NORTH EGREMONT — At the end of last week, certified mail notices appeared in the mailboxes of the campers who’d put down summer 2022 deposits for seasonal rentals at North Egremont’s Prospect Lake Campground.
The envelopes they signed for contained a rude shock, and a returned deposit check. The campground would be closed for the 2022 season. Any winterized campers and other belongings stored on site would have to be moved off the premises by May 31 or they would be removed by the owners.
On a recent day, at least two dozen RVs of various sizes, most covered for the winter, were visible on the site from Prospect Lake Road, but one longtime camper estimated that about 75 are kept on site. Several letter recipients and others with knowledge of it would only speak with The Edge on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue.
The letter (click here to read it) was signed by Great Barrington attorney Peter Puciloski, who represents local developer Ian Rasch of Alander Construction, who purchased the property from longtime owner Jim Palmatier on January 20. Rasch is perhaps better known as one of the developers of 47 Railroad Street, a mixed-use building in downtown Great Barrington.
The letter assured campers that, “The new owners are excited to be running the camp and are looking forward to serving you,” but went on to inform them that improvements were necessary, and that the new owners “had the camp examined in preparation for those improvements. The inspection of the electrical system revealed major deficiencies that must be addressed in order to ensure the health, safety and convenience of all of you. Please see the attached letter of Berkshire Engineering.”
It is not clear who made the determination of “major deficiencies,” however, since Berkshire Engineering’s letter does not indicate that they had conducted an inspection themselves.
In the letter’s most consequential sentence, Berkshire Engineering President Mike Kulig stated, “It has been brought to our attention that certain necessary repairs and improvements will be made to the electrical system during which time the supply of electrical energy to the Septic System and the Public Water Supply Well will be interrupted.”
Kulig did not respond to a call and email for clarification, and Puciloski declined to take this reporter’s call, referring questions back to Rasch, who, from Puerto Rico, responded to the same questions with the statement:
“The Prospect Lake campground requires critical upgrades to the electrical, sewer, water and building infrastructure. The park will therefore be closed for the 2022 season. We look forward to re-opening a new and improved park as soon as we can. All existing campers have been notified and we will assist each and every one of them as we make these critical improvements.”
This echoes the park’s website, which currently states, “Prospect Lake Park will be closed for the 2022 season as we make necessary improvements to the facilities. Thank you for your understanding.”
The phone number that had been included on the homepage on February 14 was gone two days later, and the email address listed sent an automatic response that includes a list of dates during which there will be assistance on-site for campers to remove their belongings from the property. As more than one camper pointed out, though, all of the dates and times offered are during regular work hours, Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., rather than after hours or on weekends when more people would be free to spend the time required to clear out their gear.
Former owner Jim Palmatier had sent out his own letter to campers in late January informing them of the sale and assuring them that the property was in the hands of a local resident and businessman committed to maintaining it as a campground. He said in a phone interview that he’d been blindsided by the announcement of the site’s closure.
“The letters went out, and my phone started ringing off, emails were coming in, and it was like everybody was throwing us under the bus. We sold it with all the intentions of it staying a campground. What he’s going to do, from my understanding, is he’s going to renovate the electric, water, sewer, and landscaping and reopen it as a campground in 2023. That’s all I know. What’s going on, and the people that it’s affecting … it’s kind of heartbreaking … But the Palmatier family had nothing to do with it. We’re very sorry and heartbroken over it. But our hands are tied. We can do nothing for them.”
With a seasonal fee of $2,400 from May 15–October 15, the Prospect Lake Park Campground might just have been the most affordable summer living option anywhere in South Berkshire County. It originally opened as just a picnicking spot, in 1876, the country’s centennial year, with 2,000 feet of lake frontage and 125 campsites.
Various owners have been welcoming campers since the late 1950s with a no-frills, low-key vibe, and a playground slide set up over the water. Back in the day, a payphone in the rec hall was the only way to get in touch with the outside world.
Local historian and Edge contributor Gary Leveille started camping at Prospect Park with his family in 1964 when he was 12, after trying various other spots. “My sister and I would always be bored, then we went there and it was like, ‘Wow, this place is great.’ It’s got a rec hall with a jukebox and a big waterslide, and we just loved it.”
Leveille still has friends he made at the camp. Such is the deep affection campers have for Prospect Lake, that many have had their ashes and those of their loved ones scattered in it.
Campers know that what they’ve had isn’t coming back and that, at the very least, prices, as one insider put it, “will skyrocket.” Another agreed. “I’m sure we’re going to be priced out of it, even if they still have seasonal campsites.” Yet another camper is happy to pay more if it means he can take his RV out of storage in the spring of 2023 for a triumphant return to his beloved spot.
But others are not convinced that the future iteration of Prospect Lake Campground will be accessible to the old-school camping public, and they’re worried. There have been rumors swirling for years about condos, but more recent assumptions lean more strongly in the direction of something akin to HipCamp or Autocamp, which specialize in glamping, or “glamorous camping.”
Autocamp features well-appointed Airstreams, augmented by a rec hall featuring a sleek, minimalist aesthetic. At the Cape Cod Autocamp, a weeklong stay for a family of four this July starts at about $1,800.
Part of the appeal of the Prospect Lake Park Campground has been its vibe as an inclusive gathering place, attracting all kinds: older folks on fixed incomes, single guys who work for the surrounding towns catching a break on the water on their day off, younger families with kids, weekenders. One of those who’s now convinced the campground is going to be transformed into a luxe destination says what they loved best about it was its working-class nature.
“Just to be able to have a little slice of nature and a lake and access … it was accessible, affordable, and authentic.” The sale of the campground feels like another example of gentrification run amok, a phenomenon happening any place that’s blessed with natural assets.
But the greater insult is the short notice given to people who’d made their home at the campground for nearly half the year, for as many as 20, 30, even 48 years.
This same camper has questions. “Did it really have to be this abrupt? Could there have been another way to phase out, to extend some awareness of the emotional, financial implications of people having to uproot a space they’ve relied on for upwards of 25 years or more?”
Retired contract photographer Allen Stater and his wife Carol live in Torrington, Connecticut, most of the year, and in discovering the campground a few years back found their happy place. Carol said when she got the letter from Mr. Puciloski, “My heart just dropped.”
Her husband has traveled the world for his work, but the campground in North Egremont, he said, was something very special.
“There are certain places that you don’t want to leave. There’s just a peacefulness about it … I actually intended to live my summers out there. It’s that pleasant. That’s where I want to be, you know what I mean? You find that one spot that you like being there. And I’m pretty worldly, so that’s a pretty big compliment.”
