Field notes
Notes from running parks that work.
Policies, marketing, dispute resolution, pricing, the bathhouse. Practical reads for independent campground operators. Written by people who have actually had the conversations.
Campground Policies
House rules, rentals, waivers, and the documents that protect your park.
Firewood, Fire Rings & Burn Bans: The Campground Fire Policy That Holds Up
Fire jumps from a campsite to a tree line in under three minutes. Most independent parks have either no posted fire policy or a vague one from 2014. Here is the version that holds, with a signed acknowledgment, burn-ban triggers, and a free editable PDF.
Abandoned RV at Your Campground: The Notice Pack That Gets the Site Back
The 2008 fifth-wheel on site 9 stopped paying in October. The owner stopped answering the phone in November. By April you need the site back for summer. Self-help removal is illegal. State abandoned-property procedure is the path. Here is the notice pack and the timeline that works.
Campground Wi-Fi Acceptable Use Policy: The Document That Lets You Kick Off the Abuser
Without a posted AUP, suspending the camper who is running BitTorrent at 4 AM is a fight. With one, it is a five-minute conversation. Here is the Wi-Fi acceptable use policy that actually gives the park standing, and a free editable PDF.
Campground Drone & Photography Policy: The Document That Catches a Quietly Growing Problem
A drone over the pool at 11 AM. A YouTuber filming the entire bathhouse for content. A wedding photographer setting up a shoot on the playground without asking. Drones and content creators at parks are growing fast and most parks have no policy. Here is the version that works, plus a free editable PDF.
The Campground Pool & Hot Tub Policy and Waiver That Actually Holds Up
A wet pool deck, a running 7-year-old, and a hip. That's the case file most parks are one weekend away from. A real pool policy is three documents: posted rules, a signed waiver, and a chemistry log. Here is the version that holds, with a free editable PDF.
Long-Term Campground Residents: The Lease vs. License Line Most Parks Cross Without Knowing
A weekly camper stays through April, then May, then June. They are paying by the month now. The manager says 'no long-terms past July.' The camper says 'we'll see.' That conversation is when a guest becomes a tenant, often without anyone signing anything. Here is the agreement that prevents it.
Campground Marketing
SEO, ads, content, and what actually fills sites.
How to Rank Your Campground in ChatGPT, Claude & Gemini: The 2026 AI Search Guide
AI search is the new SEO. Make ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini cite your campground when travelers ask for recommendations, with the same fundamentals that win Google.
The 80's Called and They Want Their Website Back
Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude all skip the parks running websites that look like they were built during the second Bush administration. Here's exactly what 2026 needs, and what's costing you bookings right now.
Turning a one-night stay into a Memorial Day tradition
Most parks treat repeat business like a happy accident. The best ones treat it like a system. The system isn't complicated, it just has to start before the guest leaves.
What your park's website should actually do (most miss the basics)
If a first-time camper lands on your homepage at 9pm on a Sunday, can they book a site for next weekend in under 90 seconds? At most parks, the answer is no, and that's where the booking goes elsewhere.
The Saturday-afternoon Google project that books your park solid for July
Forget paid ads, social posts, and SEO consultants. The single highest-leverage marketing project for a campground takes one Saturday and costs nothing. Do this once, every year.
Dispute Resolution
Refund fights, chargebacks, eviction, and tough guest conversations.
Noise Complaint Handling at Campgrounds: The Full Playbook
Noise is the number three complaint at every independent park and the one that determines whether quiet families come back. The fix is not asking nicely. It is a triage card at the desk, a four-level severity scale, and a log that surfaces pattern offenders.
De-Escalating the Disruptive Camper: Scripts and Tactics That Preserve the Peace
Loud at midnight. Drunk by the fire. Picking a fight with a neighbor. The 11 PM walk over to site 14 is one of the hardest things you ask a staff member to do. Here are the scripts that work, the principles that keep them safe, and a free de-escalation card PDF.
Chargeback Defense for Campground Bookings: The 14-Day Playbook
A guest disputes a stay they actually used. The bank pulls the money from your account before you even respond. Most parks lose chargebacks they should win because of evidence quality, not the underlying facts. Here is the playbook that wins.
The Campground Eviction Letter Every Park Owner Should Have Ready
There is a guest in site 17 you need to remove tonight. Most parks botch the next 60 minutes. Here is the eviction-and-trespass framework that holds up, plus a free editable letter template you can send tonight.
Maintenance & Infrastructure
Bathhouses, septic, electric pedestals, and the work that keeps the park running.
RV Park Water System Reliability: The Inspection and Testing Schedule That Keeps You Compliant
Most state agencies regulate park water as a public water system. Boil-water advisories and citations come from missed sampling and unwatched pressure, not from rare contamination events. Here is the schedule that keeps you ahead, plus a free editable log PDF.
RV Park Wi-Fi That Actually Works: The Site Survey and Distribution Plan
Bad Wi-Fi is the second-most-common campground complaint and almost never an ISP problem. It is a distribution problem. Here is the site survey, access point layout, and captive portal plan that produces Wi-Fi guests actually use.
