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Lucia Bailey / Photos by Lucia
Floating cabins offer a new twist to lakefront camping at Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve in Santee, Calif.
June 1 marks the beginning of National Great Outdoors Month. Do you know where your summer vacation is?
For Aimee Giese, a Denver-based graphic designer and web developer, it’s waiting in a campground somewhere in Utah or Colorado. “We haven’t had the chance to go camping much,” said Giese of herself, her husband and 8-year-old son, while planning her upcoming trip. “We decided we needed to make it a bigger priority.”
She’ll probably be in good company as the campground industry rolls out new promotions and amenities designed to freshen its image and attract a younger audience.
Consider some of the offerings on tap this summer:
- At Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Fremont, Ind., visitors will be able to experience the nation’s first water bumper car attraction. Estimated to open July 1, the AquaZoom resembles a giant air-hockey board with water instead of air and hydroplaning bumper cars instead of pucks.
- At Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve in Santee, Calif., floating cabins offer a new twist to lakefront camping. “It’s unbelievable how popular they are,” said Park and Recreation Supervisor Cindy Smith.
- In conjunction with National Great Outdoors Month, the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) is sponsoring a campaign featuring 20 percent off camp stays at participating resorts June 1–25. Advance reservations required; visit GoCampingAmerica.com for details.
The GoCampingAmerica campaign, in particular, is designed to attract new campers, says ARVC spokesperson Kera Tomlin: “Many parks find the majority of their audience consists of older RVers; we’re hoping to reach a younger audience. It’s sort of like the Groupon approach; it gives people an opportunity to try it at a discounted rate.”
That may prove especially timely as airfares continue to climb and average national gas prices top $3.80 per gallon vs. $2.75 a year ago. “Camping speaks to affordability, the opportunity to get outdoors and the chance to do something with your family without flying or going halfway across the country,” said Tomlin.
Giese, for one, has heard the message. “We want to take advantage of the things around us,” she said, “and it’s a lot less expensive than going to Disneyland or some other big-ticket vacation.”
Rob Lovitt is a longtime travel writer who still believes the journey is as important as the destination. Follow him at Twitter.
Leave a Comment:
Wow! I am so very encouraged! Thank you Santee Lakes for all your support and encouragement throughout the years!
The "Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve" (where the cabins are) near Santee, Ca. is actually called the Santee Lakes Regional Park Campground. It's near San Diego, Ca. There are seven lakefront and three cabins that actually float on the water. Cabin #6 is a disabled access cabin with a larger, disabled access bathroom. Cabins 1-3 are the ones that float. All the cabins looked great to me.
Waterfront cabins run $100-$125 and sleep 6. Floating cabins run $120-$145 and sleep 4. Cabins have a waterfront deck, kitchenette, living area, two TV's, a DVD player, WiFi, and a separate bedroom with a queen bed. The waterfront cabins have a sofa sleeper and bunk beds while the floating cabins have a sofa sleeper. Bring your own linens, pillows, and towels.
You can take a closer look at the cabins at www.santeelakes.com/cabins.html. Needless to say, the cabins are highly popular. Book them now for the fall season.