Parks Take the ‘Roughing It’ Out of Camping

At Smokey Hollow Campground in Lodi, Wis., according to the New York Times,a typical weekend goes something like this: Families splash around in the man-made “swimming pond” – a lined, sand-bottomed swim zone filled with outsized inflatable toys. Staffers in blue or white T-shirts deliver pizza to tents, RVs and air-conditioned cabins scattered across the grounds. Kids line up for face painting, temporary tattoos, Segway riding clinics and amusement-style rides while parents sip coffee and surf the Web on laptops outside the General Store, where they can also buy firewood for the requisite campfire and hot dog roast. 

“Never a dull moment,” said Kathy Kranz, an office manager from Chicago, who spent Memorial Day weekend at the campground with nine other family members, including her 15-year-old son, Jimmy, and her 17-year-old daughter, Krystal. 

At some campgrounds, said Kranz, who owns a 34-foot motorhome with another family, there is “absolutely nothing to do, except if you want to go fishing.” But with all the amenities at Smokey Hollow, her family “just had a ball,” she said. “There were so many things to do.” 

Getting close to nature and telling ghost stories around a fire are no longer the main attraction at many campgrounds. 

Campgrounds Reinvent Themselves 

In an effort to attract families – and charge more – private campgrounds across the country have been reinventing themselves from sleepy, rustic campsites to bustling “camp resorts.” You can still pitch your own tent, but with food delivery, you don’t have to slave over an open flame for dinner. 

“It’s Disneyland for campers,” said Jim Rogers, the CEO of Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA), one of the country’s oldest operators of private campgrounds, which has been adding free Wi-Fi, espresso bars and air-conditioned cabins to some of its 450 parks. 

Rogers likens the evolution of campgrounds in recent years to the amenity creep in the hotel business. Just as hotels have added free cocktail hours, fluffy beds and spas to attract clients and get them to stay longer, he said, campgrounds too have been “ratcheting up the value” with new features and services. 

The Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay KOA in La Selva Beach, Calif., is the home of an espresso bar, but also has miniature-train rides, outdoor movies, a mechanical bull and a giant outdoor Jumping Pillow (sort of a cross between a trampoline and a bouncy castle). 

In Kimball, Mich., the Port Huron KOA features an in-line skating rink, batting cages, bumper boats, an ice cream parlor and seven playgrounds. 

And Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in North Java, N.Y., just added a 16,000-square-foot water playground with water slides, water cannons and other spray features to its long list of kid-oriented attractions. 

Not unlike hotels, which offer different room types at different prices, private campgrounds have been expanding their lodging options. The Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay KOA, where tent sites cost about $60 a night, has RV sites (from $75), 50 air-conditioned cabins (from $115) and 13 lodges that can sleep six and have a small kitchen, dining area, bathroom and central air and heat (from $225). In April, the campground added six Airstream trailers that sleep a family of four for $150 a night. 

Also like hotels, KOA introduced its Value Kard Rewards program, last year, allowing repeat campers to earn points redeemable for savings on their next visit. 

“We’re campers in name only at this point,” said Bob Mills, a retired firefighter from Stockton, Calif., who parks his 30-foot trailer stocked with, as he puts it, “every luxury known to man” at the Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay KOA for a few weeks each summer to spend time with his daughters, Lisa, 15, and Julie, 12. 

After rolling out of their bunks each morning, Lisa and Julie may take a ride on the motorized Fun Train, race around on three-wheeled recumbent bikes or hit the heated swimming pool with friends. In the evening, they’ll meet up with Dad for dinner – pizza delivered straight to their campsite – and the requisite campfire with s’mores, before turning into their comfy bunk beds inside the trailer. 

Camping with Golf Cart 

All of this may elicit a swift roll of the eyes from hard-core campers, used to pitching a tent deep in the woods and relying purely on nature for entertainment. But the “camping lite” travelers offer no apologies. 

“I like to camp two hours a day,” said Scott Crompton, owner of Yogi Bear’s Jellystone in North Java. “Then I retreat into my motorhome with every amenity there is.” 

His staff caters to campers like him with a roster of activities, food delivery, people who will park your RV for you and a fleet of golf carts campers can rent for $50 a day to cruise around the 100-acre park. “Certainly nobody is rubbing two sticks together to make their own fire,” he said. 