RV Park Site Drainage, Leveling & Pad Care: The Maintenance Most Parks Skip
Muddy after rain. Unlevel pad. The site that nobody wants in July. Most of these problems are not site problems; they are drainage problems that compound a season at a time. Here is the per-site inspection and care playbook, plus a free PDF log.
RV Park Electrical Pedestal Maintenance: The 50-Amp Reliability Checklist
Heavy-draw rigs at 50 amps reveal every weak spot in the park's electrical distribution. Most pedestal failures are not random; they are predictable, preventable, and visible at the receptacle face. Here is the quarterly, annual, and post-storm inspection playbook.
RV Park Septic System Maintenance: The Calendar That Prevents the Emergency
Septic emergencies always happen on holiday weekends. A documented maintenance calendar is the only thing that drops the emergency rate to near-zero. Here is the monthly, quarterly, and annual schedule, plus a free printable calendar PDF.
The Campground Bathhouse Cleaning Checklist (Free PDF)
Bathhouses drive a wildly disproportionate share of 1-star reviews. The fix is not a bigger crew. It is a documented four-round daily protocol with a checklist on the wall. Here is the one we use, with a free printable PDF.
Insurance & Risk
Liability coverage, incident documentation, and the small habits that keep premiums survivable.
General Liability Insurance for Independent Campgrounds: The Annual Coverage Audit
Most independent parks discover their coverage gap at claim time, which is the worst possible time. The annual audit closes the gaps before they matter. Here is the conversation to have with your broker, plus a free editable audit checklist PDF.
Slip-and-Fall Documentation: What Insurance Adjusters Actually Look For
A fall on park property is one of the highest-cost claims a campground can face. The single biggest factor in how that claim resolves is documentation created within the first 24 hours. Here is the form and the photo discipline that actually defends.
Campground Crime
Trafficking awareness, offender screening, safety protocols, and the patterns history teaches park owners.
Child Safety at the Bathhouse: What the 2014 Spotsylvania Case Should Change at Every Independent Park
A 7-year-old boy assaulted in a campground bathroom by a knife-wielding stranger. His older brother saw the truck. Both children gave the descriptions that caught the suspect. The case sits at the intersection of three operational decisions every park makes about bathhouses, family-site placement, and what kids are empowered to do when something happens.
Campground Crime: What Three Cases Across Five Decades Teach Independent Park Owners
A 1976 double homicide in Wisconsin solved by genetic genealogy in 2019. A 2013 sexual assault at a Virginia family resort during a Halloween weekend. A 2024 kidnapping of two women near a public Oregon campground. Different decades, different states, recurring patterns. Here is what the history teaches park owners who want to be a harder target.
Spotting Human Trafficking at Your Campground: The Indicators Park Staff Should Know
Independent campgrounds and roadside RV parks have become known waypoints in human trafficking networks. The DHS Blue Campaign and the Polaris Project have published clear indicator lists that work just as well at a front desk as they do at a truck stop. Here is the version translated for park staff, plus a printable pocket card.
Sex Offender Screening at Your Campground: NSOPW, Legal Limits, and a Practical Policy
The federal Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website is free, public, and queries every state registry at once. Most independent parks have never used it. Here is the screening policy that does the work, the decision tree for what to do with a hit, and the legal context that varies by state.
Staffing
Workampers, camp hosts, seasonal hiring, and the documents that keep you out of trouble.
Campground Front Desk Scripts: The 12 Phrases That Handle 90% of Calls
Most front desk calls feel awkward because the person answering does not have a script. The 12 phrases below cover almost every situation, from rate quotes and discount asks to the bad-review pre-empt. Free laminated card PDF included.
Workamper Hiring in 2026: Where to Post, What to Pay, What to Document
Seasonal labor is the number one operator complaint and nobody has written a useful guide on it. Here is the workamper hiring playbook, including where to actually post jobs, what pay structures hold up to an IRS audit, and a free editable agreement template.
Operations
Day-to-day moves that compound into better seasons.
The Top 5 Guest Complaints at Campgrounds (and How to Fix Each One)
Read 200 reviews of any independent park and the same five complaints come up over and over. The good news: every one of them is fixable for less than the cost of a bad-review cleanup. Here is the working operator's playbook for the top 5.
Five things at your park that get campers to text their friends
The cheapest marketing on earth is a guest pulling out their phone to send a photo with the message 'we have to come back here.' Here's what actually triggers that.
Pricing
Rate setting, deposits, and the math behind a profitable park.
Revenue
Add-ons, upsells, and the small ideas that move the year-end number.
Reputation
Reviews, complaints, and how independent parks stay trusted.
Migration
Switching software without losing a weekend.
Legal
Lawsuits, ADA, liability, and the letters you do not want to open.
Industry
What the big platforms are doing and where independent parks fit.
Founder
Notes from running the business behind the software.
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