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New operator reopening Mount Baker RV Campground
Camping will return to the Mount Baker RV Campground in Cranbrook starting on Wednesday, May 1, through to Thanksgiving, after the City of Cranbrook signed an agreement with a local operator for the 2024 season.
After issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) in early March, the city awarded the contract to Gavin Thomas to manage, operate and maintain the Mount Baker RV Campground as a no-service campground, other than a wash building and sani-dump, with no individual camping pad water or sewer. There will be power hookups at most of the sites.
Under the agreement, the city will be provided 10% of the campground site rental revenue annually.
The campground will have a restriction on the length of stay of seven days, with no back-to-back bookings. Short stays in this location may allow visitors to choose to stay inside Cranbrook and access downtown at minimum, to benefit small business and provide some tourism opportunities.
“We were excited to hear that the city was giving the RV campground another chance and we appreciate the opportunity to play a role in its revival,” said Thomas. “The RV campground is a great amenity to the downtown area and a helpful resource to improve tourism. We are very much looking forward to this partnership with the city.”
“On behalf of council, I would like to thank Mr. Thomas for his proposal to open and operate the Mount Baker RV Campground,” said Mayor Wayne Price. “We would also like to thank members of the community for advocating to re-open the campground for short-term stays. I am confident that the campground will meet the needs of visitors to the city and provide a positive benefit to local business.”
Back in March 2024, the city announced that the intent was to reopen the Mount Baker RV Campground, following direction from council at its March 11 regular meeting. Council also approved an expenditure of up to $20,000 to complete water system repairs at the site. Work is currently underway and is expected to be mostly complete by the end of this week.
The public will remember that at the end of 2020, the previous campground operator was closing their business, and the site needed extensive repairs. Upon a review prior to advertising the campground for contracts under a new operator, staff recommended the campground no longer be operated as the facility required major repairs for $80,000 up to $1.3 million depending on the level of water, sewer, power and building restoration desired. The campground was also producing minimal revenue to the city ($30,000 per year) as a full hookup campground, which did not justify the cost for a full rebuild of the services.
Shortly after, in January 2021, the council of the day directed administration to not operate the Mount Baker RV Campground for the 2021 season and to share that direction to residents and visitors.
At the time, the necessary improvements were not identified as a priority capital item project in council’s strategic plan or budget, and the campground was closed.
In July 2022, council approved the subdivision of the Baker Park lands to create separate parcels, most notably the largest portion along 14th Avenue to formally become Baker Park as a dedicated park space (which it was not previously), removing the bottom portion of the RV Campground with Joseph Creek and washroom from the RV Campground to also become part of the expanded Baker Park, while creating separate parcels for both the Seniors Centre and now smaller RV Campground parcel.
What has changed in 2024, is that prior to the paving of 2nd Street South between 14th Avenue and Victoria in late 2023, city staff reviewed all the underground services near the campground property. At that time, an existing unused watermain stub was activated as part of the road work which could be used in the short-term to service the campground. For the cost of around $20,000, a water service line is currently being installed (pictured above) from that mainline stub through the campground to the wash building and the sani-dump, allowing those two parts of the former campground services to become operational again for a reasonably low cost.
This new opportunity for a low-cost way to restore water to the wash building and sani dump could allow some benefit of use of the site as a no service campground on a year-to-year basis until a future use of this RV Campground is determined.
An online booking system and a phone number to make reservations is being set up and will be available to the public starting on May 1.
City of Cranbrook photo
City of Cranbrook
