Campers Welcome - What Camp Wakeda is doing to stay safe
Campgrounds around the state are open for business, but the camping experience will look a bit different this summer because of Covid-19. Amanda Allen, manager of operations at Camp Wakeda (294 Exeter Road, Hampton Falls, 772-5274, wakedacampground.com), discussed some of the changes.
What are the state-mandated guidelines for campgrounds this summer?
As of right now, we don’t have any restrictions on the number of full hookup sites that we can use. … Our tent sites and cabins [are now] able to operate at 100 percent capacity. … We’re required to screen New Hampshire people and ask if they’ve had any Covid symptoms … and any out-of-state campers are required to sign a statement saying that they have been quarantining for 14 days prior to arrival.
What has Camp Wakeda done beyond those guidelines to ensure that campers are safe?
Our front office is currently closed to the public, so we’re conducting all of our business over the phone and getting campers’ information and final payment prior to their arrival. … We have hand sanitizer everywhere, we have posted signage reminding folks to social distance, and we have asked folks to wear masks any time they’re not [at] their campsites and might encounter other people on the campground property. … We’re disinfecting all of the high-touch surfaces in all of the different locations, and our camping cabins and the hookups for all of our sites are cleaned and disinfected in between campers’ visits. … As far as our amenities, we have opted to keep the camp store building closed and have converted it to window service only, with slightly reduced hours so that we can better ensure the safety of our employees as well our customers. … Our game room is going to remain closed for the season, because you can’t get far enough away from people for proper social distancing. The playground and the golf course are open, but any children over the age of 3 are asked to wear a mask, and we are asking folks to keep at least one green between themselves and any other party on the golf course. Our dog park is open, but we are asking folks to restrict the number of people in the dog park at one time for social distancing. We do have a coffee shop on site, but that is going to remain closed for the season. We used to do breakfast on Sunday mornings, which we’re not going to do, and we used to do Saturday evening make-your-own ice cream sundaes, which we’re not going to do because the buffet-style setup is just not going to work in this situation. … As far as our staff, all employees are getting their temperature taken every morning when they report to work. Our security staff have additional instructions to be monitoring and making sure that people are adhering to the new rules as they’re patrolling the campground.
What was the process of preparing to reopen?
There was the normal work, like cleaning up all the branches and making everything look nice. We’re not opening our front office, so we’ve set up tables outside on the porch and markers for distancing to manage the flow of folks checking in. We added a lot of new signage, which we had to redo probably about six times because [regulations] kept changing. We also have created a sheet with information that we give people when they check in, detailing which buildings are open, our updated hours, expectations around social distancing and mask wearing, what to do if they start exhibiting symptoms or if they have a medical emergency of any kind.
How is business?
The whole scenario has been devastating to our business. We get some business from New Hampshire [people], but it does not represent the bulk of our business, and a lot of the folks who had big cross-country trips planned were canceling reservations, either because they weren’t comfortable or they couldn’t logistically figure out how to get here, given all the different restrictions from state to state. Because we’re on the seacoast, we also get a lot of people from Canada, and they can’t get here, so that part of our business has just completely disappeared. [Business] during Memorial Day weekend was almost nonexistent, which definitely had a major negative impact on our bottom line. ... A lot of people [typically] make their reservations in March, but because of everything that was happening, people were canceling their reservations or they weren’t making any at all, so what was normally a very busy time for us got really quiet. Then, as soon as out-of-state visitors were allowed, our phones went crazy. People who usually make all of their summer plans in March were now frantically making their reservations in May.
Why should people go camping this summer?
It’s actually an ideal pastime, considering everything that’s going on right now. Our campsites are all based pretty far apart, so you’re naturally social distancing. It’s just a nice way to be able to get outside the four walls of your house, spend time with your family and focus on something different.
— Angie Sykeny