What’s the Difference between Private Campgrounds and Public?

If you’re planning a family RV trip anytime soon, you may be wondering what the best choice for your family is—a private campground or public? While some travelers love public campgrounds for their wide-open, scenic settings, other families prefer private sites such as S&H Campground because of the amenities and convenience.

Whether you’re embarking on your first family campground trip ever or you’re just curious about trying a new type of place, here are the differences between private campgrounds and public.

Public Campgrounds

• Many families like the fact that public campgrounds are very affordable and have stunning views. However, they don’t always like the fact that public campgrounds can often lack hookups for electricity, water, and sewage. When this is the case, travelers usually end up having to use public restrooms and showers.
  
  
• Because of their cheap rates, public campgrounds can also be a magnet for teens and college-age campers who can be noisy at night.
  
  
• Another thing to note and remember about public campgrounds is that it can be a little hard to book your trip there. So hard, in fact, that many families end up having to reserve through a special company.

Private Campgrounds

• While most private campgrounds may not offer the open-country views that public campgrounds do, they do offer idyllic, beautiful scenery. Most of them also provide travelers with full hookups and generators if needed as well.
  
  
• One of the best perks about private campgrounds is the added amenities. Most include arcades and game rooms, playgrounds, pools, mini-golf, and basketball. This is obviously a huge added bonus if you’re traveling as a family as it provides a lot of extra entertainment.
  
  
• It’s also incredibly easy to book with a private campground, as someone is always near the phone.

Which one sounds right for your family vacation? You may want to try both, or just figure out which one sounds more suited to your family’s tastes. If you’re a very outdoorsy family with kids who are satisfied with fishing and being outside—public campgrounds may be perfect! But if mini-golf, on-site ice cream, and cozy cabins sound more your speed, give private campgrounds a try.

S&H Campground has been a family vacation destination in Indianapolis and Greenfield, IN, for 50 years. As a private campground, we offer all kinds of activities for you and your family, including mini-golf, water tag, inflatable playgrounds, and of course, you can rent a cozy cabin or reserve a motorhome rental. Please feel free to contact us at (317) 326-3208 for any questions you may have!

Photo Credit: alapark.com