Ali and Eric Rasmussen were looking for an exciting entrepreneurial opportunity two years ago. They figured Eric’s commercial real estate and capital markets background coupled with Ali’s marketing chops would be a powerful combination if they started their own business.
They hadn’t found what they were looking for until they purchased an RV during the start of the pandemic and took their young family camping.
“We looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, we could do this!’” Ali remembered. They were camping at a Kampgrounds of America facility at the time, and the more they studied the operation, the more excited they became.
The Rasmussens found their first campground in May 2021, in the tiny town of Alfred, Maine. Next came a flurry of purchases that now finds the couple owning 10 parks scattered throughout the Eastern U.S. after just a year of operation.
Their small chain of parks is called Spacious Skies Campgrounds. Spacious Skies now has two locations in Maine, two in New Hampshire, and one each in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
Buying and improving parks
The Rasmussens are a bit of an anomaly in the current campground buyer’s market, which has been flooded with “new money” from investment firms and larger corporations. Their current business model involves finding good, turnkey parks in desirable markets and then dialing up both the facilities and the service in order to bond guests to the brand as it grows.
Eric said it’s important that their campgrounds offer a range of outdoor fun activities for families, with easy access to other regional attractions.
Their Spacious Skies Belle Ridge Campground in Monterey, Tennessee, for instance, has great access to ATV trails along with a spring-fed swimming pool, on-site waterfalls and many local caves to explore. Even their “urban park,” the Spacious Skies Minute Man Campground just 45 minutes outside of Boston, offers wooded campsites and a true getaway feel for city dwellers.
Ali Rasmussen said as Spacious Skies Campgrounds grow across the country, they hope campers will see the benefits of staying with the brand and enjoying each park’s unique character while benefiting from the brand’s consistent delivery of services. Ali related that Spacious Skies is preparing to offer a new loyalty program soon that will further encourage campers to stay at their parks.
Spacious Skies Campgrounds appealing to non-RVers, too
Spacious Skies has a somewhat unique partnership with RVshare.com that allows campers to select from a wide range of rental RVs that they can either pick up from RV owners in the traditional way, or have the RV delivered directly to a Spacious Skies campground. It also offers signature Riverside Retro rental campers at its Country Oaks, French Pond, Woodland Hills and Walnut Grove Spacious Skies camping locations.
“As lifelong campers and lovers of the great outdoors, we believe that camping is one of the best ways to experience the exquisite wonder of slow-travel practices of hiking, fishing, stargazing and more in some of the most beautiful natural places in the U.S.,” said Ali Rasmussen. “Clearly, the outdoor hospitality industry is having a moment, with the popularity of back-to-nature adventures soaring. It is our mission to provide our enthusiastic guests with fun, relaxing and authentic experiences they will never forget.
“Consistency across all the elements that make up hospitality, property management, and customer experience is really best achieved when there is a direct connection between the home office and our onsite staff,” she said. “It is fulfilling to work together as one team toward the same vision, the same dream, and that positivity should be passed on to our guests in their experience with us.”
While Spacious Skies Campgrounds do cater to RVers with 30- to 50-amp service and full hookups, they also have cabins and yurts as well as tenting available at most locations.
The next steps
While both of the Rasmussens acknowledge that new campground owners often raise rates shortly after purchase, they said they carefully analyze each camping market as well as the facility to ensure campers see value in each camping stay. While some rates may go up, they vow to provide value for the type of experience they provide.
Eric Rasmussen said while purchasing 10 parks in just a year seems ambitious, he expects the purchasing pace to continue in the coming months as Spacious Skies Campgrounds looks at acquisitions throughout the country, including the American West.
Ali said the new company has been fortunate to find great team members to staff the campgrounds as well as several corporate positions. The Rasmussen’s “home office” is located in New Jersey. She said they are always on the lookout for new team members, as well as campground owners willing to sell.
The Rasmussens also “never say never” to other expansion methods, including perhaps franchising the brand in the future. But for now, they are comfortable to own each park as they methodically grow their collection of campgrounds.
Spacious Skies Campgrounds:
- Alfred, Maine – Spacious Skies Walnut Grove– 93 RV sites, three cabins. Acquired May 2021.
- Henniker, N.H. – Spacious Skies French Pond– 140 RV sites, eight tent sites. Acquired Aug. 2021.
- Austerlitz, N.Y. – Spacious Skies Woodland Hills– 207 RV sites, two RV rentals, 14 tent sites. Acquired Aug. 2021.
- Boston, Mass. – Spacious Skies Minute Man– 93 RV sites, seven cabins. Acquired Sept. 2021.
