I was flummoxed, frustrated, and frantic.
It was the spring of 2024, and like millions of Americans, I was searching for a campsite ahead of Memorial Day Weekend. I opened several dozen web browser windows on my laptop and pinged between websites like Recreation.gov, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, a regional RV resort finder, and yes, even Google Maps. If only there was an easier way to do this, I thought.
Memories of my campground folly came to mind during a recent call with Alyssa Ravasio, the founder and CEO of Hipcamp, an online campground reservation website. This Tuesday, May 20, Hipcamp launched the solution I so desperately needed: the company’s new smartphone app, which tracks more than half a million campsites
“I think we’ve built the best tool for finding and booking campsites that has ever existed,” Ravasio told Outside“Before this, there wasn’t one platform that had them all.”
The Big News
For 2025 Hipcamp has expanded its reach to 565,000 total campsites on its mobile app and website. This represents a two-fold expansion for sites available on Hipcamp.com, and five-fold growth for campsite inventory on the Hipcamp mobile application.
Yep—no more scrolling between browser windows. It’s all in one place now.
Hipcamp accomplished this massive expansion by adding thousands of RV parks, camping resorts, and off-the-beaten-path private campgrounds to its existing inventory of public and private campgrounds. According to data provided by the company, Hipcamp added 250,000 private campsites and 50,000 public ones in its latest expansion.
It’s as if you combined Airbnb, VRBO, and Hotels.com into one website and smartphone app.
“From National Parks to land trusts to blueberry farms,” Ravasio said.
You can’t book all of these campgrounds directly through the app—for some, clicking on the campground icon will take you to a booking website (such as Recreation.gov campsites).
But crucial information like real-time date availability, location, and even campground infrastructure is displayed.
“Camping has been a fragmented industry and it has made campsite research extremely hard,” Ravasio shared. “We set out to become the one-stop destination for finding campsites, and it took longer than I anticipated.”
How the App Works
I recently watched Travis Green, the company’s head of product, demo the new app, and it’s very similar to the old model. You plug in your region, dates, and type of campsite (tent, RV, glamping) and then add any amenities (pet-friendly, shower, hot tub, etc) and the Hipcamp app pulls up a scrollable map with various campsites and prices on it.
As I watched the demo, I marveled at the dozens of campground pins that popped up in just one section of California near Yosemite National Park.
“Previously you’d see a lot fewer pins on the map,” Green said. “Now we show you everything.”
Another new amenity: Hipcamp shows campsite availability data on public campgrounds from Recreation.gov and from state agencies that manage campgrounds. Previously these campgrounds would appear on the app, but you had to click through to the other websites to see whether or not they were booked.
You still have to click through to Recreation.gov or to state agencies to book some public campgrounds.
A Goal to Make Camping Easier
The release marks a major milestone in the company’s history. Ravasio founded Hipcamp in 2013 after seeing the need for a platform that aggregates campground availability. By the end of Hipcamp’s first calendar year, it had 2,000 campsites under its umbrella.
“I was like, ‘wait, why is it so much easier to find a hotel room than a campsite?’” Ravasio said. “The outdoors deserves modern high-quality tools that improve the user experience.”
In 2019, the company scored a major victory when the federal government, through its contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, agreed to share data with 100,000 campsites from Recreation.gov, the national booking website.
Ravasio believes the recent expansion comes at a critical time for American campers. Budget cuts to the National Forest Service, National Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management has left millions wondering if campsites will receive the regular service and maintenance they typically get during the busy spring and summer months.
Public campgrounds often fill up well in advance of busy holiday weekends. The new app may help campers locate private campgrounds that sometimes fall through the cracks.
“We’re hoping that by unifying all of the campsites, this tool gives campers the ability to spread out and find places they didn’t know about before,” Ravasio said. “Public land is the backbone of outdoor recreation. But these mom and pop campsites—we’re so excited to give them a chance to connect with campers.”
The post Hipcamp Just Added 250,000 Campsites appeared first on Outside Online.