The recent surge in amenities at private campgrounds partly grew out of the rise of the RV business, as ownership grew by 15% from 2001 to 2005, with more than 8 million households owning a recreational vehicle. As droves of Baby Boomers snapped up increasingly fancy motorhomes over the previous decade, they sought out campsites that could not only handle the increasing need for electricity and water these vehicles required but that also matched the plush interiors of their RVs. 

Campgrounds soon found out that the more amenities and services they provided, the more they could charge. 

“The objective is to maximize dollars,” said Bud Styer, a camping consultant who owns and manages several RV parks and campsites in Wisconsin, including Smokey Hollow. “If I have 100 sites and I’m charging $10 a night, that’s $1,000. If I add an amenity, I can charge $15 more a night. The return on investment is staggering.” 

The campsites at Smokey Hollow cost about $45 a night on average and include access to the swimming pond and other water features. Campers can pay an extra $25 a person for a V.I.P. wristband for unlimited weekend use of the miniature golf course, pedal carts, the Jumping Pillow and other amenities. 

But even at these rates, a weekend of camping can still be more affordable than staying at a hotel or motel – especially if you cook your own food – a point the industry expects to bank on during the recession. So far this year, Styer said, business is up about 12% across his four campgrounds. 

“When the economy gets a little rough, camping usually gets better,” he said.

RV Park Would Spoil Sanctity of Nearby Cemetery

Virginia’s Smyth County supervisors followed last week what one of them characterized as a rare unanimous recommendation by the county planning commission and declined to issue a special use permit for a campground at Konnarock, located in the western tip of the state. 

Ronnie Chambers of Greensboro, N.C., applied in April for a special use permit to develop cabins and a bath house on property lying west of Route 600 above Konnarock, the special use permit application showed. 

Under county zoning code, campgrounds in agricultural/residential are allowable only as a special use and with permit, according to SWVAtoday.com. 

More recently, Chambers told Smyth County Zoning Administrator Clegg Williams that he wanted to install 10 to 12 hookups for recreational vehicles and provide camping for a small number of riders and horses. 

At a joint public hearing in late May held by the planners and supervisors, County Attorney John Tate said the hearing could only address the cabins and bath house in the application. It also led to suspicions like that voiced by Supervisor Marvin Perry, who was concerned that Chambers had in mind other activities outside those provided in his project description on the special use permit application. 

Perry said Williams did not know about the RV hookups. “What else might we not know about?” 

Too Much Opposition 

Commissioner Graham Davidson told Chambers after the public hearing there was not another person in the room besides Chambers who favored the campground permit. “There’s too much coming on later that you did not put on this application,” Davidson said. 

Last week, Supervisor Brenda Waddell said that with the permit in hand, Chambers could build any number of cabins. Williams said substantial changes in the required site plan would require reapplication for permits, and that the supervisors could impose conditions to the issuance of the permit. 

Chambers told the planners and supervisors in May his intent was to create “Family and Friends Hideaway,” a place available for rent only by his personal friends and relatives, and to church youth groups. While it would be a commercial interest, he said the campground would not be advertised and would be open eight months of the year. 

But current and former Konnarock residents and others with relatives buried in Laurel Valley Cemetery adjacent to the entrance to the Chambers property strongly opposed the campground proposal, citing fears of trash and vandalism and a general disturbance of the serenity and sanctity of the cemetery. 

Several Konnarock residents attended the public hearing, a few of whom spoke against the campground, and heard the planners unanimously vote not to recommend that the supervisors issue Chambers a special use permit. 

“It’s unusual that for once the planning commission made a unanimous decision,” Perry said at the supervisors meeting last week where Supervisor Darlene Neitch had a petition she said bore 237 signatures in opposition to the campground. 

Williams, who said at the hearing he had received a number of e-mails and letters from campground opponents, said more “similar if not identical” communications had come to his office. 

Williams said that since the hearing, Chambers withdrew the bath house plan “since he could not get a permit for the RV (hookups)” that, according to Tate, would have required a separate special use permit application.

New Minnesota RV Park Set to Open in June

A new attraction for owners of recreational vehicles is coming to life just east of Interstate 35 near Ellendale, Minn., Crystal Springs RV Resort plans to open for business late this month, according to co-owner Galen Youngkrantz. 

“We hope to cater to RV owners from the Twin Cities area who can leave their RV here all summer, come down after the workweek is over and enjoy this area, returning to the RV park in the evening.This way they can avoid multiple trips in and out of city traffic,” Youngkrantz said. 

