Cool spring weather has hurt campsite attendance and revenue, prompting some to speculate that the drop in the number of private campgrounds will accelerate.
BC Parks released statistics August 12 that showed revenue from provincial campground fees rose 6.5% to $15.2 million in the year that ended March 31.
The increase is largely due to government campground prices being raised by as much as $6 per night to cover higher operating costs and improved services.
A ministry spokesman told Business in Vancouver that BC Parks has no plans to raise prices again to cover this year’s revenue hit caused by damp weather.
Another factor helping increase campground revenue at BC Parks is that the number of private campgrounds continues to drop as owners sell to developers.
In the last few years in the Okanagan:
- Happy Valley Campground owners sold their property to developers who have since built the Barona Beach Lakefront Resort down the hill from the Mission Hill Family Estate Winery;
- Paradise Campsite has been converted into Princess Mobile Home Park; and
- the Cove Campground has been developed into the Cove Lakeside Resort Hotel.
“Taxes are high on private campsites,” said Karen Thompson, who is executive director at the Westbank & District Chamber of Commerce.
“No wonder they’re selling out to developers. These campsites are prime building places. So, unfortunately, they’re getting sold.”
Doug Turner recognized opportunity in the scarcity of private campsites and opened a private campground last year.
He said the cool weather might prompt some private campground owners to close at the end of the year.
He is also already shifting his business model away from simply renting cabins and RV spots.
Turner bought 30 acres of unserviced land in Peachland in 2004 and spent $1 million to supply 10 of those acres with water, sewage, electricity and cable TV service.
Last year he split those 10 acres into 40 quarter-acre sites, 20 of which have prefabricated cabins; the other 20 are for RVs.
Rentals launched last July, and Turner generated tens of thousands of dollars. He said that’s tripled so far this year, despite soggy weather.
Still, Turner has shifted his business plan and intends to sell the quarter-acre units individually as soon as he gets provincial approval for such strata sales.
“I want to sell a sufficient number of sites to warrant proceeding on paying to service the rest of the 30 acres [with water, sewer and other services],” he said.
And while Turner’s posh cabins come with maid service and rent for $99 per night, campers need not shell out that much money to have a great time in the B.C. wilderness.
Thompson said B.C.’s Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations runs plenty of free campsites, some of which are so basic they don’t even have outhouses.
It’s camping at its most rugged and perfect for those scrimping on vacation spending in the wake of recent stock market turmoil.
“You can’t book any of those campsites,” Thompson said. “You just land up there.”
One of her favourite free campgrounds is south of CedarCreek Estate Winery, a short hike from a place near the end of that dead-end road.
Most campers, however, want at least some of the amenities of home, said Nk’Mip Campground and RV Park general manager Chris Bower.
Bower has watched the number of campsites in the Osoyoos area drop from about 1,200 sites in 1997 to approximately 734 today.
During that time, however, the Osoyoos Indian Band’s campground, down the hill from its Nk’Mip Cellars winery and Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, has quadrupled to 400 today from 100 campsites in 1997.
The band added 74 spots this year and invested $70,000 to equip all 400 campsites, which rent for about $48 per night, with wireless Internet access.