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CampingCalc

Campground Cost Calculator: What does the stay really cost?

A $45 site sounds reasonable – with extra-person fees, taxes, dog and electricity it quickly becomes $65 per night. This calculator adds up all items on the rate sheet and shows what the stay costs in total, per night and per person.

Units

Example value per the campground's rate sheet.

Persons and dogs
Extras

Depends on the county; convert a percentage into an amount per night.

For metered billing: kWh × price – see the shore power cost calculator. 0 if included.

Result

Cost for 7 nights

$350.00

$50.00 per night

Per night
$50.00
Per person and night
$25.00
Site (90%)
$315.00
Electricity (10%)
$35.00
  • Prices are example values – high season, site category and hookup type change them a lot. Don't count deposits.
Show calculation
  1. 1Site: $45.00 per night
  2. 2Electricity: $5.00 per night
  3. 3Per night: $50.00
  4. 4Total: $50.00 × 7 + $0.00 one-time = $350.00

 

How it's calculated

Per night = site + adults × price + children × price + tax × persons + dogs × price + electricity + other Total = per night × nights + one-time costs

US campgrounds usually charge a flat site rate (often for 2–4 people), plus extra-person fees, pet fees, lodging/occupancy tax (as a percentage or per night), metered electricity on long stays and resort or reservation fees. The campground's rate sheet provides the values – the defaults are only examples.

Worked example

Family with two adults, two children and a dog, 10 nights in high season: site $55, no extra-person fees, 12% lodging tax ≈ $6.60 per night (entered as a per-person amount for adults only would be $3.30 each), dog $5, electricity included, $10 reservation fee.

Inputs

  • Nights: 10 nights
  • Site per night (vehicle): 55 $
  • Adults: 2 pers.
  • Extra-person fee per adult and night: 0 $
  • Children: 2 pers.
  • Extra-person fee per child and night: 0 $
  • Dogs: 1 ×
  • Pet fee per dog and night: 5 $
  • Lodging/occupancy tax per person and night: 6.6 $
  • Tax also for children: no
  • Electricity per night (flat rate or estimate): 0 $
  • Other per night (resort fee, Wi-Fi, dump …): 0 $
  • One-time costs (reservation fee; don't count deposits): 10 $

Result

$742.00

Cost for 10 nights

Per night
$73.20
Per person and night
$18.55
Site (75%)
$550.00
Tax (18%)
$132.00
Dog (7%)
$50.00

Calculation

  1. Site: $55.00 per night
  2. Tax: $13.20 per night
  3. Dog: $5.00 per night
  4. Per night: $73.20
  5. Total: $73.20 × 10 + $10.00 one-time = $742.00

The variables explained

Site per night
Base price for the site/vehicle, often tiered by hookup type (dry, water/electric, full hookup), size or season.
Tax
Lodging/occupancy tax per person and night if charged that way; if it's a percentage, convert it to an amount per night.
Electricity
Flat rate per night or metered (kWh × price) – often included in the site rate.
One-time costs
Reservation/booking fees; don't count deposits.

Common mistakes

  • Comparing only the site rate – extra-person, pet and resort fees often make up a large part.
  • Forgetting taxes: lodging or occupancy taxes of 5–15% are common.
  • Overlooking seasonal surcharges, holiday rates and minimum stays.

Assumptions and limits

  • Prices as input values; no season logic, no discounts (Good Sam, Passport America, KOA Rewards) included.