RV owners expect to have the amenities of life at their fingertips, and Crystal Springs RV Park plans to oblige, according to the Albert Lea Tribune. Each of the 20-by-65-foot slabs will have electrical, water and sewer hookups available. Wireless Internet and cable TV are offered. The lots will average 40 by 80 feet, and each lot will have a storage shed and be professionally landscaped. 

Plans call for a clubhouse equipped with a banquet room and an exercise room and a second office building featuring a store filled with supplies and souvenirs. A former gravel pit has been stocked with sunfish and crappies, and a boat landing for non-motorized watercraft will add to the outdoor ambiance of the new park. 

While the park will open with 10 developed RV slabs, Steele County has granted permits for up to 115 slabs, according to Youngkrantz. The park is a family-owned venture involving Youngkrantz, his wife, Patricia, and their son and daughter-in-law, Kurt and Jane Youngkrantz, all of Rochester. 

They purchased the property four years ago and began working the grounds last summer. Thousands of yards of dirt and gravel have been trucked to the site, which, when completed, will have 1 1/2 miles of paved roads linking the park’s RV slabs north and south of the tree-lined pond. Most of the early work involved installing underground pipes and cables and building a roadbed. 

The first concrete slabs are being installed now, in preparation for the camp’s opening, said Youngkrantz. The park’s owners do much of the preparation work themselves. The first building at the worksite doubles as an office and storage shed for equipment. 

The recent economic downturn has hurt sales of new RVs but Youngkrantz said he expects to attract a steady customer base at the new RV park. Many RV owners tend to be older and more affluent, better able to handle the expenses involved in owning one of the big rolling homes. Youngkrantz and his wife were RV owners for 46 years and developed an understanding of the culture and society of their fellow RV owners. 

“It’s a good way of getting away from it all and spending time with people of common interests. It’s shaping up to be a good summer. I think people will continue to travel, they just won’t travel as far from home. They will still be going,” Youngkrantz said. 

The park’s owners plan to develop the park as demand increases and as RV owners become aware of the new camping location. They hope to complete the project within two years. Promotion of the new park has begun with a company website: www.crystalspringsrvpark.com, with more than 400 people signing up for the company’s mailing list thus far. Publicity will feature stories and advertising in national RV magazines, such as Woodall’sand Trailer Life. Brightly colored signage is visible from Interstate 35, advertising the new park to motorists.

New RV Park for Grand Island, Neb., Gets OK

Despite weeks of this dreary weather, RV travelers are hitting the road for summer vacations. Now they’ll have a new spot to spend the night. The Grand Island, Neb., City Council recently approved a new RV park in town, according to NTV, Kearney, Neb. 

This will be the fourth park in the Hall County area, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director, Renee Seifert, said there is a need. 

Seifert doesn’t even advertise RV lots in the county, because there’s not enough space to fill demand. After eight years of attemping change, and now a state fair on the way, it’s finally about to happen. 

“I would like to have water and a sewer at every sight,” said James Crow said, who relaxed in Hall County Park with his family on Monday afternoon (June 15). They’ve made a few trips so far this year, and drove from Colorado Springs to Grand Island. 

Seifert looked through the camping brochure in her office. “We really only have one that offers electricity, sewer and water.” 

That’s Grand Island KOA, which technically is in Hamilton County and doesn’t stay open in the winter. Seiftert will soon get the package deal at the new RV park. 

“To have that kind of facility in town, I think is going to be a real plus,” she said. 

Not just for state fair entrants, she said, but other ag-related events. 

Rick Milton, who owns Rodeway Inn next door to the lot, will also own the RV park. 

“We’re hoping to attract those people who come to horse shows, cattle sales and other events that will use for facilities during the year,” he said. 

Seifert said, “That’s the way those families travel.” 

But Seifert said there’s also the potential to develop a new market — one for retired snowbirds traveling say from Minnesota to Arizona, in their RVs. 

“We want to offer them everything they’d expect at home,” she said. 

“That’s the type of person we want to draw to our destination, someone who wants to spend a certain amount of time visiting our attractions,” she said. 

Milton said the city was concerned about destroying landscaping but he said he’s spending between $13,000 and $15,000 to add trees and tall grass. The park will have 43 spots with development starting next spring. Completion is expected for the state fair in the fall. Milton expects cost for RVs to be about $30 a night.

Carefree RV Resorts Offers Military Discounts

Carefree RV Resorts has announced a 50% discount to active and retired military servicemen and women and their families at 35 parks in Florida, Texas, New Jersey, North Carolina and California on Sunday through Thursday stays, according to the Tyler (Texas)Morning Telegraph. 

