Posts Tagged ‘campground’

In North Dakota, the usual start of the camping season is the Memorial Day weekend, still a couple of months down the road. But then nothing about this year, at least weather-wise, has been usual.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced the Downstream Campground will open for the season May 4 and East Totten and Wolf Creek camping areas will open a couple of days earlier, on May 1.

The wing walls at the Tailrace are now open for fishing. The West Tailrace access road will undergo some repairs later this year and is now gravel. It is an improvement, however, over the crater-sized potholes.

With the price of gas these days, campers will most likely be sticking closer to home. It has been a trend in recent years that when gas prices get close to the $4-a-gallon mark, campers tend to stick closer to home, go less often and stay longer.

Another trend is a lot of campers take advantage of the seasonal sites at some of the campgrounds that are maintained by local park districts.

The bottom line for camping enthusiasts is planning will be important, so it will be a good idea to take advantage of reservation systems.

State parks offer reservations by phone or online. The toll-free number is 800-807-4723 or visit the state parks website at www.parkrec.nd.gov.

Many other camping areas are first-come, first-served, so that makes the planning process more important.
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BILLINGS, Mont. — Kampgrounds of America is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with 23 new campground locations added to the 2012 KOA Directory, the company announced today.

The 23 new locations throughout North America bring the total of KOA campgrounds to 485.

“We do our best to find campgrounds that are just the right fit for our campers and the KOA system,” said Chris Fairlee, KOA assistant vice president for system development. “There are more than 8,000 private campgrounds in North America, but we are pretty selective. Not just anyone can fly the KOA flag.”

The 50th Anniversary Edition of the famous KOA Directory again provides campers with not only complete descriptions and “last mile” locator maps to all KOA locations, but also a complete set of state and provincial atlas maps, making the KOA Directory the only planning tool campers need to plot their travels.

“Once again, we’ve done a great job of adding beautiful campgrounds right where our campers want to go,” said KOA President Pat Hittmeier. “For instance, we added two more locations in the Orlando area to allow our campers to be right in the middle of the Orlando attractions, or a little farther out – KOA camping any way they like it.”

Flying the yellow KOA flag has already been a boon for the new Kampgrounds of America parks, said Hittmeier.

“Being a KOA has already brought out campground a lot more business,” said Robyn Chilson, owner of the Meadville, Pennsylvania KOA. “We have more visibility and the phones are ringing off the hook. We have new campers in the park. We are very happy. KOA is a class act all of the way around.”

New KOA campgrounds listed in the 2012 KOA Directory include:

• Oxford/Talladega/Dandy RV, Alabama KOA
• Picacho/Tucson NW, Arizona KOA
• Heber Springs, Arkansas KOA
• Montrose/Black Canyon National Park, Colorado KOA
• Orlando NE/Wekiva Falls, Florida KOA
• Orlando NW/Orange Blossom, Florida KOA
• East Ellijay/Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia KOA
• Waterloo/Lost Island Waterpark, Iowa KOA
• Perry Lake/Topeka NE, Kansas KOA
• Houghton/Letchworth, New York KOA
• Springwater/Dansville, New York KOA
• 1000 Islands/Association Island, New York KOA
• Homerville, Ohio KOA
• Salem/Lisbon, Ohio KOA
• Meadville, Pennsylvania KOA
• Hohenwald/Natchez Trace, Tennessee KOA
• Bastrop/SE Austin/Colorado River, Texas KOA
• Onalaska/Lake Livingston, Texas KOA
• Weatherford, Texas KOA
• Luray, Virginia KOA
• Longview North/Mount St. Helens, Washington KOA
• Sturgeon Falls, Ontario KOA
• Bas St. Laurent, Quebec KOA

SOURCE: Kampgrounds of America press release

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – When Ray Aljets built the campground that later became Jellystone Park Camp-Resort 23 years ago, most of his business was east-west traffic, particularly families from Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis who traveled westward to visit the Black Hills.

Today, however, 65 to 70 percent of the Jellystone Park’s business is families who live within 100 miles of the park.

“We still get the east-west traffic,” said Aljets’ son, Bruce, who now runs the park with his wife, Donna, and their children, Ray and Christina. “But now most of our business is local.”

Jellystone Park Camp-Resort

Business is strong, too. Last year, for example, the park surpassed its 2010 revenues by 11 percent, and this year looks to be just as strong as last year, if not stronger, Bruce Aljets said, adding that his park opens for the camping season on April 1^st.

But the dynamics are different.

Fuel costs are higher than they used to be, which encourages people to visit campgrounds that are closer to home. Today’s families also have a harder time getting away for extended periods of time.

Both parents usually work and often have a harder time getting their vacations to coincide. Kids also have more sporting activities available to them in the summer than they used to, all of which encourages families to camp closer to home.

The good news, Bruce Aljets said, is that camping is as popular as ever, with one caveat. “People don’t want to rough it,” he said. “They want the comforts of home when they camp. Even tent campers want Wi-Fi so they can watch Netflix movies.”

As a result, Aljets provides his guests with cabins with house-like amenities, including cable TV and Wi-Fi service and hot showers. The campground also has a jumping pillow, pedal cart rentals, a heated swimming pool and spa, an indoor theatre and a miniature golf course. And for those who don’t have a tent or RV, the park provides a dozen rental cabins.

Aljets’ Jellystone Park also has an activities director and provides organized family activities from May through the end of October that are designed to appeal to all ages, including Mother’s Day and Father’s Day weekend events; Mardi Gras and Christmas in July celebrations; and Bruce’s favorite, the “Messy Weekend” July 27^th to 30^th, which includes a chocolate pudding Slip N Slide, bobbing for worms and other messy activities.

Late summer and fall activities include a corn maze and Halloween-themed weekend events, including costume and campsite decorating contests.

A complete listing of activities and themed weekends is available at www.jellystonesiouxfalls.com.