April 2023 by Katie Cranley
We were the renters of a lot for only 2 years. Here’s a few reasons why we after such a short time and took a financial loss:
1. Rules are not enforced for all campers. Campers outside of staff family/friends are frequently harassed/targeted.
Example 1: Staff has family in one lot they do not enforce the leash rule for. The dogs ran loose every time we were at our trailer, sometimes through our campground. For
other campers to have to adhere to this rule and receive letters in the mail about such things in a way that would make it appear they are causing such problems and our dogs won’t be allowed anymore, while the family of staff (the ones causing an issue) do not have to follow the rule rule, is unacceptable business practice.
Example 2: Individuals are not allowed to go into others’ boats or on their docks (completely acceptable), however the staff’s kids will be seen on docks and in boats that were not theirs. My children however were scolded every time we came up regarding these behaviors although they were well informed of the rules because the harassment of our family began almost immediately.
2. Not being allowed to walk along the grass on the road and having other campers (most of the seasonal renters are old and dislike the the children that are starting to come into the campgrounds) yelling at kids who walked on the grass right next to the gravel paths to avoid hurting their feet does not make the campground a family friendly environment.
3. It was very clear that families with small children were unwelcome as we were singled out and harassed frequently.
4. There was an issue with where to put leaves. Everyone on the campsite appeared to know that leaves went in the woods. It was our first fall. There was no paperwork on where to put leaves. No one was nice enough to let us know, not even the staff that saw us when we were there, but the manager had no issue coming to let us know that people were complaining that we put the debris in the wrong spot. Staff cannot blame campers when they are not given the same information provided to others. The campground manager’s approach to us in EVERY interaction was to complain and accuse.
5. I imagine staff’s job is to be welcoming to all campers, not just family/friends. At least the website advertised the campground as having a welcoming staff. At the beginning of this year, staff made a clear effort to go from campsite to campsite to welcome friends and family back. Staff also made a clear effort to skip our campsite and another campsite with children and not say a single thing to us the entire summer until my husband went to inform him we were leaving. Last year, staff only ever came by to complain about us or our children. We did not bother other campers. We stayed to ourselves. It is not our fault that the playground was located around other campsites and the older campers may find that annoying. Children like to ride their bikes around the path. I was not going to tell my children they could not play on the playground or ride their bikes. They were aware they were unwelcome and disliked. They had no interest in trying to engage the people who were constantly attempting to get them in trouble.
I emailed the owners about these concerns after we left, but I have spoken to families remaining there with children and sadly, nothing has changed ☹️
PS - The swimming area is a slab of cement covered in moss that the kids will constantly slip on. It’s also the boat launch.
Have fun!
