will never go back
Tent camping is supposed to be low-cost vacationing for families - a way to enjoy the outdoors with family & friends without breaking the bank, but the owners of this little private campground are money-hungry. Rustic (no water/elec) sites are $15 per tent, which includes two adults & one child (under the age of 13). Children over 13 - extra $5. Under 13 - $3. If a family of four wants to camp here and have two tents, it will cost $30.00/night. Forget it if you have a son & a daughter & they both want their own tents - that will cost you $45 per night! Water/elec sites are $25.00/night which does not include the cost of elec. Each site has their own meter & it is read when you arrive and when you leave. You are charged per kilowatts for your stay.
We are great campers - sites cleaner than we found them, we respect quite times, and ALL of us have young children. We've been camping together for years at a campground about a half hour away, but we found ourselves looking for a new campground since ours went membership only ($2200/year). We thought we'd give this one a try. It was the worst camping experience we've ever had. Their "so called" family amenities - a tattered volleyball net, horseshoe pits, out dated bare bones playset, and a pond. They advertised a beach, but it's no more than pea gravel on a small area on one side of the pond. They advertise fishing, but don't sell any bait. There's supposed to be nature trails, but that's nothing more than the one access road to the less-than-desireable sites on the far side of the pond. A friend stopped by to "check out" the site he was going to be at, and they asked for a "visitor's fee". He was there less than a half hour. Another friend drove up to pick up his daughter (divorce situation - they were swapping) and the owner's asked for a "visitor's fee". He was there less than 15 minutes. When we mentioned to the owner & she replied that she's cheaper than a hotel or resort (Um, duh, we're in a tent on GRASS!) and that she's got taxes & beach permit fees to pay for. We told her that we're used to camping for $25.00/night/site (two tents allowed) that included a heated pool, 3 (true) hiking trails, gameroom, store, pool table, big screen tv, restaurant, ping-pong, playground, volleyball, horseshoes, pavillion, and karaoke. We told her that her costs were out of line & she replied "then why aren't you camping there?"
We were the only four families camping that weekend, with oodles of room all around us, but management still insisted that we have only one vehicle per site and made us park the extra two cars in the parking lot. Seriously - there were six other sites right next to us that were vacant. We would have understood if they were jam-packed, but WE WERE THE ONLY ONES THERE!!!
On the third day of camping, some men were there with a log splitter, splitting up a large tree that had fallen several weeks ago. We asked if they could split three of the larger pieces of wood that we had brought from home as we were having a hard time splitting them ourselves, and they agreed. When the owner came down to check on the men, she accused us of stealing the three pieces from her fallen tree! Later that same day, their combine tractor was cutting down the cornstalks on the farmland that surrounded the campground. Our sites were covered with "hay dust"! Tables, tents, chairs - everything! Like they couldn't have waited to do that till the middle of the week?!?!
We know now why we had never heard of this campground - word of mouth is your best advertising - and none of us will EVER recommend this place! The way we were treated by the owners/management also explains why we were the only campers there on that weekend. We won't be back.