- Abbot, Maine – Spacious Skies Balsam Woods– 84 RV sites, six cabins, four tent sites. Acquired Oct. 2021.
- Hancock, N.H. – Spacious Skies Seven Maples– 121 RV sites, four cabins. Acquired Nov. 2021.
- Luray, Va. – Spacious Skies Shenandoah Valley– 76 RV sites, four glamping yurts, two deluxe cabins, eight tent sites. Acquired Dec. 2021.
- Dorothy, N.J. – Spacious Skies Country Oaks– 139 RV sites, two cabins. Acquired Dec. 2021.
- Fayetteville, N.C. – Spacious Skies Sandy Run– 62 RV sites. Acquired April 2022.
- Monterey, Tenn. – Spacious Skies Belle Ridge– 50 RV sites and 12 cabins. Acquired April 2022.
Other info
Anyone interested in applying to join the Spacious Skies Campgrounds team can click here.
Current campground owners interested in discussing a possible sale of their park can click here.
The Rasmussens were recent guests on Woodall’s Campground Magazine’s “Outdoor Hospitality Update” webcast. You can view the webcast by clicking here.
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These people scoop up established family campgrounds and become absentee landlords with hired management. They are corporate, raising prices to exorbitant levels and neglecting the personal and careful daily tasks the onsite owners used to take care of. Check out how Walnut Grove in Alfred, ME is losing their longtime faithful seasonal in droves. Ask them why.
The limit of 2 pets per site would be a no go for me. As long as pets are well behaved and do not cause a disturbance the number or breed should be irrelevant. Many people travel by RV because of having pets. Places with private fenced yards for RVs with minimal restrictions are more desirable. Willing to pay a premium.
Very happy to see this article. We’ve stayed at Minuteman a couple times and enjoyed it. We were aware that it was being sold when we last stayed there. I was afraid it was being bought up by one of the big companies that scoop up campgrounds and immediately raise the rates.
I know were there’s a camp ground for sale in Ohio if interested
Buying-up existing campground is okay but how about building new ones.
Very difficult to build in most areas. Locals don’t want the extra traffic, and have a perception that all of us who have an RV are homeless. Can’t get approval from many town councils.
Yes we need more RV campgrounds but we don’t need greedy investors. RV parks are becoming more expensive and pricing people out of them not to mention the inflated cost of RV’s and fuel to get there!! BTW we’ve been full timing since 2012 and traveled all 50 states. Can’t do it now though!
It would have been helpful to show the nightly cost before and after spacious sky’s took over.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and you’ll see the physical/road address. Highlight it, and do a ‘search google’ for it.
It worked on 3 of the CG links so far.
Hope that helps.
BTW… I always to that with every CG we consider, to see just what’s around nearby.
Sorry, that reply was meant for Paul (below)….. 🙂
Prices went from 46ish a night depending on site amenities to 109+ a night. The worst part… they boast about improvements and such but yet it’s the opposite. They fail to fix,
Update, or maintain anything and somehow charge triple the previous cost. They will keep 10% of your paid reservation even if you cancel 3 days before or more which they require reservations be paid in full when you make it. An example being a 10 night stay being $925 roughly and when canceled prior to 72 hours even if it’s due to an emergency or a totally reasonable and unforeseeable reason they will keep 10% or all of the amount paid for your stay. The6 are 100% corporate and not family based or oriented when it comes to costumer services even though the confounding couple claims to have gotten into the business because of their love for family camping. They bought 11 campgrounds since 2021, 1 or 2 month to date. All of the original regular customers have left reviews that all tend to end in stating they won’t ever return and how their life long favorite campground has been bought neglected, ruined and tripled in price with the worst customer service. Many if not all have had a revolving door of managers and work camping Staff since being purchased. They’re all about profits and making their investors money, hospitality and customer happiness doesn’t seem to even matter. They offer military and eat responder discounts but don’t even honor it on MEMORIAL DAY!! Or any other holiday, but honestly don’t you think they could atleast allow the discount on that holiday out of all of them. That says it all. I am sorry for anyone who decides to give their corporate America thievery of campgrounds a chance, it’s not worth the waste of money I promise you and I’m a full time RV’er.
There mostly well designed website has a flaw. I cannot find a place to link to a map so I can see where the campground is more specifically than their general location.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and you’ll see the physical/road address. Highlight it, and do a ‘search google’ for it.
It worked on 3 of the CG links so far.
Hope that helps.
BTW… I always td that with every CG we consider, to see just what’s around nearby.
Hi Paul. I’ve passed your feedback along to the Spacious Skies folks regarding maps and directions. They thanked us for the feedback, and said they’d get with their web designers to clarify things. Good eye!