After 20 years, Osborne Campground celebrates grand reopening

By Willis Patenaude | Times-Register

A ribbon cutting ceremony celebrated the grand reopening of the Osborne Campground last week.

Clayton County Conservation Executive Director Jenna Van Meeteren, who served as the project manager and coordinated with engineers, contractors and suppliers, called the celebration a “momentous occasion.” She prepared to deliver a self-labeled long speech, jokingly telling the over 50 attendees to “buckle up,” but before a single hot dog was served or a s’more melted, it’s important to remember that standing in that location was the culmination of a 20-year effort that started with a flood.

The story of the grand reopening really begins in 1999, when two flood events at the original location along the Volga River laid bare the problems with the location. Two more floods in 2004 caused the campground to be closed all season, and damage made the spot inhospitable. 

Floods around Clayton County aren’t exactly infrequent occurrences, but this series of events led the conservation board to shut down the location indefinitely, while pursuing other areas.

During the intervening years, the project gained substantial public support due to nostalgia and the positive impact a campground would have on the area and at Osborne, the flagship of Clayton County Conservation. 

Support was evident in a 2018 survey dispersed as part of Clayton County Conservation’s five-year plan. Respondents listed opening a new Osborne Campground “as the highest interest priority,” Van Meeteren said during her speech. The board “took that message to heart.”

One supporter is Elkader city councilmember Deb Schmidt, who said the new campground is “very much an asset to the Elkader economy” and that she is “proud of what Osborne has created for this area.”

While public support is a wonderful thing, so is having a location and funding for a project that was initially estimated to cost $850,000. Finding the ideal location started as a simple question: “Where should it go?” 

In their search, Clayton County Conservation identified a five-acre pine stand as a weak point at Osborne, noting the area hadn’t been thinned, several of the trees were dead or falling down in high winds and they were competing for resources. The situation was not sustainable.

“The single-age stand was planted closely, had reached maturity. The trees were beginning to self-prune and creating additional demands on maintenance,” Van Meeteren explained in an interview.

Once a location was selected, they looked into plans for what a campground would look like and, of course, sought funding, which generally determines the fate of all projects of this magnitude. In 2021, the first of many grants and donations was awarded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (LWCF), which “helped kick start” the project with $125,000. The Upper Mississippi Gaming Corporation awarded a $149,000 grant later that same year.

“With those dollars, we were hoping to complete the preliminary work, including tree removal and earthwork as a phase one effort, in the hopes that we could cultivate more sources to support this effort,” Van Meeteren said in the speech.

Additional funding followed, including a $50,000 contribution from the Turkey River Sportsmen. The Clayton County Supervisors granted nearly $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to help build the electrical infrastructure and supplement other contract work. The early funding stages and generosity of contributions made the board “feel like we might really stand a chance pulling this project together,” Van Meeteren said.

Fundraising continued throughout the life of the project, bringing over $4,000 from the Central Independent Ag Class Fundraiser and over $5,000 from conservation fundraisers, as well as $70,000 in private donations. $15,000 in the existing budget acquired materials to build picnic tables, a kiosk and wooden play set and install fire pits.

The final funding piece that Van Meeteren said was “instrumental” and “really helped wrap up” the project, was $345,000 from a Destination Iowa Grant. By the time the project was complete, the cost totaled $920,000.

“Several of these funds would not have been granted without the partnerships that exist with several other local organizations, including Mallory Hanson, director of the Turkey River Recreational Corridor, and the accompanying board,” Van Meeteren said.

The project was notable in how it utilized those funds, reinvesting them back into the community by collaborating with local contractors. Rather than solicit one bid package for all the work, several independent contractors were involved. 

Van Meeteren commented on the “unorthodox” nature of the method, but believed it helped “build the effort with the local workforce.” She joked that having independent contractors, rather than one primary contractor, led to some amusing conversations, like when they asked for clarification and she responded, “Well, I don’t know. What do you think is best?”

Among the local contractors was Bill Miller Logging of Dubuque for tree clearing. Ray’s Excavating handled the earthwork after trees were cleared, “or mostly cleared. There may have been a few extra stumps along the way,” Van Meeteren said with a smile. 

Vorwald Enterprises handled the water and septic installation, Chris Gregerson with Chris’s Complete Construction installed all the electrical, Allamakee Clayton Rural Electric Cooperative got the campground on the grid and Huffcutt and Tri-State Crane Services delivered the shower house after B&R Construction poured the foundation. 

“All these folks worked really well together [and] we’re very appreciative to these folks for stepping up to the plate and delivering for us in a big way,” Van Meeteren said.

Now finished, the campground features 20 electric and water sites that rent for $25 a night each and seven tent sites with no electrical or water that rent for $15 each night. They can be reserved through MyCountyParks.com, and Osborne has a “pay here” online feature for each site as well. 

Other amenities include a septic service station, shower and restroom facility and a play area, not to mention having access to everything within Osborne Park, like connection to trails, the native wildlife exhibit, nature center, disc golf course, flat water paddling and fishing, river paddling and fishing, archery range and pioneer village, all of which “make the Osborne Campground unique.”

Outside the campground and park is potential for a positive economic impact in the community, given the fact Van Meeteren indicated reservations have been streaming in every day. Those reservations mean people are going to be at Osborne and will likely visit downtown Elkader. Maybe they’ll purchase a gift from a boutique, get a haircut at a salon, buy a pizza or ice cream or just stop at the grocery store.

“We know these visitors will patronize our local communities and provide a positive economic impact.  This also provides local residents a stay-cation option,” van Meeteren said. “Economically, campers procure goods from the area they’re staying in, which provides an economic impact to those areas that offer camping and recreational opportunities.”

All of that, however, is for the future. After Van Meeteren delivered her speech, the ribbon was cut and those gathered to celebrate ate an Edgewood Locker old-fashion frank and shared a s’more over a campfire, it was about the moment. The moment when a 20-year-old idea was completed and the community support behind the project made all the “paperwork, pencil pushing and head scratching worth it.”

“We hope the community takes credit for the space we’ve created here because they’ve played an active role in shaping the success of the project,” Van Meeteren said.