Kudos to Tom Hanks, aka Forrest Gump (for speaking the line so perfectly) and the writers, Winston Groom and Eric Roth, for writing this famous line that is used by so many in the public that it is a part of modern discussion when folks want to use it to describe something that is unanticipated or surprising!

And so I will join the ranks and add “It’s like a box of chocolates” when talking about the variety of RV Parks and Campgrounds for sale around the country.  There’s no cookie-cutter recipe for how to build an RV Park, except some notable companies that brand their parks with the some of the same features that their clientele have come to appreciate as amenities.  For example:  KOA with its’ mining adventure for kids and Sunday morning pancake breakfasts!  The public comes to expect these events or amenities when they pull into one of the KOA parks that offer those.

However, if there’s no branded template or suggestions about what you should have in your RV Park or Campground, you can pretty much design your park as you wish, featuring local events and activities that suit your guests and your overall plan for your park, whether it is a new build park or an established park that you wish to modernize.

Owners and developers have gone to great lengths to make their parks original and amenity-rich, attracting more and more visitors each year.  For those of you wanting to upgrade your park with more features, you’re probably in one of these stages:

• Comparing what other competing parks are doing that interest your potential guests
• Review: do you have some natural amenity that you can develop (for example a flowing stream that you could add a rafting business) or some other thing that represents your part of the country.
• Develop a list of options and pick the most attractive.
• Determine what it would cost to build it and if there are any permits needed for your area.
• Look for local contractors for any part of the new build that you won’t do yourself.
• Set up a timeline to build your RV Park or Campground…remembering your high and low season and weather limitations if any
• As it is being built, let it be known to any current guests what you are doing to minimize disruptions, and invite them back next season to enjoy your new addition to the park!   IDEA: give them a return visit coupon!
• Develop your marketing plan to highlight this new feature and make all changes to website and advertising

So, when other parks around you have THEIR unique features, you will have YOURS to enjoy and promote to your future guests.  And when they arrive they will have the happy experience of seeing your newly updated RV Park or Campground and that feeling of “Life is like a box of chocolates…”