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Cranbrook, BC (March 11, 2024) – City administration will be issuing a Request For Proposals (RFP) shortly for an operator to manage the Mount Baker RV Campground for the 2024-2025 season, following a decision from Council at their regular meeting Monday night. Council also approved an expenditure of up to $20,000 to complete water system repairs at the site.

The goal is to operate the Mount Baker RV Campground as a no-service campground, other than a wash building and sani-dump, with no individual camping pad water, sewer, or power hookups as it previously offered. The campground would also have a restriction on the length of stay of perhaps seven consecutive days. 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.

What has changed in 2024, is that prior to the paving of 2nd Street South between 14th Avenue and Victoria in late 2023, 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 could be installed 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 potential opportunity may offer a short-term solution for the Mount Baker RV campground area until a long-term option is determined,” says Mayor Wayne Price. “Projects of any significance for this site are currently restricted by limited infrastructure in the area. Council has heard from members of the community to consider reopening the campground in some capacity, and as a result are offering this opportunity.”

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. The availability of an operator and any financial return to the City will be determined through the RFP process.

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 $1.3M 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.

The City will provide public updates through the spring as the service repairs are completed and share if the RFP process was successful to allow for the Mount Baker RV Campground to reopen for the summer.