Kibby Creek Campground, a family-owned campground in Ludington conveniently nestled between Pentwater and the gorgeous lakeshores of Silver Lake Sand Dunes, offers an unforgettable camping experience for families. From its amenities to site rentals, the campground is popular among locals and visitors alike.
If you’re worried about not securing a spot, Kibby Creek planned ahead and is expanding the park to accommodate more campers.
Caitlyn Anderson of Michigan, one of the seven owners of the multi-generational family campground, said that they have been planning the expansion for a while now.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” Anderson admitted. During an episode of MC Fireside Chats, Modern Campground’s weekly podcast, she shared that they have been talking about the improvements for the past five years since they started handling the property six years ago.
The 236-site campground will be adding more accommodations, aiming to have 382 sites after the project.
As business owners, Anderson said they tried to plan well ahead of time. After getting in touch with the construction team, they started getting the sites ready in January.
However, the process wasn’t smooth-sailing. While she believes that there will always be “hiccups” when it comes to expanding and building sites, the setbacks escalated during the pandemic. What was supposed to be three months of work took longer.
“It ended up that our sites were not really ready until the end of our camping season this year,” the owner shared.
At the moment, the park is hardwiring internet into every other site and anticipates the upgrades to finish soon. They have also done some hydro-seeding, cementing, as well as adding pads and patios to some of the sites.
On-going and future construction include a bathhouse, a swimming pool, and a lodge.
She said that the lodge will be housing a cafe and camp store. While the campground offers ice cream to its campers, they will be offering more options, pizza included. The new outdoor swimming pool will be the campground’s third and will be twice the size of the current pools. Campers can expect splash pads, a hot tub, and more.
Anderson was enthusiastic in sharing their plans for Kibby Creek, something to be accounted for her belief that “doing things that we’re passionate about actually serves our customers best”.
When it comes to improvements whether for revamping or adding something new, the owners of Kibby Creek usually get ideas from campers’ feedback. They also take note of things they can apply to their campground when they go on vacations. They do this by paying attention to what their children love while also considering things they enjoy about the places they’re visiting as parents.
Admittedly, Anderson feels “a bit nervous” as adding over hundred sites would be a new adventure for the owners. The expansion also calls for growing their team and adjusting their management tier. However, for Anderson, it’s all part of the process.
“We believe that you can pretty much incorporate anything that you can dream of in a campground that you would offer by loving what you do,” she said.
Open from April 15 to October 15, Kibby Creek is situated near the tourist towns of Ludington and Pentwater while still being off the beaten path. It is just the place for those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and return to nature for the night or the season.
To know more about Kibby Creek Campground, click here to visit their website.
