A $4.85 million project has started to rebuild the Lakeview Campground in Sibley State Park and to upgrade its historic buildings, as well as those in the Cedar Hill day use area.
Work is getting underway to rebuild one of the most popular campgrounds in the state park system with a modern, more open and spacious version of the original while preserving its historic character.
Workers with Breitbach Construction of Elrosa are preparing Lakeview Campground in Sibley State Park for a $4.856 million reconstruction. Work this season is expected to focus mainly on some tree removal and other work to set the stage for the campground’s complete reconstruction in 2024.
“This is a once in a generation upgrade,” said Erik Wrede, development consultant for Parks and Trails in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources .
The project will necessitate closing the campground for the 2024 season with expectations that it will be ready in 2025. The project involves a complete reconstruction of the campground’s water, sewer, electric and road infrastructure. The existing 71 campsites, including 52 electric and 19 non-electric sites, will be replaced by 41 sites, all but one electric.
The new campsites will be larger, ranging from 1,000 square feet to 1,500 square feet in size, as compared to roughly 500-square feet at the current sites. There will be more space between the sites.
Efforts will be made to preserve as many trees as possible, the DNR reports, but also advises that there are mature trees that will be removed. Ash trees, which will be vulnerable to the Emerald Ash Borer when the invasive species reaches the park, are among the campground’s mature trees to be removed.
One of the key features of the renovation will be an upgrade to the historic buildings that Wrede described as “really the anchors of the character of the campground.” They will be refurbished to maintain their historic integrity and appearance, but with modern fixtures in their interiors and improvements in accessibility.
The project will also involve moving the park’s dump site out of the campground and to a new location along the county road west of the office. Work also will be undertaken to improve the historic buildings in the Cedar Hill day use area.
The campground renovation will not affect other activities in the park. The beach on Lake Andrew, fish cleaning area, public water access and the Glacial Lakes Trail link in the park will remain open through the season. Some temporary closings may be needed on a small portion of the trail.
The DNR has sent out emails to everyone who reserved a campsite in Lakeside Campground in 2023 informing them that the campground will be closed this coming year, according to Jeremy Gehrke, park supervisor. The park’s web page also informs visitors about the project, and the online reservation system has removed the campground for the coming year.
The campground is a popular one. Many of its visitors have been coming for 25 and as many as 30 years, reserving the same site on the same weekend every year, Gehrke said.
But unfortunately, the campground is not meeting the needs of today’s campers. Gehrke said campers with larger RV’s have difficulty accessing the campsites; some RVs are just too large to fit. There are campers who make two- and three-hour drives to the park only to discover their RV will not fit in their reserved site, and have to return home, he said.
The campground is typically full through much of the summer season. It’s closing will mean a decrease in park attendance, the supervisor noted. It probably hosts a minimum of 140 park visitors on any given day, he explained.
Lakeview Campground was originally developed as the campsite for Company 1785 of the Veterans Conservation Corps , which developed Sibley State Park in the years 1935-1938. The veterans hand built the park’s 11 historic buildings and structures, hewing local white oak and chiseling the pink and gray granite quarried in Rockville for them.
The campground and Sibley State Park are among the most popular destinations in the park system, according to Wrede. The campground’s popularity, and the need to upgrade aged infrastructure, made it possible for the DNR to obtain funding for the project.
Legacy Funds are providing roughly $3.9 million for the project. The DNR also tapped roughly $935,000 in new funding provided by the 2023 Legislature as part of the “Get Out More” fund, according to Wrede.
The federal government will be reimbursing the state $2.65 million for the investment in Sibley State Park, according to Wrede. The federal reimbursement will be used for upgrades elsewhere in the state park system. With lots of aged facilities and infrastructure, there is a long list of projects to undertake, he pointed out.
