Purpose

This research identifies platforms and services that help coordinate group camping trips, addressing common challenges like:

  • Collecting availability and preferences via surveys
  • Managing multiple campsite reservations for adjacent sites
  • Coordinating gear/supplies across families
  • Tracking who’s bringing what equipment
  • Expense splitting and payment collection
  • Group communication and updates
  • Scheduling coordination across multiple families

Key Categories

1. Camping-Specific Coordination Apps

Pro Camping Planner (iOS)

  • Best for: Groups needing real-time data sharing and contact management
  • Key Features:
    • Organizes all camping data in one place
    • Simple communication platform with buddy lists and contact details
    • Real-time data sharing between multiple users
    • Ideal collaboration tool for group camping
  • Platform: iOS only
  • Pricing: Check App Store for current pricing

Moonlight Trip Planning App (iOS)

  • Best for: Groups coordinating supplies and equipment
  • Key Features:
    • Shows who’s shopping for supplies and bringing equipment
    • Category-based activity building for camping friends
    • Imports national camping reservation information
    • Offline mode for viewing plans in remote locations
    • Free on Apple App Store
  • Platform: iOS only
  • Pricing: Free

Arrival Go

  • Best for: Real-time location coordination at trailheads and campsites
  • Key Features:
    • Social location sharing and group coordination
    • On-demand location sharing
    • Location-aware group chat with real-time messages and map updates
    • Ideal for meeting at trailheads or gathering at campsites
  • Platform: Check availability
  • Pricing: To be determined

2. General Group Trip Planning Apps

SquadTrip

  • Best for: Full-service trip coordination from planning to payments
  • Key Features:
    • Trip planning, payment collection, communication, and itinerary sharing all-in-one
    • Scalable for any group size (small friend groups to 500+ attendees)
    • Integration with booking platforms keeps reservations in one place
  • Website: https://squadtrip.com
  • Pricing: Free to start planning

Wanderlog

  • Best for: Groups needing offline access and advanced collaboration
  • Key Features:
    • Syncs schedules across group members
    • Balances diverse preferences
    • Integration with booking platforms
    • Pro version: Offline access and advanced collaboration tools
  • Pricing: Pro version $59.99/year

BluKyte

  • Best for: Budget-conscious groups needing expense tracking
  • Key Features:
    • Expense tracking and activity coordination in one platform
    • Unlimited users per trip
    • Keeps all planning details in one place
  • Pricing: 14.99/year for unlimited trips

CoVoyage (Android)

Frienzy

  • Best for: Groups wanting AI-powered expense management
  • Key Features:
    • AI tools combined with social networking
    • Real-time communication via built-in messenger
    • AI-simplified expense management for cost splitting
    • 15,000+ users during beta phase
  • Pricing: To be determined

3. Supporting Coordination Tools

Howbout

  • Best for: Finding dates when everyone is available
  • Key Features:
    • Combines calendar coordination with trip planning
    • Identifies when everyone is free
    • Voting tools to finalize details

Let’s Jetty

  • Best for: Early decision-making phase
  • Key Features:
    • Destination polling
    • Date coordination tools
    • Budget alignment features

PackPoint

  • Best for: Coordinating gear and equipment across group
  • Key Features:
    • Customized packing list recommendations based on destination weather
    • Planned activity-based suggestions
    • Shareable lists to coordinate group equipment

4. Campground Reservation Management

These platforms are designed for campground operators but can inform groups about reservation systems:

For Campground Operators

  • Campspot: Cloud-based system serving 2,700+ campgrounds across US/Canada
  • RoverPass: All-in-one booking platform for RV parks and campgrounds
  • ResNexus: Best for medium-large campgrounds with advanced revenue optimization
  • RMS Cloud: Features interactive maps for visual site selection
  • WebRezPro: Cloud-based with mobile access and interactive booking maps
  • CampLife: Serving 900+ parks since 2006
  • Park: Free drag-and-drop campground management software

What This Means for Groups

  • Many public campgrounds use these systems with online booking
  • Groups can coordinate by booking adjacent sites through these platforms
  • Interactive maps help groups visualize site proximity
  • Systems like https://reserve.rivcoparks.org (used in your example) are common

5. Event Management Platforms (Adapted for Camping)

For groups wanting enterprise-grade coordination:

Cvent

  • Best for: Large groups needing comprehensive features
  • Key Features:
    • Registration management
    • Surveys and custom forms
    • Workflow management
    • Reporting and insights
    • Attendee communications
  • Pricing: Typically 10,000+ per event

