Komrade said:
We are in WV, the eastern part.
4.5 years ago we bought a property that had a closed country store on it and a tiny trailer park.
6 months later we re-opened a renovated store. It primarily sells prepared food and beer, among other conveniences.
It was definitely a sharp learning curve, and the store didn't turn out to do as well as we have hoped.. but certainly gave a reason for us to move from DC area to what many consider "the boonies".
The store/park is also a riverfront property, but the shore is so shallow that it floods a lot and deposits a lot of debris (wood), as the other bank a mountain. The store is the only retail business for about a 10 mile radius.
We actually have a camping license, but it's primitive camping and we only get a handful of campers per year. The campground does have a bathhouse, which we brought from Jersey Shore.
This year we hope to add some tubing, and the camground downstream would be a good pullout site.
The site we are considering is on a much higher river bank, and while it's still in the flood plain, it would maybe flood 1-2 times per year instead of 5-8 times, and majority the debris ends up on the other bank because of the slight curve in the river.
Other than land, the campground would require an investment of about 500k based on my own estimates, which based on house we built and store renovation estimate is likely poor, hence my questions on this site.
Firstly, I will say that I am no expert having only been RVing for the last 3 years. I will however, give you some, hopefully, constructive comments / questions which may or may not be useful to you. These are just off the top of my head.
I would be concerned that the store was not a success and suggest you give this some real thought as to why:
Pricing, Product, No Local Requirement, Wrong Season, or you are "Outsiders" and the local's don't like it (sorry but this happens).
Will you be open all year or will you be seasonal?
Was the trailer park doing well? If not, do you know why? If you don't can you find out?
$500k is a lot of money to invest and I think you would need to be fairly confident that you could make it work or that is a lot to lose. Can you start out smaller and then invest as you grow?
Will the sites which are likely to flood be "dry camping only" with a dump station well away from flooding area or will they be full hook ups?
What would your contingency plan be if you did flood, to:
a. deal with damage to any facilities for the campers - electricity, water/sewage pollution;
b. ensure your customers could still stay or at least not be inconvenienced.
I think you seriously need to give consideration to what you can do to "get folks to come" as this will be key to getting custom if there are no other campgrounds/attractions in the area. Particularly if the trailer park was not a success then I feel if you don't make changes then you will have the same outcome.
Can people fish in the river and is it good fishing?
If you are considering setting up tubing:
a. are you prepared to deal with the after effects of flooding, i.e. how do you clean up the river so that it is safe?
b how will you maintain cleanliness of the river (trash etc)? Whilst I know you may not be personally responsible for this, it would certainly put me off coming back or recommending if it was overly messy.
c. will you offer a shuttle service to pick people up after the float, will you need new transport if you do?
Would opening a small cafe/restaurant be an attraction for campers if there are none in the area?
Would having a large group area (covered if necessary) with BBQs be beneficial as this could be used for parties, rallies etc.?
Is the area good for birding / wildlife spotting / good night skies - could you offer guided tours / photo opportunities perhaps or you could produce literature to hand out?
Is there good 4x4ing or cycling/mountain biking in the area?
Can you think of good RV parks that you have been to and replicate what they did?
Apologies if you have thought of all these things already, as I said it is just off the top of my head.
I do wish you well as I think there is a need for more decent RV parks.