SUAMICO, WI (WTAQ) – The 2020 Brown County budget proposal calls for the construction of a campground at the Reforestation Camp, with more than fifty sites expected by 2021.
County Executive Troy Streckenbach says the plan has been a long time coming.
“Since 1983, there has been discussion about taking advantage of this 1,500 acres.”
The campground will offer a variety of activities, ranging from the NEW Zoo to the Adventure Park, hiking trails, equine trails, and more. Streckenbach says there is a trend of people looking outside to get away.
He says people are “moving away from the TV, the iPad, the GameBoys, really trying to get in touch with nature. And here we are, sitting on a 1,500-acre property that is just prime for this type of development.”
Brown County is currently the 5th largest tourism county in Wisconsin, and Streckenbach hopes an offering like this can provide a boost to those numbers.
The campground would also provide an extra source of revenue for the Park Department.
The proposed project includes the planning, design, engineering and initial construction phase to develop the campground. That would include basic amenities like water, electric, restrooms, showers, fire pits, and tables. There is $457,000 allocated for that work in 2020. The entire project is expected to cost $620,000 with construction fully completed in 2021.
Brown County Park Director Matt Kriese says demand for camping is increasing greatly.
“There are over 40 billion people who camped over the last couple of years. That’s a lot of people. Whether it’s tent camping or using an RV, this provides a place for local residents to have a stay-vacation or for outside residents to have a true vacation,” says Kriese.
Kriese says the first phases would create just over thirty sites, but an estimated total of 54 would be available once the project is complete. Some sites would be closer together, with about 40 feet between them. Others he says will give a more traditional feel, with more than 100 feet of trees between sites.
Kriese believes camping could begin by late summer of 2020 if construction moves quickly.