Whova

  • Best for: Groups wanting networking and engagement tools
  • Key Features:
    • Detailed agenda creation
    • Attendee networking tools
    • Surveys and feedback
    • Real-time communication
    • Social media integrations
  • Pricing: Per event or subscription

Sweap

  • Best for: Groups wanting advanced collaboration features
  • Key Features:
    • Integrated surveys and polling
    • Chat and virtual networking
    • Collaboration on digital whiteboards
    • Attendee management
  • Pricing: Check website for current rates

Based on the email thread describing annual camping trips with multiple families:

Phase 1: Initial Planning & Survey (Nov-Dec)

Recommended Tools:

  • Google Forms (free) or Typeform for collecting:

    • Date availability
    • Location preferences
    • Budget constraints
    • Dietary restrictions
    • Special equipment needs

  • Doodle or When2Meet for finding common availability dates

Phase 2: Decision Making & Booking (Dec-Jan)

Recommended Tools:

  • Group WhatsApp/Signal chat for quick discussion
  • SquadTrip (5.99/trip) for centralized planning
  • Direct booking through campground systems (e.g., https://reserve.rivcoparks.org)

Phase 3: Pre-Trip Coordination (Jan-May)

Recommended Tools:

  • Moonlight (free, iOS) or Pro Camping Planner (iOS) for:

    • Tracking who brings what equipment
    • Sharing supply shopping lists
    • Coordinating meal planning

  • Splitwise or Frienzy for expense splitting

Phase 4: During Trip

Recommended Tools:

  • Arrival Go for location coordination at trailheads
  • Offline access features (Moonlight, Wanderlog Pro) for remote areas

Cost-Effective Solutions

For budget-conscious groups, here’s a free/low-cost stack:

  1. Planning & Surveys: Google Forms + Doodle (Free)
  2. Communication: WhatsApp/Signal group chat (Free)
  3. Gear Coordination: Moonlight app (Free, iOS) or shared Google Sheets (Free)
  4. Expense Tracking: Splitwise (Free) or Venmo (Free)
  5. Reservations: Direct through campground websites
  6. Offline Maps: Google Maps offline downloads (Free)

Total Cost: $0

Premium Option

For groups wanting an all-in-one solution:

  1. SquadTrip (Free to start) or BluKyte ($5.99/trip)
  2. Wanderlog Pro ($59.99/year) for advanced collaboration
  3. Pro Camping Planner (iOS) for camping-specific features

Total Cost: ~$65-80 for the year + per-trip fees

Key Considerations

Platform Selection Factors

  • Group size: Larger groups benefit from dedicated platforms
  • Technical proficiency: Some groups prefer simple tools (WhatsApp + Google Forms) vs. specialized apps
  • Platform diversity: iOS-only apps (Moonlight, Pro Camping Planner) may exclude Android users
  • Offline needs: Remote camping requires offline-capable tools
  • Budget: Free tools vs. paid subscriptions

Common Pain Points These Tools Solve

  1. Survey fatigue: Centralized platforms replace multiple email threads
  2. Reservation coordination: Visual maps help groups book adjacent sites
  3. Equipment redundancy: Shared lists prevent duplicate gear
  4. Expense confusion: Built-in splitting tools prevent awkward money discussions
  5. Communication overload: Dedicated trip platforms separate camping discussions from daily chat
  6. Information loss: Everything stored in one place vs. scattered emails

What’s Still Manual

Even with tools, some coordination remains manual:

  • Calling campgrounds for group site availability
  • Negotiating site proximity if booking system doesn’t show layout
  • Menu planning and meal coordination (often via spreadsheets)
  • Carpool coordination
  • Emergency contact information

Sources

  1. Pro Camping Planner on the App Store
  2. 12 Group Travel Planning Apps to Streamline Your Trip
  3. 7 Essential Group Trip Planning Apps for 2025
  4. Why Don’t All Campers Know About these Brilliant Apps?
  5. The Ultimate Group Travel Planning App – SquadTrip
  6. 5 Best Group Trip Planning Apps for 2026 – SquadTrip
  7. CoVoyage – Group Trip Planner - Google Play
  8. New camping app connects all your trip details and friends
  9. Best 15 Campground Solutions Alternatives in 2025
  10. Campground Management Software | Campspot
  11. Best Campground Management Software 2025 | Capterra
  12. 7 Best Campsite Stay Software for 2025 - Hostaway
  13. 23 Best Event Planning Software for 2025
  14. Best Event Management Software 2025 | Capterra
  15. 25 Best Event Management Software Tools for 2025
  16. Event Planning Tools: Top 10 for 2025 | Sweap