

Step 4: estimate fair share. The subject's sites as a share of total competitive sites, applied to market site-nights.

Step 5: adjust for penetration. A factor above or below 1.0 based on how the subject compares with the competition on product, rate, reviews and amenities. This is the assumption sponsors most often overstate, and it should be stress-tested.

Step 6: add induced demand carefully. New lodging or a destination amenity can create demand that did not exist before. The evidence supports this for glamping and cabins, not for standard RV sites.

Step 7: build ramp-up. For a new destination park, model three to four seasons to stabilize, with first-season occupancy at about 50% to 65% of the stabilized level. That gives time for reviews, repeat guests (47% of RoverPass guests are returning guests) and marketplace ranking to build. Annual and long-stay sites in supply-constrained markets fill faster. This is professional practice, not a published benchmark.

Step 8: model monthly. Occupancy and cash flow by month show whether the park can carry its debt through the slowest months, which annual figures hide.

14. Risk screening

Several risks now change the pro forma, not just the checklist.

Flood. Under the National Flood Insurance Program rules at 44 CFR 60.3, an RV placed in a Special Flood Hazard Area must either be on site fewer than 180 consecutive days, be fully licensed and highway-ready (on its wheels, attached only by quick-disconnect utilities, no permanent additions), or meet the elevation and anchoring requirements for manufactured homes. Some communities go further and ban RVs in floodways or coastal high-hazard areas. The consequence for feasibility: annual and long-stay sites, the growth segment, are the hardest to place in a flood zone. Map the flood zone before designing the stay mix. Cabins and park models in the floodplain face structure-level requirements.

Texas NFPA 1194. After the July 2025 Hill Country floods, Texas enacted SB 1 in the 2025 special session, making NFPA 1194 the statewide standard for RV parks and campgrounds. The Texas Association of Campground Owners reports that the 2021 edition applies and that evacuation plans are required. Texas was the first state to adopt NFPA 1194 statewide. The standard raises the compliance baseline and can reduce the number of sites that fit on a parcel. Confirm the effective dates and any limits on stricter local rules from the enrolled bill.

Wildfire, smoke and weather. ELS attributed its June 2026 transient shortfall to weather and Canadian wildfire smoke, a 170 basis point miss against guidance. A stress case should include at least one weather or smoke month.

Insurance. Large operators have seen relief. ELS reported an 18% property and casualty premium reduction at its April 2026 renewal. Small parks in coastal, flood and wildfire zones have not necessarily seen the same. Get a bindable quote early.

Long-stay tenancy law. As more revenue comes from stays of 30 days or more, parks face more exposure to state residential tenancy rules. Get state counsel review whenever the pro forma relies on long stays.

Zoning and moratoria. RV parks rarely have by-right zoning in incorporated areas. Many jurisdictions require conditional use permits, and some counties have adopted moratoria on new parks. Entitlement is a gating risk with its own contingency.

Canadian and international demand. Canadian seasonal demand fell sharply in the 2025/26 winter. Parks in snowbird and border markets should model Canadian demand below pre-2025 levels.

15. Regional outlook

Drive-to markets hold up best. When fuel prices rise, trips get shorter. Campspot's own consumer guidance in 2026 encouraged travelers to look within about a four-hour radius, and holiday data shows regional drive patterns. Parks within two to four hours of large metro areas are the most resilient.

Workforce parks need named demand. Data center, energy and plant construction can fill a park quickly at monthly rates. That demand lasts only as long as the project. Underwrite it only for named, funded projects and model what happens after construction ends.

16. Outlook 2026 to 2028

Base case. Camping participation stays near 52 million North American households. Transient revenue is flat to slightly positive in 2027 as fuel prices ease, with transient rates growing 0% to 3% a year. Annual and seasonal rents keep growing about 3% to 5% a year. Lodging remains the fastest-growing product. RV shipments recover slowly from the 2026 low. New supply stays limited, and cap rates hold near current levels. Interest rates stay elevated through 2027, keeping leverage thin.

