Custom Apparel for Campgrounds and Resorts: Merchandise That Guests Take Home

Custom campground apparel is one of my favorite categories to produce, and it all started because my family camps at Pine Ridge Campground in Gardners, PA. Before I ever created a single piece of camp store branded clothing for them, I was a customer, the kind of camper who would have happily bought a nice hoodie with their logo if one had been available. When the opportunity came to supply their camp store in 2024, I approached it from that perspective: what would I actually want to buy and wear from a campground gift shop?

The answer was not the generic, stiff-fabric printed tees that fill most resort merchandise displays. I wanted something I would reach for on a Saturday morning, something soft and well-made that happened to have a place I love printed on it. That became the foundation for how I approach all custom campground and resort apparel — create pieces good enough that guests wear them in their regular life. Every coffee run and grocery trip becomes a word-of-mouth referral for your property.

Why Campground Merchandise Is a Revenue Stream Worth Investing In

Camp store merchandise sits in a unique spot. Unlike a retail store where customers seek out your products, campground guests are already on your property with time to browse and money to spend. They are in vacation mode. They have emotional attachment to the experience they are having. A well-stocked merchandise display catches them at exactly the right moment, when they want something to remember the trip by.

The problem is that most campgrounds stock the lowest-cost option available. Thin tees with a one-color screen print, sold for $15, bought once and never worn again. That is a transaction, not a merchandise strategy. Compare that to a Comfort Colors tee with a full-color DTF print, sold for $28 to $35, that becomes a guest's favorite weekend shirt. The margin is better. The perceived value is higher. And every time that guest wears it to a barbecue or a kid's soccer game, someone asks where they got it.

Resort merchandise done right generates revenue directly through sales and indirectly through organic brand exposure that no paid advertising can replicate. A family wearing your campground's hoodie at a fall festival is worth more than a Facebook ad they scroll past in two seconds.

What Sells Best in Camp Stores

Graphic Tees

The bread and butter. Custom graphic tees with your property's logo or a location-specific design are the highest-volume item in most camp stores. I print these on Comfort Colors 1717 — heavyweight garment-dyed cotton in over 60 colors — because the softness and relaxed fit make them a shirt people actually wear after the trip. DTF transfers reproduce your logo in full color on any blank color, so dark tones like Pepper, Blue Jean, and Crimson are all on the table.

Hoodies and Crewnecks

Campfires, cool mornings, late-night walks back to your site. Campgrounds sell hoodies naturally because the environment demands them. I use Gildan 18500 hooded sweatshirts for a budget-conscious option with excellent print adhesion, and Comfort Colors 1566 crewnecks for a premium camp store offering. Crewnecks have been trending heavily in campground merchandise because they hit the sweet spot between casual and put-together.

Kids and Toddler Sizes

Families are your primary demographic, and parents love buying matching campground gear for their kids. Rabbit Skins 3321 toddler tees are part of my blank lineup specifically because of camp store demand. A toddler in a tiny Pine Ridge tee generates more social media content from proud parents than any professional photo shoot you could arrange.

Beanies and Accessories

Seasonal items extend your merchandise beyond summer. Fall camping weekends and winter holiday events are perfect opportunities for branded beanies, which are affordable to produce and have a high perceived value. They also serve campground staff well as part of a cold-weather uniform.

The Pine Ridge Campground Model

My partnership with Pine Ridge Campground is the case study for how campground merchandise should work. We started with a mix of graphic tees and ice-dyed pieces and have expanded to include hoodies, crewnecks, beanies, tanks, full-zip hoodies, and toddler tees. The collection covers adults, youth, and toddler sizes because the campground serves entire families.

What makes the Pine Ridge collection different from typical camp store inventory is the combination of methods. The graphic pieces use DTF transfers for consistent, reproducible designs — the mountain logo comes out identical on every shirt. The ice-dyed pieces are each hand-dyed in my studio, making them truly one-of-a-kind. When a camper picks up an ice-dyed Pine Ridge hoodie, they are getting something nobody else will ever have. That exclusivity drives purchases in a way that mass-produced merchandise cannot.

Each season, we evaluate what is selling, what campers are asking for, and what new products make sense. The beanies came from guest feedback during fall events. The toddler tees came from parents asking if we had anything for their kids. Listening to what the campground's customers actually want, and being nimble enough to respond, is the advantage of working with a small producer instead of a large promotional products company with 500-piece minimums and 6-week lead times.

Ice Dye: Campground Merchandise Nobody Else Can Offer

One of the strongest products I offer campgrounds is ice-dyed apparel branded with their logo. The ice dye process creates watercolor-like patterns using fiber-reactive dyes melted through ice over 24 hours. Every piece develops unique color splits and patterns that cannot be duplicated. After the dye work, the campground's logo or graphic gets applied via DTF transfer.

The result is a piece that works on two levels. It is a beautiful, wearable garment that someone would buy even without a logo. And it carries the campground's brand in a way that feels artisan rather than corporate. Guests who might walk past a rack of standard printed tees will stop and pick up an ice-dyed piece because it catches their eye. The texture and depth of color in ice dye photography also performs exceptionally well on social media. Guests post these pieces because they are interesting to look at.

For campground owners thinking about pricing, ice-dyed branded pieces command a significant premium over standard printed tees. A graphic tee that sells for $28 might sit next to an ice-dyed crewneck priced at $55 to $65. The margins are strong, and the uniqueness means there is no price comparison to Amazon or Walmart.

How to Get Started with Camp Store Merchandise

The process is simple. You share your logo, any design ideas, and your goals for the merchandise, whether that is building a full camp store collection or testing a small initial run. I recommend starting with a core assortment: graphic tees in 2 to 3 blank colors, a hoodie or crewneck option, and if budget allows, a small batch of ice-dyed pieces as your premium offering.

Our minimum order is 12 pieces per style, and you can mix sizes within that minimum. Typical turnaround for graphic tees is 1 to 2 weeks from design approval. Ice-dyed pieces take 2 to 3 weeks because of the 24-hour dye-set process. Reorders are simple. I keep all design files and press settings on record, so restocking your best sellers is as easy as sending a message with quantities.

If you run a campground, resort, or any hospitality property with a retail component, I would love to help you build a merchandise program that guests actually take home and wear. Browse the Pine Ridge Campground collection to see what a partnership looks like in practice, explore our custom graphic tee services, or learn about our full custom apparel program. Your camp store deserves better than generic — and your guests will notice the difference.