“We think this is a great way to show our appreciation for the contributions of our armed forces in keeping our country secure,” said David Napp, CEO of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Carefree RV Resorts. 

“All veterans need to do to take advantage of this promotion is show their military ID or other form of identification that shows their service in the military,” Napp said, adding that the discounts also apply to immediate family members who are traveling with veterans. 

The discounts are being offered on a space available basis through Dec. 31 and cannot be combined with any other discount programs. The discount also cannot be used on July 4th or Labor Day weekend.

Carefree RV Resorts offers a wide variety of RV parks and campgrounds for every type of RV vacation experience. Each park has wireless Internet or Wi-Fi service as well as park model rental cottages, which can accommodate people who don’t have their own RV.

Profaizer Discusses New Camping Trends

Occupancy in the nation’s campgrounds was up about 3% over the Memorial Day weekend, but there’s a new trend emerging: Many campers are waiting until the last moment to book sites instead of planning ahead. 

That’s what Linda Profaizer, left, president and CEO of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC), reported to the Go RVing Coalitions at its June 8 meeting during RVIA Committee Week in Washington, D.C. 

“People are making their reservations later than they did before, but reservations are coming in,” she noted during the afternoon session at the Willard InterContinental Hotel. 

“Memorial Day would be a great example of that. We didn’t know what the weekend would be like until a week before when reservations really came in. There was a 3% increase in reservations and occupancy this year compared to last year.” 

All things considered, Profaizer said park operations are anticipating a decent – but not spectacular – year. 

“While they might be having a decent year, it’s not going to be setting any records,” she told coalition members. “We are all concerned about our businesses. They’ve been affected (by the economy) like we all have personally. We just have to keep promoting the benefits of camping.” 

Profaizer, at the same time, said that a new market appears to be developing with people who are new to camping. 

“We are seeing an increase in tenting, and please do not ignore the tenting market because tenters become RVers,” she said. “They come into the campground and they see people enjoying the RV experience.” 

Curiously, Profaizer feels that the general public has a lack of understanding about what camping and RVs are about. 

“We are finding there is an amazing lack of knowledge on the part of the non-camping public about what it means to go camping,” Profaizer said. “They don’t even realize that RVs have toilets in them or that campgrounds are not primitive-type camping.” 

As for the Go RVing marketing campaign itself, ARVC, with almost 4,000 members, has seen a decline in participation. Perhaps as a reflection of the economy, only 160 parks have made voluntary contributions to the program so far this year – down from about 450 last year – with an average contribution of $178 per park. Although ARVC had a goal to contribute $50,000 to the Go RVing campaign this year, so far only $28,500 has been raised. 

“That’s really not good,” said Profaizer, whose trade association has never been a major financial contributor to the pan-industry program.

Sunland Gives New Life to California Resort

The gates are open at Emerald Desert RV Resort and Spanish Walk, and it looks like the popular RV park near Palm Desert, Calif., and the troubled residential project, which both have new owners, will be moving forward side by side in more or less peaceful coexistence, according to the Palm Springs Desert Sun. 

It wasn’t always so. 

The RV park, known for its well-kept grounds and upscale amenities, originally occupied the full 80 acres of the site the two projects now share at the corner of Frank Sinatra and Gerald Ford drives in Palm Desert. 

But in 2005, the land was bought by San Diego-based Taylor Woodrow Homes, which planned to replace the RV park with 251 homes and condos. The company closed down about two-thirds of the park in 2006 and started building Mediterranean-style units. 

Then the housing market went south, construction all but stopped at Spanish Walk and instead of closing permanently in 2007, Emerald Desert remained open for the winter season the last two years. 

 The park got a new lease on life last month when it was snapped up by Sunland RV Resorts, a San Diego-based  company that owns six other upscale motor home parks, including Golden Village Palms in Hemet. 

 ”We decided to purchase it because it’s a beautiful property that is literally known throughout the country as one of the  prettiest RV resorts out there,” said Greg Sidoroff, operations manager. “We intend to keep it as an RV property.” 

The company is planning some park renovations and will keep it open year-round, instead of just during the season, Sidoroff said. 

Meanwhile, after building 22 homes at Spanish Walk – all of which have been sold and occupied – Taylor Woodrow sold the project last year to Highpointe Communities, an Orange County developer. 

Steve Vliss, president of the company, said he is basically sitting on the land, waiting for the housing market to turn around. 

“We wouldn’t anticipate any vertical homes construction starting in the community for three to five quarters,” Vliss said, indicating mid- to late- 2010. 