Upside case. Lower rates and fuel prices revive RV sales and transient travel together. Transient occupancy returns toward 2023 and 2024 levels, cap rates compress by 50 basis points or more for quality parks, and entitled land becomes the binding constraint on new supply.

Downside case. A recession combines with high fuel prices and weak confidence. Transient revenue falls another 5% to 10%, snowbird markets lose more Canadian demand, and insurance costs rise after a major hurricane or wildfire season. Parks bought or built between 2021 and 2023 with thin reserves and floating-rate debt are the most exposed.

For new projects, 2026 and 2027 are reasonable years to expand, add lodging or buy and reposition well-located parks. They are poor years to rely on transient rate growth to make a marginal ground-up project work.

17. The feasibility checklist

Before committing to land, a purchase agreement or a construction contract, a project should answer each of these questions with evidence.

1. Fatal flaws: Is the site in a flood zone that conflicts with the planned stay mix? Is there a moratorium, a zoning barrier or an unresolved water or wastewater path?
2. Market area: Is it defined by drive time and demand generators, not a radius?
3. Supply: Has every existing, under-construction and entitled competitor been surveyed, including public campgrounds?
4. Rates: Are they from a current local survey, net of discounts, by site type and season?
5. Demand streams: Are transient, long-stay and lodging modeled separately?
6. Ramp-up: Does the new park take three to four seasons to stabilize, not one?
7. Occupancy definition: Is annual occupancy used for annual revenue?
8. Expenses: Are they 50% to 60% of revenue or higher, with paid management, reserves and a current insurance quote?
9. Coverage: Does DSCR reach 1.25x to 1.35x in the stabilized year and stay above 1.0x under stress?
10. Eligibility: For SBA, is the transient share comfortably above 50% in every year?
11. Program fit: Is the project matched to the right lender: 7(a), 504, B&I or conventional?
12. Phasing: Can the project open with the core RV sites and add lodging once demand is proven?
13. Management: Is there an experienced operator, a reservation and pricing system, or a professional manager?

18. Frequently asked questions

Can an RV park get an SBA loan?

Yes, if more than 50% of prior-year revenue comes from guests staying 30 days or less, and the business complies with zoning and other legal requirements. For start-ups, the projections must show the same. Mobile home parks are ineligible.

What DSCR do lenders require for an RV park?

Most lenders look for at least 1.25x in the stabilized year and 1.30x to 1.35x for seasonal or transient-heavy parks. They also want coverage to stay above 1.0x under a stress case. Individual credit policies vary.

Is SBA 7(a) or 504 better for an RV park?

504 is usually better for larger real estate and construction projects because its fixed debenture rate is lower. 7(a) suits smaller projects, acquisitions with goodwill or working capital, and expansions. Since July 4, 2026, a borrower who takes a 7(a) first can hold up to $5 million in each program.

When should a park use USDA B&I instead of SBA?

When the park is in an eligible rural area and either has a large long-stay book that fails the SBA transient test, or needs a loan larger than SBA limits allow. B&I loans can reach $25 million with terms up to 40 years.

Does USDA require a feasibility study?

Yes, for B&I guaranteed loans over $1 million to a new business, and in other cases where the file does not establish feasibility. The study must cover economic, market, technical, financial and management feasibility and be prepared by an independent qualified consultant.

How much equity does a new RV park need?

Typically at least 10% for SBA 7(a) start-ups. For SBA 504, 10% to 20%, with the highest tier for a new business on special-purpose property, which is common for campgrounds. USDA B&I sets higher equity requirements for new businesses than existing ones.

How much does it cost to build an RV park?

In the OHI survey, most new parks reported $15,000 or more per full-hookup site for infrastructure alone, and one in five reported $30,000 or more. Land, amenities, soft costs and contingency come on top. KOA's 2022 franchise disclosure estimated $3.8 million to $8.9 million for a new KOA campground, before recent cost increases.

