Table 3.8 — Number of campgrounds in the 



United States by section and region and 



ownersliip, 1973 and 1977 





Ownership 



Section and 



Total 



Public 



Private 



region 



1973 



1977 



1973 



1977 



1973 



1977 



North: 

 Northeast 

 North Central 



2147 

 3154 



2265 

 3314 



469 

 1340 



476 

 1351 



1678 

 1814 



1789 

 1963 



Total 



5301 



5579 



1809 



1827 



3492 



3752 



South: 

 Southeast 

 South Central 



1543 

 1932 



1632 

 1957 



400 

 955 



435 

 1012 



1143 

 977 



1197 

 945 



Total 



3475 



3589 



1355 



1447 



2120 



2142 



Rocky Mountains 

 and Great Plains: 



3673 



3526 



2228 



2230 



1445 



1296 



Pacific Coast: 

 Pacific 



Northwest 

 Pacific 



Southwest 



1510 

 1803 



1447 

 1711 



1036 

 1067 



1003 

 1062 



474 

 736 



444 

 649 



Total 3313 



3313 



3158 



2103 



2065 



1210 



1093 



Total 

 United States 



15762 



15852 



7495 



7569 



8267 



8283 



Source: Rand McNally and Company Rand McNally campground and trailer 

 park guide. Chicago, Illinois, 1973 and 1977 edition. Annual. 



In Europe, lodging and meal facilities are commonly spaced along 

 well-traveled trails. In the U.S.. hikers and trail riders must provide 

 their own shelter and meals in most areas. 



The variation in costs is caused by such factors as 

 level and scale of development, types of pollution- 

 control measures needed, and local land values. 



The most significant growth in the supply of devel- 

 oped land opportunities occurred during the sixties 

 and early seventies. The slow growth in facilities in 

 recent years can be attributed to the significant 

 increases in development costs. Also, there appeared 

 to be an overexpansion of the number of recreational 

 facilities, such as campgrounds, in the early seventies. 

 For instance, a nationwide campground occupancy 

 monitoring system, established by the National Camp- 

 ground Owners Association, indicated that average 

 occupancy for the summer season was only 58 per- 

 cent in 1978.^5 jhe long-term, break-even point is 

 estimated at approximately 65 percent. 



Discussion continues over defining the proper roles 

 of the private and public sectors in meeting demands 

 for developed facilities such as campgrounds. Senti- 

 ment in the public sector has been increasingly one of 

 leaving the development of more capital-intensive, 

 convenience-oriented facilities to the private sector. 



Issues are also evolving over the expansion of other 

 facilities. For example, in Europe, lodging and meal 



35 Brown. T. L. and B. P. Wilkins. A study of campground busi- 

 ness in New York. Dep. Natural Resources, Research Series No. 2. 

 1975. 



services are commonly spaced along well-traveled 

 trails to provide hikers with a combination back- 

 country and social experience. Proponents claim that 

 such systems aid resource managers in minimizing 

 undesirable use impact on natural resources and 

 other uses. Currently, the only United States hut sys- 

 tem of any significance is one maintained by the 

 Appalachian Mountain Club in New Hampshire's 

 White Mountain National Forest. The Club's system 

 of eight huts provides bunkroom lodging and staff- 

 served meals. During nonsummer months, hikers 

 provide their own bedding and meals, although an 

 Appalachian Mountain Club caretaker may be 

 present. 



Attitudes toward developing more hut systems in 

 the United States are mixed. Persons in favor of 

 developing overnight hut systems cite hiker con- 

 venience and more effective management, while those 

 opposed to hut systems feel that such facilities con- 

 tribute to a lower quality backcountry experience and 

 do not belong on public lands. 



Alternative facilities that could provide similar 

 types of opportunities are hostels on private lands 

 linked by travel routes across public lands. Hostels 

 are a European travel lodging system that lies some- 

 where between camping and the motel-hotel system. 

 The hostel movement has become an international 



86 