Taylor Woodrow had also previously sold a plot at Spanish Walk to developer D.R. Horton, which is building and selling condos at the site. 

Paul Parkinson, area sales manager, said 156 condos – all two-bedroom units – will be built at the development, called Alegria. 

So far about 60 units have been built, and 46 sold, Parkinson said. 

The company is selling about one condo a week at the project, which should be completed in about two years, he said. 

“We’re selling them first and building them after that.”

Unique Columbia River RV Park Threatened

No one who lives on this mecca for golf-and-water recreation near Wenatchee, Wash., wants to leave. 

Who would want to? 

The Columbia River embraces this 160-acre island under the stoney gaze of spectacular basalt cliffs about 27 miles east of Wenatchee. 

But the RVs, homes and condos there that many of them have owned for decades are on public land, owned by the Grant County PUD as part of Columbia River shoreline linked with its Wanapum Dam, according to the Wenatchee World. 

The 50-year lease the PUD issued to develop the island expires in 2012. There’s no guarantee the residents can stay. 

What to do with Crescent Bar is sparking heated public debate. 

“We’re the grandparents. Our kids have come in and now their kids are coming in,” said JoAnn Hanson, 74, who’s lived in her home in the island’s RV park for 20 years with her husband, Rich Hanson, 76. “We would be devastated if we had to go.” 

300 Families Own Space in RV Park 

The Hansons are among some 300 families who purchased space in the Crescent Bar RV Park, some as long ago as 1973, when private  development on PUD lands wasn’t subject to the intense federal scrutiny and approval  process of today. 

 Hanson said their leases require that they be able to pull out in as little as 48 hours if  ordered to do so by the PUD – an easy enough request for a trailer on wheels. 

 But no one has ever made that request, she said, and the residents gradually settled in. 

 Most of their “recreational vehicles” now have expansive decks and front porches, elaborate additions and tidy driveways, many containing cars as well as golf carts. 
Currently, more than half of the 160-acre island is covered with some 300 RV homes, 103 condos, a public beach, boat launch and moorage and a nine-hole public golf course. About half the developed land is associated with private ownership. 

Kelly Larimer, lands resource manager for the PUD, said the rest is set aside as natural areas. Federal regulators have forbidden any more development outside this existing “disturbed footprint.” 

Feds Want More Public Access 

When the PUD got a new license last year to operate Wanapum and its sister dam Priest Rapids, with it came a renewed federal mandate to expand public access and recreation, Larimer said.

The PUD plans to build hiking trails on the island and improve the public beach, boat launch and boat access to moorage. 

Danna Dal Porto, a retired Quincy High School art teacher from George, has been an outspoken proponent for either removing island residents or obliging them to pay more to remain there. 

“In order for the public to have more access, something has to leave.” Dal Porto said. “I’m not saying that everyone who’s on the island should be kicked off … but somebody’s making a lot of money from what in essence is public property.” 

PUD commissioners have planned a series of meetings to receive public input on the future of Crescent Bar Island and other PUD lands nearby. 

Larimer said commissioners hope to approve a new shoreline management plan, which includes Crescent Bar, by year’s end. Federal dam regulators must also approve the plan. 

“I’d hope they get lease extensions, but at this point in time, the PUD is not telling anybody anything,” said Ed Pace, vice president of Crescent Properties Inc. 

Early History of Development 
The company built the island’s condos (pictured below), sold the RV lots and oversees island commerce under a sublease from the Port of Quincy, the PUD’s main leaseholder. 

In 2005 and 2006, Crescent Properties Inc. developed Sunserra, a townhouse resort with a golf course and clubhouse, on its own property on the mainland, just across the bridge that accesses the island. 

Unless fees increase, Pace said his company is probably not interested in continuing to manage the island, which he says generates revenues that just cover expenses. 

Crescent Properties Inc. pays the Port of Quincy approximately $35,000 per year as aportion of the proceeds from operating the island. The port’s annual lease payment to the PUD totals only $100, Larimer said. 

The earliest individuals who bought RV lots each paid $4,995, PUD records show. 

Today, each lot owner pays a yearly lease fee of only $33. Condo owners pay anywhere from $100 to $626 per year. Residents also pay homeowner association dues of about $1,400 annually. 

According to websites advertising rentals on Crescent Bar Island, Larimer said at least 73 RVs or condos there rent for $900 to $1,800 per week – a tidy profit, given their low annual ownership expenses there. 

