Paige Avery
doesn’t have a tent or RV, and she has no plans of purchasing either. But
that hasn’t stopped her from camping.

Earlier this year,
Avery spent a girls’ weekend camping in a fully furnished park model cabin
with her two 6-year-old daughters as well as a girlfriend who brought her
daughter of the same age. They stayed at the Ventura
Ranch KOA in Santa Paula, California, one of a growing number of
campgrounds across the country that are investing in park model rental
accommodations to make campgrounds accessible to people who might not
otherwise visit a campground.

“I’m not the type whose going
to pitch a tent,” she said. But she will camp with her children and friends
if she can have a turnkey camping experience, and that’s exactly what
privately owned and operated campgrounds are trying to provide with their
investments in park models.

Technically classified as
recreational park trailers, park models are 400-square foot factory built
cottages that come in a variety of styles. Most look like miniature cabins,
while others have a cottage like look to them.

Park models
typically sleep six and come equipped with full size kitchens and bathrooms.
Many of them also have lofts, which are attractive to families with kids.
Major campground chains like Jellystone Parks and Kampgrounds of America
(KOA) have joined independently owned and operated campgrounds across the
country in adding park model RVs as rental accommodations for their guests.
The park models at the Ventura Rancho KOA have a separate bedroom and a
comfortable loft with a futon for the kids, where they can roll out their
sleeping bags, play games and enjoy quality time together. The units also
have decks, barbecues and fire rings, so families can roast s’mores and tell
stories around the campfire.

“It was a perfect experience
for our lifestyle,” Avery said, adding that she plans to make additional
trips in the coming months to other campgrounds that have park model rental
accommodations.

To find campgrounds that have
park models and other types of rental accommodations, visit our Find a
Park page, then click the “Site Option” box which will then show a
variety of additional rental accommodations. You can also target your search
to specific states or geographic regions.