If you have run your campground for years, you probably have a number in your head. A realistic value range helps whether you sell next year, in ten years, or hand the park to family, and it helps you judge any offer or listing advice you get.
This guide covers the methods appraisers, brokers and buyers use to value a campground or RV park. Knowing them helps whether you hire a broker or sell your campground to an operator.
The three ways campgrounds are valued
1. The income approach (NOI divided by cap rate)
For an operating park, this is the method that matters most. A buyer is paying for the income the park produces. The formula is simple:
Value = Net operating income (NOI) ÷ Capitalization rate
The hard part is agreeing on the two inputs.
2. The sales comparison approach
This looks at what similar parks sold for recently. Campground sales are few, often private, and every park differs in season length, site types and location, so comparables need a lot of adjusting.
Price per site and price per acre are common shortcuts. Use them with care. A back-in 30-amp site at a five-month park and a full-hookup 50-amp pull-through at a year-round park are both “one site,” but they earn very different money.
3. The cost approach
This adds the value of the land to what it would cost to build the improvements today, minus wear and age. It is useful for newer parks, parks with little income history, insurance, and land the park doesn’t use. It rarely sets the price of an established park, because buyers pay for income, not for what the roads and restrooms cost to build.
Revenue multiples (“so many times gross”) are a rough check only. Two parks with the same revenue can have very different expenses.
Step 1: Normalize your NOI
NOI is your revenue minus operating expenses. It does not include mortgage payments, depreciation or income taxes. A buyer will rebuild your NOI from your records, so it pays to do it first. The usual adjustments:
- Add back personal expenses run through the business, such as a family phone plan or a vehicle the park doesn’t need.
- Remove true one-time costs, such as storm cleanup or a one-off legal bill. Keep the invoices, because buyers will ask.
- Charge a market wage for unpaid work. If you and your spouse run the office and mow for free, a buyer will have to pay someone to do it. That wage comes out of NOI.
- Include a replacement reserve. Roofs, pumps and pedestals wear out. Newmark’s 2026 market survey, as reported by BVWire (March 11, 2026), assumes reserves of about $75 per pad per year.
- Use trailing-12-month figures and two to three years of history, so one great or bad season doesn’t skew the picture.
Expect questions if your expenses look low. MMCG Invest’s August 2026 market outlook cites a Newmark sample of 62 parks with operating expenses at about 53.7% of revenue, and says buyers often restate seller statements showing expenses below 45%. A lean expense line isn’t wrong if you do the work yourself, but it needs to be explained.
Step 2: Choose a cap rate
A cap rate is the first-year return a buyer would earn if they paid cash. A higher cap rate means a lower value for the same NOI. Published national figures are a starting point:
| Park type | Cap rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Class A and B RV parks | About 8.0% (going-in) | Newmark 2026 North American Market Survey, via BVWire, Mar. 11, 2026 |
| Class C RV parks | About 9.0% | Same |
| Value-add parks | 11% to 12% | MMCG Invest, Aug. 1, 2026 (vendor estimate) |
These are survey figures, not a quote for your park. Short seasons, older infrastructure and thin records tend to push a cap rate up. Strong year-round demand, good utilities and clean books tend to pull it down.
Step 3: Check against comparable sales
Compare your income-based range with recent sales in your region. Much of that data isn’t public, but brokers and appraisers who work with parks often know of sales that never show up online. Use comparables to test your range, not to replace the income math.
An illustrative worked example
The numbers below are made up to show the math. They are illustrative only, not an offer, and not a valuation of any real park.
Picture a 120-site seasonal park with $900,000 in gross revenue and $480,000 in reported expenses, for a reported NOI of $420,000.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Reported NOI | $420,000 |
| Add back personal vehicle and phone | + $12,000 |
| Add back one-time storm cleanup | + $18,000 |
| Market wage for owner’s unpaid management | − $65,000 |
| Replacement reserve (120 pads × $75) | − $9,000 |
| Normalized NOI | $376,000 |
At an 8% cap rate, $376,000 of NOI points to about $4.70 million. At 9%, about $4.18 million. At 10%, about $3.76 million.
One point of cap rate moved the value by roughly $400,000 to $500,000. And the $65,000 wage adjustment alone is worth about $720,000 of value at 9%. Small changes in NOI matter.
Seasonal parks, owner housing and extra land
- Seasonal campers. Contracted seasonal income is often seen as steadier than nightly income. Buyers will look at your renewal history and deposits.
- Season length. A five-month park has less time to cover fixed costs than a year-round one.
- The owner’s house. Decide whether it’s included. If a manager will live there, it supports the operation. If you plan to keep it, it may need to be split off.
- Excess land. Acreage the park doesn’t use may be valued separately, especially if zoning allows expansion. Confirm zoning before counting on it.
Get more than one opinion of value
Three sources are worth hearing from:
- An appraiser gives a formal, documented opinion. Lenders, estates and partner buyouts often need one.
- A broker opinion of value is usually quicker and less formal. Experienced campground brokers know recent sales and how buyers are bidding. For large parks, multi-park portfolios, unusual properties, or owners who want the widest exposure and competitive bidding, a broker is often the right choice.
- Buyer conversations show how an actual purchaser underwrites a park. GatherGrounds owns and runs three campgrounds in Michigan and Ohio, and our team can walk through how we would look at your numbers. You can reach us through the form on our Sell Your Campground page.
GatherGrounds looks at campgrounds and RV parks with 130 or more sites in Michigan, Ohio and other Great Lakes states, and parks that need work, such as deferred maintenance or dated infrastructure, are welcome.
Thinking about selling, or just want a second opinion on value? Talk with us confidentially through the form on our Sell Your Campground page.
Questions
How much is my campground worth?
For an operating park, value comes mostly from normalized net operating income divided by a market cap rate. Clean up your NOI first, then apply a sourced cap rate range. The result is a range, not a single number, and comparable sales and a professional opinion help narrow it.
What cap rate should I use for my campground?
Start with current published figures, such as Newmark’s 2026 survey (reported by BVWire in March 2026) of about 8.0% for Class A and B RV parks and about 9.0% for Class C, or MMCG’s August 2026 estimate of 11% to 12% for value-add parks. Then adjust for your season length, condition and records.
Is a campground valued on revenue or profit?
Mostly on profit, specifically net operating income. Revenue multiples are a rough check only, because two parks with the same revenue can have very different expenses.
Do I need an appraisal to know my campground’s value?
Not always. Many owners start with their own NOI math and a broker opinion of value. An appraisal is often needed for financing, estates, partner buyouts or tax purposes.
Does my house on the property count toward the value?
It can. If a manager will live there, it supports the operation. If you plan to keep it, it may need to be split off. Talk to your attorney about how that would work.
