RV shipments continue to rise
Inside Indiana Business
A new report from the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) shows that for the fourth month in a row, RV shipments have exceeded 40,000, an all-time high for the industry. This adds to the 13% increase for RV shipments in the first half of 2017. Year-to-date, shipments rose to 256,430, higher than the 226,286 reported through the first six months of 2016.
Free admission into Colorado state parks for military members
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the State of Colorado offer many great benefits and perks, year-round, for active duty military personnel and veterans. One great perk CPW is offering is free admission into all Colorado state parks during the month of August, for all veterans and active duty personnel. Just show any one of the CPW workers one of several different listed forms of proof of service, and you will receive a free visitor tag to hang in your window. All other applicable fees (i.e., camping and fishing) still apply.
KOA, others interested in taking over Southern California campground
The Press Enterprise
Three companies are in the running to take over the Vail Lake Resort campground east of Temecula, Calif., that was known as Butterfield Country in the 1970s. The list includes the Chula Vista-based operator of KOA campgrounds, which would rebrand it as a KOA, and Paydar Properties, which runs Sunland RV locations. The third applicant is The California Parks Co., which has managed the grounds’ RV slips and recreation rooms since the campground and thousands of acres around Vail Lake were purchased by the Rancho California Water District in a 2014 bankruptcy proceeding.
Surge in visitors is overwhelming national parks
Yale Environment 360
Many national parks, including Zion, Yosemite and Acadia, have all hit record high visitors and officials say those numbers are going to climb. Officials have become overly concerned with the welfare of the parks, as well as visitor experience, as they fear that these national treasures risk losing the very thing they were created to provide – a sense of peak naturalness. In an effort to help the growing crowds, officials are considering requiring a reservation to get into the park and a reservation to go on some of the most prized hikes.
Forest Service managers hauling tons of garbage out of Utah campgrounds and parks
FOX 13
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has begun to post videos and photos of the unbelievable amount of trash left behind at their Salt Lake City campgrounds. Campers have been caught leaving heaps of trash, fishing line and even household furniture, creating more work for park officials as well as endangering the local wildlife. Every year, rangers spend thousands of dollars in cleanup, and this year alone have already hauled off 1,500 lbs. of garbage from just one site. Officials are hoping that, along with citations, the photos and videos posted to their Facebook page will help bring the issue to light.
Tahoe campground opens to the public Aug. 1
Tahoe Daily Tribune
Thanks to a 2012 purchase agreement between the Truckee Donner Land Trust and the property’s previous owners, Webber Lake Campground will finally reopen after a long closure. Few people are even aware of this campground, located in Lake Tahoe, just 25 miles north of Truckee. Before being sold to new owners, there were just two conditions given: that the land continues to be used for grazing sheep and that it is run as a campground. The campground will be open to visitors on August 1.
Campers make “sweet cases” for foster children
Cape May County Herald
Big Timber Lake Camping Resort has recently added extra goodies to 40 “sweet cases” purchased from ‘Together We Rise,” a nonprofit organization whose goal is to improve the lives of foster children in America. The “sweet cases” were decorated and filled with blankets, coloring books, toiletries and teddy bears at the resort’s “stuffing party” held July 15. Anne Becica, assistant RV resort manager at Big Timber Lake Camping Resort and proud foster mom, along with many of the campground residents, have contributed to this project in hopes to ease foster children’s hearts in the community a little bit. Â
Fort Tilden offering “glampsite” for $200 a night
Gothamist
Although traditional camping has been banned at New York City’s Fort Tilden since 2012, a California-based company, Terra Glamping, is teaming up with Gateway National Recreation Area to launch a five-tent “glamping” pop up. Â For $200-$250 a night you can experience luxurious tent camping, with each site including a safari tent, beds, a restroom facility with showers, a communal outdoor grill and a continental breakfast. The news is following a recent onslaught of “glamping” offers from a slew of other companies. Reservations are available for August 11th to September 24th.
Search underway for couple missing in Joshua Tree National Park
Eyewitness News
Two people have vanished after a hike in Joshua Tree National Park. Park officials say a vehicle belonging to Joseph Orbeso and Rachel Nguyen was found in the northwest area of the park near Maize Loop and a cellphone belonging to one of the persons pinged at a location inside the park at 4 p.m. on July 27. The young couple, both in their 20s, were supposed to check out mid-morning on July 28th, but they never did. Search and rescue teams are combing the park in search of the couple. If you have info call San Bernardino Dispatch at 909-383-5652.
Sunshine Village closes again and park evacuated as Verdant Creek wildfire grows
CBC News
Hot, dry and windy conditions fueled a controlled fire’s growth in the North Simpson area of Kootenay National Park, Canada. The fire was already underway when further inclement weather conditions fueled the fire’s growth to spread from covering 10,000 acres to about 12,500 acres. More than 130 guests staying at a nearby Assiniboine Lodge, which is about 19 miles south of Sunshine on the B.C. side of the border, were also forced to evacuate following an indefinite closure. Reopening of the campgrounds will be announced pending the status of the fire. Officials are working furiously to combat the fire and are implementing fire-suppression techniques to contain the further spread of the wildfire.
Teams to return to Sol Duc River in search for missing man
Peninsula Daily News
A new search has begun after more clues have been discovered in relation to the disappearance of 22-year-old Jacob Gray on April 5, inside Olympic National Park in Washington. Gray’s bicycle and camping gear were found in the brush about 6.5 miles up Sol Duc Hot Springs Road. Early Saturday morning, volunteers and officials began a wider search of the area in hopes of finding more clues to help with solving Gray’s disappearance, with a deeper search proposed for mid-August.