Is it better to build a new park or expand an existing one?

In 2026, expansion almost always wins on risk-adjusted return. Expansion sites reuse existing infrastructure and cost far less per site, and they can often clear 12% or more yield on cost at the site level. Ground-up parks need to reach about 9.5% to 10.5% on total cost to justify the risk.

How long does a new park take to stabilize?

Three to four seasons is a prudent base case for a new destination park. Annual and long-stay sites in supply-constrained markets can fill faster.

19. Methodology and caveats

This report synthesizes published data available through September 25, 2026.

• Primary sources used: Sun Communities and Equity LifeStyle Properties SEC filings; SBA SOP 50 10 8, Policy Notice 5000-879058 and fee notices; USDA Rural Development program materials and the OneRD rule at 7 CFR Part 5001; 44 CFR 60.3; RVIA shipment reports and RoadSigns forecasts; NPS visitation statistics; the Federal Reserve.
• Industry sources used: KOA / Cairn Consulting, RoverPass, Campspot, OHI (formerly ARVC) benchmarking, Newmark (as summarized by Business Valuation Resources), KOA franchise materials, Woodall's Campground Magazine, RVBusiness and Modern Campground.
• Sample bias: RoverPass and Campspot data reflect their own customer bases. KOA's report is a survey KOA commissions. REIT data reflects large, institutionally managed portfolios and represents a ceiling rather than an average for independent parks.
• Benchmarks are dated: the OHI benchmark is the 2023 edition, the latest public. Newmark's expense study covers 2015 to 2021 statements. KOA's development range is from its 2022 disclosure. All cost figures should be escalated and replaced with site-specific estimates.
• Judgment is labeled: the ramp-up assumptions, the 9.5% to 10.5% development yield hurdle and the worked examples are professional judgment and illustration, not published benchmarks.
• Rates and rules change: the prime rate, SBA 504 debenture pricing, SBA and USDA fees and program rules change frequently. Confirm every term with the lender, CDC or USDA state office before relying on it.

This report is general market research. It is not a feasibility study for any specific site and is not legal, lending or investment advice.

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Sources

KOA 2026 Camping and Outdoor Hospitality Report, prepared with Cairn Consulting Group, April 14, 2026. RoverPass 2026 Outdoor Hospitality Report (calendar 2025 data), July 4th 2026 and Labor Day 2026 recaps. Campspot fall 2026 outlook as reported by RVBusiness, September 22, 2026, and Campspot Data Dig. Sun Communities, Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. Q2 2026 earnings release, supplemental and call commentary, and Q3 and Q4 2025 releases. RV Industry Association monthly wholesale shipment reports and RV RoadSigns forecasts (Summer 2026). U.S. National Park Service 2025 visitation release, March 13, 2026. U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Census and 2020 industry story on RV parks and campgrounds. OHI (formerly ARVC) 2023 Industry Benchmarking Report, prepared by Readex Research. Newmark Valuation and Advisory RV Park Expense Analysis and 2026 North American Market Survey, as summarized by Business Valuation Resources, March 11, 2026. KOA franchise site and 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document. SBA SOP 50 10 8, effective June 1, 2025; SBA Policy Notice 5000-879058; SBA Information Notices 5000-872051 and 5000-881796; September 2026 SBA 504 debenture pricing; 13 CFR 120.910. USDA Rural Development Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan program materials, FY2026; OneRD FY2026 annual notice; 7 CFR Part 5001, including 5001.306 and Appendix A to Subpart D. Federal Reserve FOMC statement, September 16, 2026. 44 CFR 60.3. National Electrical Code Article 551. Texas SB 1 (89th Legislature, 2nd Called Session) and Texas Association of Campground Owners guidance on NFPA 1194. Woodall's Campground Magazine, RVBusiness and Modern Campground coverage, 2025 and 2026.

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