Spring Lake soon to boast second cabin in the woods

By ANDREW MCGINN
a.mcginn@beeherald.com

A second rental cabin is just about complete at Spring Lake Park for those campers seeking a happy medium between the pimped-out motorhomes that line the lake and a no-frills tent.

While a 760-square-foot cabin — one with a fridge, range and microwave in it — is hardly roughing it, it’s arguably a little more rustic than an RV that could pass for a rock star’s tour bus.

“We haven’t put in a TV,” Dan Towers, Greene County conservation director, said almost apologetically. “We want people to come out here and get away from TV.”

The second cabin — christened Sycamore — should be done by Memorial Day, according to Towers, which traditionally marks the unofficial start of summer.

Spring Lake’s first rental cabin — Cottonwood — opened last July and proved to be immediately popular.

“Every weekend was booked,” Towers said.

The camping season at Spring Lake, located northeast of Jefferson, runs from May 1 to Oct. 31.

The cabins cost $70,000 apiece to build, and should be paid off within five to six years, Towers said.

A $15,000 grant two years ago from the Greene County Community Foundation got the project started, but the bulk of funding will come from camping revenue.

Each year, Spring Lake generates about $100,000 in camping fees for the county’s basic fund, Towers said.

Within the past decade, the number of campsites has doubled at Spring Lake. The park now boasts 124 electric sites.

Annually, 75 percent of campers at Spring Lake are from outside the county.

The cabins cost $75 per night to rent, and sleep eight.

Amenities include a toilet and sink, but no shower.

Towers and a few other county employees have built the cabins themselves using a kit.

“The logs are numbered,” he said. “You just follow a map.”

Towers also noted there’s easily room for a third cabin nearby.