Development Plans
In keeping with our spiritual philosophies, this entire project will be a slow, steady, incremental work in progress. Though our dreams are ambitious, our approach will remain balanced and mindful of the journey. We own and operate three small businesses and work full-time, so this is a side project that occupies our evenings and weekends. We take great care to keep the process an enjoyable pursuit.
On the other hand, in order to create, one must have dreams; dreams must be converted to goals; goals must be developed into plans; and plans must be turned into action. True happiness is not born of the pursuit of itself, but rather the pursuit of meaningful endeavors. We believe in hard work, and diligent effort. It is with a balanced approach that we pursue this project.
The Dream
In total we imagine having 10-12 standard campsites, and 1 or 2 areas for small groups (15-20). We prefer to focus on quality over quantity. I hate campgrounds who put people on top of each other. Also we don’t like the vibe of crowds, and want to keep the feeling quiet, peaceful, and semi secluded. Ultimately, we want to have fewer sites with more amenities (covered areas, outdoor kitchen, sleeper cabins, and stuff like that), so over time even the individual campsites may see such improvements.
Our long-term vision is a community of people who share our love of nature, and enjoyment of this land. We hope to develop some type of membership program for return campers. The ideal scenario is that those who camp and recreate here regularly will have a shared sense of ownership and contribution toward what Zen Acres will become. We believe in the “many hands” approach, and hope to share some of the burden of the ongoing care and maintenance of the land. The vision is that membership will involve some combination of both economic and labor contributions. We also envision some type of additional benefits like possibly offering storage for RV and/or camping equipment (some type of private, oversized locker system or something). This may also allow individuals to make some small, approved improvements that they will be able to return and enjoy (much like my original desire from way back in the day).
Ultimately we are very interested in hosting small camping events surrounding various activities. This may include things like spiritual retreats, youth programs, family reunions, small weddings, and things along those lines. My wife and I have a variety of personal interests such as twelve step recovery, troubled youth, personal and spiritual development, survival training, fire technology, dog training, scrap booking, etc… We envision possibly creating and hosting some of our own events that align with some of our personal interests.
Though we plan to continue to work at or near full time for many years to come, the dream is that we will reach a point that would allow us to retire (at least semi) and focus the majority of our attention on Zen Acres. Obviously, these concepts are only loosely defined at this stage, but we feel it is important at this stage to at least put voice to them and see what form they might take. It is likely that whatever ultimately does take shape will be a collaborative process with those who take interest and remain in contact through the years. For those who may be interested in staying in touch with us as we flesh out some of these concepts, please let us know and we will add you to a growing email list for updates.
Current Status (last updated 4/1/26)
We are going to start posting more details of the development journey to our blog. There you will find more details of our ongoing process, as we learn, grow, and develop. In the meantime, here is a brief overview of recently completed projects, as well as our current focus:
Recently Completed Projects:
- Aug 2024 - Poured floor in pole barn (in preparation of converting it into a meeting hall for guests)
- Nov 2024 - Group Site Electrical Upgrade (this also prepares us to offer well water to all campers in the future)
- Feb 2025 - Completion of Upper Work Shop (this replaces the lower pole barn in preparation of converting it into a meeting hall for guests)
- April 2024 - Completion of upper entrance road (restoring and improving the portion of road that was excavated when we built the Upper Work Shop)
- April/May 2025 - Expanded sites 1, 2, 3, and 6. As the first 4 sites we built, there were things we wish we had done better. We expanded them, enhanced leveling, improved parking areas, and put effort into enhancing the feeling of privacy.
- April 2025 - Planed trees strategically, and added a row at the edge of the Group Campsite. As these new trees grow, it will continue to enhance privacy, sound barrier, etc... between sites and public areas.
- May/June 2025 - Enhanced creek area with a new overlook in two spots, added picnic tables, and expanded the useable beach area.
- June 2025 - Expanded back area of group site, giving more space for tents.
- Summery 2025 - Finished most of the excavation of the new Creekside RV campsite. Didn't finish and open the site in 2025, but got close, and we plan to early 2026.
- April 2026 - Massive improvment to direct booking system with a new provider. This also brings enhanced payment options for addon features, communications with all campers, and a platform to enhance guest experience incrementally as we grow.
Current (Active) Projects:
- Minor Firepit enhancement work in some campsites.
- Adding new composting outhouse (hoping to complete early in the 2026 camping season)
- Completion of the Creekside RV site (on or before 7/1/26).
- Enhancements to walking trails.
- Paving portions of the entrance road. Should happen in late April or early May. When complete will represent a major improvement to the roadway into the camping area.
- Main project for mid summer 2025 will be to continue to widen and improve the rest of the entrance road.
- Expanding the rental system to include more tents, and other features.
- Kid's play strucutre. Shooting for May/June 2026. Fingers crossed we have time and bandwidth to get this one done this year.
Upcoming Projects:
- Late May to Early June - Bathroom Improvements:
- June/July - Kid's Play Structure:
- July/Aug - New Communal Space:
- Throughout Summer - Ongoing Incremental Improvements to Roadway:
Long Term:
- Finishing Out and Converting Pole Barn into Meeting Hall For Groups & Events
- Obtaining CUP from county to offer the facility for day events, weddings, and/or offering RV sites with hookups.
- More improvement to entrance road.
- Adding the lower pole barn as a rentable indoor space for gatherings for mid to large groups.