What your land could earn
Real numbers from the land-access economy. Every strategy below maps to a WildPass pass level you can set up in minutes — with your own prices, capacities, zones, and harvest limits. Ranges are typical US figures; your region, habitat quality, and drive time from a city move them up or down.
🦌 Hunting leases — the highest dollars per acre
Season deer leases run $10–$50+/acre/year depending on region and herd quality; a managed 200-acre property can gross $2,000–$10,000 per season from one or two hunters. Sell exclusivity: cap the number of season passes, document your deer with trail-cam photos, and note QDM practices. Day hunts for hogs, turkey, or waterfowl ($100–$300/gun/day) stack on top outside your lease dates.
🍄 Commercial foraging — small access, premium price
This is the most misunderstood revenue stream. Commercial pickers (selling to restaurants and markets) harvest far more than hobbyists, so you should offer FEWER commercial passes at a MUCH higher price — think 1–2 commercial passes per day at 3–5× your personal-use rate, with a per-party weight limit and a weigh-out at your barn. A morel property that sells personal day passes at $35 can justify $100–$150 commercial passes. Scarcity protects your mushroom grounds and your prices. WildPass pass levels support this directly: mark a pass 'commercial harvest allowed', cap its daily capacity, and set its own harvest limit.
⛺ Camping & glamping — steady nightly income
A primitive creekside clearing with a fire ring rents for $25–$60/night; add a wall tent or canvas bell tent with a real bed and you're at $80–$150/night. Compare your price against the public campgrounds near you (our Explore map shows their rates side by side) — private camps win on privacy and exclusivity, so price at or above the state-park rate, not below it.
🛞 Trails by the hour — tracks, ATV, horseback
If you have terrain worth riding, hourly and day passes ($15–$40/machine) monetize land that's idle between hunts. Riders come back weekly — consider a season trail pass at 10–12× your day rate for recurring revenue.
🍁 Seasonal stacking — one property, four seasons of income
The most profitable WildPass properties layer passes through the calendar: sap taps and boiling weekends (Feb–Apr), morels and spring foraging (Apr–Jun), berries/u-pick/camping/swimming (Jun–Sep), hunting leases (Oct–Jan), and ski/snowshoe/sled trail passes all winter. Each activity gets its own pass level, price, and capacity — none of them conflict.
🐄 Farm income — plots and grazing
Garden-plot rentals ($200–$600/season) and grazing leases ($15–$50/acre/year, or per animal-unit-month) turn open ground into hands-off income with long agreements.
🎪 Events & tours — your knowledge is the product
Guided foraging walks, sugaring tours, and group event days ($300–$1,000+/day for reunions, retreats, field days) monetize expertise, not just acreage. Groups also discover your land and come back as individual guests.
Six rules of profitable hosting
Listings that name their morels, ramps, whitetail, and walleye — with abundance and season windows — earn several times more than 'nice woods, come visit.' Buyers search by species.
Drawing clear green/red zones on the satellite map makes buyers trust you and keeps them away from your house, cattle, and equipment. Confident hosts sell more access, not less.
A pass capped at 8 people/day is worth more per person than unlimited access. Scarcity reads as quality.
Parking, a restroom (even an outhouse), potable water, fire rings, and marked trails are the amenities guests filter for. List every one — and compare yours against the public lands nearby.
Your competition is free public land. You're selling what it can't offer: exclusivity, no crowds, vehicle access, documented abundance, and a host who answers the phone. Price accordingly — don't race to free.
Earnings are taxable income; Stripe handles IRS reporting on our platform. If your land is enrolled in a tax program that already requires public access (like Michigan's CFA), talk to your assessor before charging for the same access — those acres may be committed.
Ready to see it on your own acres?
Free hosts set up in a minute. Paid hosts add business details and verify with Stripe — you keep 100% of your listed price; guests pay the 8% platform fee.