People are starting to take notice of what’s going on at the park. Winchester Star reports on our initiative to stop the RFP.
W.Va. residents push back against proposed RV campground at Cacapon Resort State Park
A plan being considered by the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources (WVDNR) to create a destination recreational vehicle (RV) campground in Cacapon Resort State Park is stirring controversy in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, where the 6,000-acre park is located.
In December, the WVDNR sent out a Request for Proposals (RFP) to possible vendors seeking private investment to construct a destination campground in the park.
Three companies have submitted proposals. These plans became available to the public on March 22.
Craig Thibaudeau, who retired to Morgan County, W.Va., three years ago, is particularly concerned by the proposal from Blue Water Corporation to put 240 RV camping sites behind the park’s Nature Center, or 350 RV sites north of the northern portion of the Ziler Loop.
“This is an amusement park, corporate-like proposal. Nobody is going to benefit from this,” Thibaudeau said. “You are looking at promoting business and industry in a state park.”
The prospect of a large-scale RV campground has raised concern among some Morgan County residents who have been holding weekly rallies at Capacon’s upper lake, as they call on West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) and other officials to withdraw the RFP.
The proposal from Blue Water Corporation, an Ocean City, Maryland-based developer that specializes in “outdoor hospitality,” includes a possible amenity area complete with water slides, a floating party dock called an aquabana, mini-golf, and a parking location for food truck vendors. Another possible amenity area includes golf cart rentals, a pool and corn hole. Also proposed is a “snowflex” — which uses synthetic material simulating snow, allowing year-round skiing and snowboarding on an artificially-made surface.
A proposal from River & Trail Outfitters would add about 50 RV camping sites in the Cabin Loop Trail area. The company’s submission includes plans for an Airsoft course and shuttle bus services for mountain bikers.
A proposal from Scenic LLC would establish a 173-site campground at the base of Cacapon Mountain where the Cacapon and Potomac rivers meet on a former farm property.
A vendor has not been selected. The WVDNR is holding a public hearing on the proposals at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Washington Fairfax Room at the Cacapon Resort State Park Lodge, 818 Cacapon Lodge Road, Berkeley Springs.
“The proposed project at Cacapon Resort State Park is a continuation of the tremendous investment that the WVDNR has made into our state parks. Three proposal submissions were submitted to WVDNR as a result of the RFP. At this time, no vendor selection has been made,” a statement on the West Virginia parks website reads. “Furthermore, the WVDNR is under no obligation to accept any of the proposals as submitted and may negotiate the scope and specifications of any final agreement.”
Cacapon Resort State Park, which opened in 1937, has long been a retreat for Winchester area residents, as well as those from across the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. According to the RFP, 409,358 people visited the park last year.
A group of local activists — founders of Facebook groups like Friends of Cacapon Resort State Park and Save Cacapon Resort State Park, as well as savecacapon.org — are urging West Virginia officials to quash the RFP, which seeks a private developer/campground management company to finance, design, develop, construct, operate and maintain a destination campground at Cacapon Resort State Park.
YouTube videos show locals slamming the plan, flanked by the park’s lake.
Standing near the shoreline and pointing, one man in a video titled, “Save Cacapon Resort State Park,” says, “I was over there fishing on Saturday, probably one of the more gorgeous spots in West Virginia, and over there is going to be an aquabana, which most people don’t know what it is, but apparently it is a floating bar with a swimming pool, a miniature golf course…”
“This is the place for the public, the rest of the country is for commercialism, put it out there,” he said.
West Virginia officials in a statement described the development project as one that will help continue to make its parks financially self-sufficient, bringing growth and sustainability. West Virginia has invested $32,530,366 in Cacapon’s new lodge, where guests stay, among other heavy investments in the park in recent years that total $151 million. Cacapon Resort State Park is currently home to a golf course, a restaurant, a lodge and cabins.
The Morgan County Commissioners penned a letter on April 5 to the West Virginia Chief of Parks Brad Reed in opposition to at least two of the proposals, including the conceptual proposal from Blue Water.
“To put it plainly, we simply cannot imagine the impact that an RV park of the size/scope of two of the proposals would have on CSP [Cacapon State Park] and we don’t feel that it would be for the better. On the contrary, we feel like it would diminish many of the reasons that folks visit our park to begin with: the natural beauty, the historical significance, and the peaceful tranquility,” the letter states.
Concerns highlighted in the letter include traffic and safety issues at the park’s U.S .522 entrance, overcapacity at the park’s sewer plant, and the clear-cutting of trees.
By CORMAC DODD The Winchester Star
Apr 14, 202