The town of Quincy, just east of the island, has reaped huge tax benefits from tourist spending. The Port of Quincy is interested in remaining the PUD’s main lease holder to the island, Curt Morris, port commission president said. 

“Someone needs to be able to run it,” Morris said. “What you need is a benevolent dictator, because if you don’t have it, it’s just a mess.” 

Longtime homeowner Hanson says the island’s three homeowners associations are willing to work with the PUD and port to manage the island themselves, if necessary, as long as they can stay. 
She says island residents welcome the public, and have a right to stay. 

“We feel we can work together to get a win-win situation and make the public feel welcome,” she said. 

Dal Porto says Grant County residents are footing the bill for the island homeowners’ low-cost lifestyle. 
“All leases need to be renegotiated to market value,” she said. “They have what is the cheapest housing situation in Grant County, and it’s prime recreational property. We’re subsidizing people to have recreational property on public land. And I just don’t agree with it.”

Alaska Campgrounds Feel Economic Pinch

National economic woes appear to be taking their toll on tourism in Alaska’s interior, including the RV park and campground sector, according to the Alaska Journal of Commerce. 

Scott Reisland, whose family operates the Grizzly Bear Resort just south of Denali National Park, said his RV park, cabin and hotel lodging business is way down. 

“Our first quarter for pre-bookings was down 72% from the year before,” he said. “We are starting to move the needle by massive discounting.” 

Reisland, whose family has operated the resort for 41 years, has been expanding over the past three years because of the demand, he said. 

“Every year since 1968, we built a couple more cabins or added RV sites,” he said. “Every year we developed our old homestead property.” 

The rest of the season aside, Reisland said the Memorial Day weekend was a good one, because he booked a Harley Davidson Hog Association group. 

Meanwhile, Reisland said he has hired a lot fewer than the usual 35 to 40 employees, including part-timers, and he and his family will be working a lot harder this summer.

Indiana’s Largest RV Park Marks 51st Year

News out of northern Indiana’s RV factory belt may be disastrous, but southern Indiana’s largest privately owned RV park is enjoying good times. 

“Our reservations are up 4% over a year ago,” said Dave Lovell, manager of Lake Rudolph RV Resort & Campground, 35 miles east of Evansville.
  
 There are at least two reasons why the campground – which started small in 1958 but now  spreads across 160 acres adjacent to Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari theme park – is  bucking the recession, according to the Evansville Courier Press. 

 Lovell said many vacationing families are staying closer to home this year because of the  economy. 

Also, at Lake Rudolph visitors don’t have to own an RV or tent to stay, although there are 200 full-hookup RV sites for those who do. 

Tourists can rent an RV or a cabin for $120 to $170 a night, a type of vacation Lovell says is growing in popularity. Another trend finds guests staying longer, often three or four days instead of two. 

Lake Rudolph – which will have a public open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (May 30) – also has 40 tent sites served by water and electricity. 

“Our core market is families with children and teenagers,” said Lovell. “About 70% of our business is from Indiana.” 

The facility, named National RV Park of the Year by the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC), has evolved. 

Lovell said 10 years ago the campground was still mostly for RV owners. 

Today there are 197 RVs and 19 cabins available for rent, surrounded by woods, lake and amenities. 

“Until about five years ago,” said Lovell, “the only reason you came here was to go to Holiday World. The campground was pretty much empty during the day.” 

Now, while families still take free shuttles to the theme park, many guests stick around the campground during the day to use Lake Rudolph’s giant swimming pool, basketball and beach volleyball areas, playgrounds, 18-hole mini golf course, gem mining area for kids, camp store and fishing lake with paddleboat, kayak and rowboat rentals. 

The complex has modern bathhouses, two laundries and an outdoor pavilion popular with family reunions, Lovell added. 

New this year are high-speed Internet throughout the campground, “green” (electric) golf carts used by guests and a Blitzen Kitchen offering 48 flavors of ice cream and even pizza delivery. 

The campground was started in 1958 by Bill Koch, who created Santa Claus Land in 1946. In the 1980s it became a membership-only campground, but in 1997 the Koch family decided public camping was needed again to serve the growing number of tourists coming to Holiday World. 

Like the theme park and nearby Christmas Lake Village subdivision, areas of Lake Rudolph have Christmassy names. 

During Saturday’s open house, there will be free refreshments, a display of RVs by Tom Raper RVs of Richmond, Ind., and chain saw carving demonstrations by “Chain Saw Willy” Loper.

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