Seasonal campsites?

Looking for Pros/Cons for those of you who have one. Is it what you thought it would be? Do you use it as much as you thought? What would you do differently?

We are looking into potentially getting a spot in a camping/fishing community in South Dakota. They’re anywhere between $1,500-2,000 per year. Most years we are anywhere between 6-10 weekend trips up there and spend close to the $1,500 in motel anyways. Not sure if the extra cost of a camper is worth it unless we increase our time spent, but it would be nice to have a place of “our own” and be able to leave stuff up there.

If you’re already spending that much in hotels, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

I HATE hotels….and I LOVE camping

Last May and June we rented a site for the two month period to test the waters.

It was a lot of fun, and I went every weekend. The place we rented from was $800 a month though, so yes I did feel obligated to go every chance I got lol

(This was near Duluth, where everything recreational is expensive)

I’ll probably just do a month stay there next year (late May to late June), it was a lot of money and we have other places to stay “for free” closer to home.

There was a big discussion about this last summer. A search might turn it up.

This summer will be our 10th season at a permanent campground. Our camper sits in our spot all year so we have built a large deck (out of pallets) have a nice large bar/table on our deck also. We didn’t know anyone when we started and made friends the first year. Most were starting the seasonal thing too and most only lasted couple years for various reasons (kids activities, $, etc). Our campsite neighbors are our closest friends and we plan meals and hang out daily when we are there. We used to go every weekend but now we do not go every weekend but I would say we are there 3 weekends per month on average. It is nice to be able to just bring some food and your set. We even have a storage shed rented close by to keep in our boat there.

We love ours and get plenty of use. So nice to leave some gear and extra clothes. Cold beer waiting in the fridge. Not towing the boat all the time. I use mine as a hunting base too.

I think you have to find the right fit. Some campgrounds have a bunch of rules, some don’t. Some have reasonable space, some are too crowded.

Would be a massive upgrade over a motel, but does take a little effort and maintenance. But not nearly as much as a cabin.

We’ve had one by Alexandria for last 5 years. We have met a lot of great people and made many friends. Our whole family absolutely loves it!

Dutchboy wrote:

There was a big discussion about this last summer. A search might turn it up.

My search didn’t turn up the responses I was looking for. If you care to share the link, that would be great.

Thanks to those who have taken the time to respond. I failed to mention that we currently do NOT have a camper…so this would be an added expense and payment from the $1,500 that we typically spend on motels up there per year.

lindyrig79 wrote:

We love ours and get plenty of use. So nice to leave some gear and extra clothes. Cold beer waiting in the fridge. Not towing the boat all the time. I use mine as a hunting base too.

I think you have to find the right fit. Some campgrounds have a bunch of rules, some don’t. Some have reasonable space, some are too crowded.

Would be a massive upgrade over a motel, but does take a little effort and maintenance. But not nearly as much as a cabin.

Thanks Lindy. We are actually looking for a lot up there, as our ideal situation would be to put a garage with a high efficiency apartment in it. We figure that way we could VRBO it for up to 4 guests….but this would be a good way to test those waters. It is exactly a 3 hour drive from home to cabin/camper, but we have a contact that could turn down the cabin for us for a fee/month.

In search of a seasonal campsite

I think this is the discusion from last year that was talked about.

We have a spot up by Mille lacs and love it.
Decide how far you want to drive on short notice with the fishing your looking for and go for it.
You will find it so much easier to take off on a quick trip.
Good Luck.

We’ve had a seasonal site for 33 years and love it. We have a deck and shed the boat is left there. Roll out the canopy and unlock the door and your camping. Beverages and condiments kept in the fridge and clothes are stored there also.

Is this the one?

Campground-Living

Why doesn’t it paste the link?

Edit by BK: You need to use the button named LINK.

Delete the https:// stuff and just have the (www.blahblah)

This site is weird posting links to itself.

Thanks Gents

Start watching the Facebook sites from the camps you’re looking at, this is the time of year people sell out.thats how we got started

We have a spot in NE SD going on our 7th year. Hands down the best family thing we have ever done. We are around 2 hours away from it but it makes it handy if my son has a baseball game on a Friday night to just pack a few clothes and go after the game and you still have a “full weekend”. You don’t have to worry about the best weekends being full at the campground or hotels, your spot is always there. Also if you have a 4+ hour drive that is less because you aren’t pulling the boat along. As others have said, it depends how many rules and who your neigbors are, but by far less maintenance and hassle than having your own “cabin”.

Tom schmitt wrote:

We have a spot up by Mille lacs and love it.

When I was an intern for the DNR back in the summer of 2005, I stayed at Hunter’s Point Resort on the east side of the lake for 5 months in a seasonal site. It was basically a deluxe winter fish house that they rented to people for a season or for short periods of time. If I ever decide I want to do this nowadays, I’d go back there in a heart beat for a seasonal site with a real camper/RV.

I’m pretty sure I won’t be giving up the floating camper or at least a camper until I’m off to the nursing home.

I’ve never had a problem with neighbors and only one manager out of the three places we’ve stayed at. Whether it’s fishing, tubing or just watching the water go by there’s nothing like being at the home away from home.

My first camper was $1000. but everything worked including the mice.
The second camper was $3000. and everything worked better.
The third camper was $3000. and everything work with more room.
The forth camper was a used for a couple years @ $14000. and had more then I ever expected, but I’m not sure it was worth the extra money. Yes everything was new(er) but it wasn’t like we were entertaining guests.

Now into a floating camper but that’s off topic.

My point here is that unless you’re going to be towing your camper all over, a person doesn’t need to go all in right away. Maybe you won’t like camper living…easy out when there’s not a lot invested.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

I’m pretty sure I won’t be giving up the floating camper or at least a camper until I’m off to the nursing home.

I’ve never had a problem with neighbors and only one manager out of the three places we’ve stayed at. Whether it’s fishing, tubing or just watching the water go by there’s nothing like being at the home away from home.

My first camper was $1000. but everything worked including the mice.
The second camper was $3000. and everything worked better.
The third camper was $3000. and everything work with more room.
The forth camper was a used for a couple years @ $14000. and had more then I ever expected, but I’m not sure it was worth the extra money. Yes everything was new(er) but it wasn’t like we were entertaining guests.

Now into a floating camper but that’s off topic.

My point here is that unless you’re going to be towing your camper all over, a person doesn’t need to go all in right away. Maybe you won’t like camper living…easy out when there’s not a lot invested.

Unfortunately out of all of the campgrounds we are looking at (5 total up there) they all have stipulations on what camper you can have. It cannot be over a certain age and must be a certain size based on family size. For us, we will be into it for a minimum of about $20k.

WelderGuy – We are on multiple waitlists…hopefully something opens up in the next year or two. The lot prices are not getting any better, thats for sure…

Seasonals around Kabatogama start around $2500 all the way up. The new seasonal spot on Rainy is $3,750 including dock, water, sewer, electric. It’s not cheap but well worth it not to set-up anything in the rain.

Browndog pm sent!