b'CAMPSITE VISTASUpdates from Colorado Parks Provided Amid COVID Crisisalso seeing a lot of his guests staying longer, over at one guests site five times showing playgrounds are limited to a maximum of 10and many are working from their rigs. them how to connect up their RV. Its a whole people. We are using only the two farthestCarr also noted that their group events, like different type of clientele. Lainey said. lanes in our bowling alley. Weve just recentlySue family reunions, have been off this year, as River Run RV Resort opened our arcade and were cleaning it twopeople are pushing them off until a later date. Further north, in Granby, River Run RV Re- to three times a day.Bray The park offers a beautiful outdoor wedding sort, part of Sun Communities Inc., is in its To compensate for these inconveniences,venue complete with catering, and the wed- second year of operation and is still building River Run is offering all current guests 25% offding bookings have also been off for 2020, al- and completing its landscaping.With 400- on future stays this year. On weekends, theythough2021bookingsarelookingvery plus sites, 83 cabins, eight Airstreams, seven often provide live music and burgers at theirLike many other RVers, we took a break positive. Conestoga wagons and 36 villas for sale, its pool.fromself-isolatingduringtheseasonof Dolores River Campground quite a change from the family-owned parks COVID has made us cut back and slowedCOVID this summer, hitting the road to enjoy Just a few miles away, Billy and Lainey wehadpreviouslystayedin.Amenities us down a bit, said Gerald.Its actually givena month-long trip re-exploring the beautiful Beyhan ownDoloresRiverCampground, aboundincluding a restaurant, tavern, a us a chance to breathe and to learn.sights of Colorado. Along the way, we visited which they purchased in 2013, when they de- small bowling alley, golf putting green, an ar- Dakota Ridge RV Parkwith some of the managers and owners of cided to leave their corporate careers behind cade, three playgrounds, yoga lawn, two dog Closer to Denver, Dakota Ridge Park isColorado campgrounds where we stayed, just them. Located right on the river, they offer 80 parks, a gym, general store, pools, private part of RV Inn, a company that owns threeto see how they had experienced their sum- RV sites, tent camping, plus stays in a variety lakes, hot tubs, golf cart and kayak rentals and campgrounds in Colorado.Cyd Vagheris themer of COVID. of cabins from basic camping with no ameni- more.Of course, due to COVID, many of manager.As always, meeting these hard-working in- ties to full service, Conestoga wagons, two these extras were not available this summer. Spring reservations were very slow, with adividuals and hearing their stories was an ab- yurtsandevenavintage1953Airstream We met with Gerald Isaacs, the assistant lot more cancels than last year, she said. Wesolute delight. Their comments are totally trailer. general manager of the park. Both the pan- are seeing a lot of last-minute reservationsanecdotal and by no means a scientific survey InMarchthroughApril,reservations demic and the major snow last winter delayed and are filling up although we are still a littlebut give a great insight into their experiences came to a total halt, and people were cancel- construction this year, plus the closure of behind last year.of Summer, 2020. ing like crazy, said Lainey. Everything com- nearby Rocky Mountain National Park af- She is also seeing a lot of first time RVers,Echo Basin Ranch RV Resort pletely stopped.But that quickly changed. fected business early in the season.However, as well as full-timers. The park chose not toTom Carr, along with his father and step- During the first couple of weeks in May, we re- Isaacs believes that the resorts main attrac- open their pool and hot tub because of themother, bought Echo Basin Ranch in Mancos alized it was going to be a busy summer, and tion is the many amenities it offers, and that cleaning protocol requirements, and most offour years ago. Originally part of a large ranch, compared to past years, were up 10 to 15%. theyhaveovercomethemanyobstacles their guests have been very understandingthe park was developed as a Boy Scout Camp, She continued, Our cabins are always theyve had to face earlier in the season. about it.and in addition to the 80 RV sites, still includes busy.We have always had a strict cleaning We have to abide by the state restrictions, The park also has a dump station that issome large cabins and banquet facilities.protocol with the cabins, and were continu- then the countys and also the Sun policies, available to the public.Many of the peopleIn April, we experienced many cancels. ing to keep everything up beyond our cus- he said. Even if Colorado opens up, we need who stop by to dump have no idea how to usePeople who had prior reservations from last tomers expectations. to go by the Sun rules. We are restricting our a dump station, and need to ask for help, sheyear for 2020 were pushing them off until next The Beyhans have noticed differences in pool to 50 people. They get tickets in advance said.year, said Tom. But since the end of May, its their guests this year. There are many new for a one-hour slot. Our hot tubs are closed. Middlefork RV Park been non-stop. In fact, our RV business has campers. These are people who have never Our restaurants are operating at 50% capacity At nearly 10,000 feet, family owned Mid-been busier than prior years, although we been in an RV before, who have never tent for indoor seating. In each building, masks are dlefork RV Park is located in the small town ofhave not had as much cabin business.He is camped or been in a campground. Billy was required.Weve closed our fitness center. Our Fairplay and despite an average annual snow-28 -November 2020Woodalls Campground Management'