Heather Wright/The Independent

The Mooretown campground will stay open until at least 2027.

That’s the result of a St. Clair Township council decision to have experts look at the operation of the campground to see if it is worth upgrading hydro and sewage systems at the campground near the St. Clair River.

In 2023, township staff began suggesting the Mooretown facility was in need of upgrades with Director of Community Services, Kendall Lindsay suggesting the hydro and sewer upgrades could cost between one and two million dollars. Lindsay also stated taxpayers were footing the bill to subsidize the campground since it wasn’t breaking even.

In April 2025, council discussed shutting down the campground at the end of the year, but a last minute plea by the campers in Mooretown staved off closure until the end of 2026.

April 20, council discussed the possible closure again and campers filled the room a second time.

Hope Dickson suggested the township should look for grants to help with upgrades to the park. She rattled off a number of different opportunities from both the federal and provincial governments specifically for campgrounds.

“We did submit that information at a meeting July 15, 2025. Again, many of these grants state specifically that they are to maintain campgrounds, the hydro, the water, the sewers and the drainage. That isn’t a matched grant. That 100 percent grant,” she told council.

Lindsay said he had yet to apply for grants for the upgrades.

Another camper, Brenda Dangela suggested the campground could make money – as much as $446,700 – during the six-month season, according to her calculations.

Additional revenue could come from storing boats and utility trailers on the site over the winter, she suggested.

Figures provided by the director of community services show the campground brought in $88,900 in revenue in 2021, $80,000 in 2022, lost $6,480 in 2023, earned $8,708 in 2024 and lost $25,572 in 2025. Lindsay projects the campground will lose almost $58,000 this year.

Dangela believes some changes could make a big improvement to the bottom line.

She’s been promoting the campground on a provincial website and when she meets people who are also campers. They seem, she says, interested. Some even call the Mooretown campground office to book a
site. But unless the campground is open, no one answers the phone.

“Right now, the campground’s closed till May. The number on Mooretown Campground is the campground phone number,” she said. “I suggest it be transferred over to the arena… so when nobody answers that phone, they have a transfer so that we can get those lots booked.”

Dangela adds without the simple switch, people will look for another place to put their trailers.

“People want to camp now and not at the end of the season.”

Dangela also questioned the cost estimate for the upgrades to the hydro and sewers.

“Has there been an engineering study? Did you determine whether the rumoured amount is $1 million or $2 million? No one knows where that amount came from,” she asked council.

Councillor Brad Langstaff was also concerned about the numbers. He suggested experts in campground operation take a look at Mooretown to give council a firm estimate for the repairs.

“I want to do a deep dive into the business at the campground, to help us better understand, whether or not we can fathom increasing revenue, making an investment, seeking grants,” he said.

While there is still a motion suggesting the campground should be closed, council chose not to vote directly on it, agreeing instead to Langstaff’s suggestion.

Councillor Pat Brown said that study kicks the can down the road, again.

“I’d like to see the campground remain,” he said, adding it could be useful for visitors in 2027 when the International Plowing Match is held in Brigden.

“By the time,you get your survey result done or consultants report, it’s really going to take us into the next election.

“I think the final decision should be made after the election by the new council. We certainly see the support here from the residents tonight, and I would think it would be more beneficial for the new council to set sthe direction of the campground.”