Eric's Page
Diane and I purchased Maple View campground 13 years ago (at that time, it was called Camping of the clans). We were campers but never owned a business. I recall the first few years where I basically moved to the campground and worked non-stop without any days or evening off. Diane would be working full time during weekdays and would join me on weekends to assist me while still taking care of our 2 kids - Emilie (5 years old) and Jérémie (8 years old). Lets just say it was nothing like a walk in the park and spending Winter down South. It is still not the case after 13 years.
We work hard to improve the campground and slowly but surely change it to reflect what we were hoping to provide, a campground that campers would be proud to call their second home.
One of my first memory of the campground was me cutting the grass late in the evening of my very first day owning the campground and apologizing to one of the campers for the noise coming from the lawnmower. She replied that since it was the first time the grass was cut since the beginning of the season (it was mid-July.) that she was only appreciating the fact that I was taking care of the ground so not to worry. We work like dogs to improve slowly but surely the campground. We still are, we set goals every year with our priority being ensuring that the campground will be better year over year.
13 years ago, there was:
- Over 500 potholes in the road between Landry Road and the office
- No hot water and paper in the bathroom/showers
- 47 seasonal sites
- A swamp at the front of the campground
- A swampy lake
- Poor water system
- Poor electrical system
Over the last 13 years:
- Main road is paved.
- 150 seasonal sites (all with 3 services)
- Redid the lake from top to bottom with a bulldozer and a shovel on track.
- New water system
- New electrical system
- Over $200,000 in water inflatable structures including a huge Tarzan rope
- 7 pull through weekender sites with 3 services.
- 2 community halls
- Nice laundry room and 3 bathrooms units located around the campground
- A great campground association that works hard every year to put together an amazing number of activities to keep our campers busy this year.
What I enjoy the most:
- Helping people creating memories that will last a lifetime. This is what camping is all about, bringing people together, making new friends, experience new things.
I also enjoy the following:
- Doing our fireworks display
- Doing/being involve with our Halloween maze
- Just being around such an amazing group of people with everyone bringing their stories/culture/wisdom/knowledge for everyone to benefit from.
I truly consider myself privileged that my life path brought me to where I am today. I genuinely enjoy owning a campground, even on the not-so-easy days. It is my pleasure to create a place where you can have a great time every time you step foot into Maple View campground.
Eric