New Owners for Fish Creek Campground

The old Path of Pines Campground in Fish Creek has new owners.

Three Northern Door friends and business owners came together this summer to buy the property out of foreclosure and re-open the facility as the Fish Creek Campground. Josh Kropuenske, who has owned Baileys Grove Campground for four years and managed resorts on the peninsula for much of the last 10 years, said he had been interested in the property for a while. He and friend Scott Schultz of Open Door Hospitality got the ball rolling.

“When we heard it was going into sheriff’s sale, we called John Sawyer to see if he knew anyone who might be interested in going into it,” Kropuenske said. “To my surprise, he jumped in himself.”

Kropuenske said each of the partners brings different expertise to the table. Sawyer, who owns Carlson-Erickson Builders, is helping to upgrade and remodel the facility while Schultz handles accounting, permitting, and human resources.

Fish Creek Campground has 80 campsites with water and 30-amp electric hookups, with plans to add 50-amp electric, a new playground, basketball court and group meeting space for 2011. The campground also includes a modern bathhouse, game room, dump station, and fish cleaning station.

Path of Pines was open only to seasonal returnees in 2009 and went into foreclosure in 2010. Kropuenske is looking forward to a full re-launch of the facility in 2011.

“It was in pretty rough shape,” he said. “We’re making upgrades already, and we’ve joined the Door County Visitor Bureau, the Wisconsin Association of Campground Owners, and launched a website [www.fishcreekcampround.com],” he said.

Next year Marley Tesnow will serve as the onsite manager. For more information visit http://www.fishcreekcampground.com or call 920.495.2267.