Pricing remains stable for investors looking to buy campgrounds and RV parks in B.C. while Canadian staycations are on the rise, largely due to Canada-U.S. relations, according to industry experts.
On the market for two years, Moosehorn Lodge, a 19-hectare (48-acre) waterfront property on Uncha Lake south of Burns Lake, B.C., is listed for $1.1 million.
Partially restricted by the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), the property includes a 1,265-square-foot log-framed main lodge with a restaurant, convenience store, dining area, a 1,150-square-foot log home for the owner, 12 fully furnished cabins and amenities, camping pads and boat rentals.
Freddy Marks, associate broker with Re/Max Nyda Realty in Agassiz, said the site currently has 20 RV hookups, with potential to increase to 40, but ALR restrictions prevent expansion into a larger RV park.
“It is pretty much only focusing on a mom-and-pop buyer,” said Marks.
The Beachcomber RV Resort in Central Saanich on Vancouver Island – reduced to about $6.2 million from $8 million in 2023 – includes a waterfront RV park and campground on nearly four hectares (10 acres) in two land titles and has 60 seasonal RV sites. Its upper level, partially in the ALR, has a 1,176-square-foot house on a bluff with potential for single-family home redevelopment. The RV park is not in the ALR.
In April, Langley-based Pathfinder Ventures Inc. announced a 48 per cent increase in bookings for the month versus a year earlier. Pathfinder operates three RV parks in Parksville, Fort Langley and Agassiz-Harrison, offering a total of 356 RV pads, 10 mobile homes and tenting spots.
“Canadians are just choosing to stay local,” said Joe Bleackley, Pathfinder’s founder and CEO. “I think that we’re looking forward to a really strong, high-occupancy RV resort season.”
Attributing increases to Canada-U.S. tensions, Bleackley said advance bookings for winter, particularly for snowbirds, are also up.
Last year, Pathfinder announced plans to develop an RV park with about 120 RV sites on six hectares (15 acres) of leased land on Osoyoos Lake, but those plans have since been parked after a non-binding letter of intent for the project expired.
“There is a piece of property in Osoyoos that we’re very interested in developing,” Bleackley told Western Investor. “It’s First Nations land and they’re going through the lease process with the government of Canada, which is a lengthy process.”
Pathfinder, which has since shifted its focus to manufactured housing, also last year announced plans to expand into Eastern Canada with the right of first refusal and an agreement to manage four RV parks in Ontario and one in Nova Scotia, but Bleackley said this plan is also on hold due to an uncertain economy.
According to the British Columbia Lodging and Campgrounds Association (BCLCA), 56 per cent of campground and RV park visitors in 2024 were B.C. residents and 17 per cent came from Alberta. About seven per cent were from the U.S., nine per cent were from other countries, and the remainder were from other parts of Canada.
BCLCA executive director Joss Penny predicts some occupancy and revenue gains in 2025.
“I think we’re going to see a modest growth,” said Penny. “We’ll see some gains in occupancy, but that’ll depend on the wildfire season.”
Park rates remained mostly stable or saw only minor increases in 2024 – a trend expected to continue this year – as park operators upgrade their facilities with winter-friendly features, better Wi-Fi and electric vehicle charging stations to attract off-season visitors.
“Some of them are winterizing so that they can be open for winter snowbirds,” he said.
While property taxes and utilities are on the rise, Penny said operators might catch breaks on other operational costs.
“On the insurance front, we’re seeing a softening of the market there and so some of the rates aren’t going up as much or are coming down a little bit,” he explained.
