The winding roads lined with big, moss-draped oaks and neatly landscaped lawns could snake through any upscale subdivision. A path lined with azaleas leads to a clubhouse with pool and Ping-Pong tables, next to two lakeside swimming pools. The entrance is gated and manned.

According to a report in the Gainesville Sun, this is the new face of the RV park - or RV resort - where, according to industry statistics and reports from local parks, a new breed of RV user is pushing for fancier rigs and fancier places to park them.

"The population is aging, and the generation retiring today isn't the same as the generation that came before it," said Roseanne Mayer, vice president of Elite Resorts Management Inc., which developed a resort in Salt Springs, Fla., and plans to build another one like it in Hawthorne. "Baby boomers are used to having more. As they retire, they continue to expect more."

She said Salt Springs, which sells lots to RV owners who then may rent them to other campers, doesn't have any lots for sale. She said she also expects the 599 lots planned for Little Orange Lake in Hawthorne to sell quickly.

Elite Resorts isn't the only entity seeing the effects of a growing and changing RV market. Lots in Grand Lake RV and Golf Resort in Orange Lake are booked through the end of the month, according to a park manager.

Virginia and Tom Slavin, both 79, who spend their winters in Grand Lake and their summers in Connecticut, said that fact alone signals an uptick in RV use over the past several years.

"When we first started coming here, there would hardly be anyone else in the park," Virginia Slavin said. "Now, it's hard to get in. There are more and more campers every year."

A 2004 study by the University of Michigan commissioned by the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) showed that roughly 8 million U.S. households own an RV. People aged 35 and younger represented the fastest-growing group of RV owners.

"The Baby Boomer market is definitely helping to fuel the demand, but it's not just retirees," said Kevin Broom, RVIA spokesman. "There are a lot of working folks with families who are doing this on the weekends."

Mayer said the trend is definitely visible at Salt Springs and at Elite Resorts' other sites throughout Florida.

"When we first got into this business, we thought we'd get snowbirds," Mayer said. "We do, but we also get a lot of people from Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami and other places in Florida who just want a place to come relax on the weekends. On warm weekend days, the pool is just packed with kids."

In addition to amenities such as a pool and a boat launch, Elite Resorts at Salt Springs offers lots large enough to accommodate large motorhomes, Mayer said.
There are more up-scale RV parks or communities being planned than ever before. The RV lifestyle has kicked into high gear and RV owners have a lot of options now days.
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