What to put on a campground rules sheet.
A rules sheet is not a legal document. It is the answer to every question a guest would otherwise walk to the office to ask. Here is what belongs on it, from the guides we print for parks.
The times
Check-in and check-out first, in large type, because they are the most asked. Then quiet hours. Then office hours, laundry hours, shower hours, and pool hours if they differ. Willow Lake RV Park puts check-out and quiet hours on the front of its map, right under the phone number, and the office says it cut the questions in half.
The rules that keep the peace
- Speed limit. One number, in the park's own words. "7.5 mph" is more likely to be obeyed than "slow."
- Pets. Leash, clean-up, where they can and cannot go, and what happens with excessive barking.
- Fires. Fire rings only, no ground fires, no fireworks.
- Generators. Allowed or not, and the hours if they are.
- Parking. One vehicle per site, extra vehicles to overflow, nothing on the grass.
- Sewer. Screw-type connections, no dumping of gray water on the ground.
- Trash. Where the dumpsters are, what goes in them, and where the recycling is.
- Children and the pool. Supervision ages, no lifeguard, pool hours.
Camp information
This is the part guests keep the sheet for. WiFi name and password. Where the laundry is and whether it takes quarters. Shower locations. Whether the office sells propane, ice, and supplies. The emergency contact for after hours. Mileage to town for groceries and fuel, the way the Bullhead City parks list it.
Your recommendations
Every park gets asked where to eat. Put the answer on the sheet. The parks we print for use the back of the map for local businesses they recommend, and the camphost points to them at check-in. It is a better answer than "there's a place down the road," and the businesses pay for the printing.
Wording that works
Write it the way you say it at the window. Short sentences. One rule per line. Bold the number or the time. Trinity View Resort's rules sheet reads as a letter that opens with "thank you for coming to camp with us" and closes with the customer service team's name, and it covers everything from the speed limit to how the garbage bins work without sounding like a lawyer. Guests read it because it sounds like a person.
Where it goes
On the back of the park map, handed to every guest at check-in. A rules sheet posted on the office wall is read by nobody. A rules sheet on the back of the map they use to find their site is read by everyone. See how parks lay it out, or request a free map with your rules on the back.