A cost analysis of U.S. Forest Service campgrounds in the Pacific Northwest

Abstract

A detailed cost analysis was performed on 111 U.S. Forest Service campgrounds in the Pacific Northwest (Region 6). Five experience levels were analyzed to estimate facility, operation and maintenance, and opportunity costs. Cost functions, estimated by multiple linear regression analysis to predict the effect of size (number of sites) and use, should help planners better predict average costs of both existing campgrounds and new developments for each experience level. Total annual costs per campground ranged from $800 (experience level 1) to $65,000 (experience level 5) at a 10-percent interest rate. Costs averaged $1.53 per recreation visitor-day and $886 per site across all experience levels.