Economy, Gas Prices Impacting Local Campgrounds

BREWSTER – Campgrounds used to dot the Cape, attracting those who’d rather rough it a bit as opposed to lodging in a motel room for a week. Those that remain have seen a mixed bag so far this summer, with economic conditions, including the price of gasoline, blunting business.

In Brewster, the Sweetwater Forest Cape Cod Family Campground has been in the same family since it opened in 1958. Co-owner James Rylander has watched many other local campgrounds go out of business over those years. Sweetwater is a family-oriented destination with in-season rates ranging from $60 (no hook-up) to $95 for full hook up including TV and electrical. They employ 17 people beneath the trees and also raise appaloosa horses. The woods are quiet with winding paths and RVs and tents tucked in between the trees, people walking dogs or having breakfast at an outdoor table. 

But gas pump prices have dented business.

 “We’ve had people from western Pennsylvania and Michigan call to cancel because of gas prices,” Rylander said. “They have motor homes that get about eight miles a gallon and [the trip] is just not affordable. RVs use a lot of gas. Even tenting on weekends is not full.”

He said that overall they’re down about 800 site nights year over year.

 “The Canadians aren’t coming across the border any more,” Rylander noted. 

Not all distant loyalists have passed on this season.

 “I’ve been coming here for 40 years,” declared Francis Burdick of Georgia, who actually drove from a summer home in Vermont. “I love it because it’s quiet, the sites are great, the people are wonderful. I brought my daughter here when she was 3. I brought my grandson when he was 5. This is my go-to. It’s just far enough away but close enough.”

Like many campgrounds, Sweetwater relies on loyal customers like Burdick.

 “My first time, I came on a motorcycle. I came on Halloween night. I had a little tent, a fire. Ever since then I’ve been back,” Burdick said. 

 “We have a large repeat clientele and the families that come locally from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, are still coming,” Rylander said. “We have a lot of local [Cape] business. We do a big Halloween thing on Columbus Day and that’s 90 percent local. We have trick-or-treat on site and they stay for the weekend. To get a site for next year they book it that weekend.”

But he added some of the more casual weekend campers aren’t making the trip.

 “We’re definitely down in business, especially in our tenting area,” he said.

Sweetwater has 250 campsites spread over more than 80 acres. In addition to the forest, the property abuts Griffith Pond where there’s a dock for boating and fishing. 

 “We have mini golf, boat rentals, televisions, pickleball, pool tables, lots of things to do, some planned activities on the weekends, but people go out around the Cape. The people who are actually regular campers as opposed to one or two weekends a year demand more services,” said Rylander. 

The Sweetwater Forest is just off Route 124 and near the bike trail.

Shady Knoll, on Route 6A near the council on aging, is the remaining other private campground in Brewster. Their rates range from $65 to $110 in-season with discounts for longer stays. 

 “Reservations have been great for the summer,” said camp manager Melinda Moon. “We’ve had the return of some Canadians which we haven’t had for a few years. The campground is booked now. We have a lot of returning customers and when they are here they book for next year.”

Like Sweetwater, Shady Knoll touts the fact that they’re centrally located on Cape Cod.

 “We have 100 campsites,” Moon said. “We're right in the middle of Cape Cod halfway between the bridge and Provincetown. There are plenty of antique stores, the bayside beaches, restaurants. We have a store on site with camping supplies. We have a games room for the kids with a pool table, air hockey.”

Most visitors use the camp as a base to explore the Cape.

 “For the most part they leave the campground and come back rather than hang around,” Moon said. “We offer different types of camping: full hook-up with a sewer connection for RV’s, tent sites, or sites with water and electric.”

Shady Knoll dates to 1977 and is also family owned.

Nickerson State Park has up to 418 campsites and is booked with no available sites out of 381 over the next two weekends, but there are spots during the week with 10 to 38 open, depending on the day and week, for a one-night stay. Rylander noted that during the summer the campground’s full sign never used to come down. 

A spokesman for the state Department of Conservation and Recreation said that staff at Nickerson have noticed more cancellations this year and stays at the park have also been shortened this summer. The DCR hasn’t collected data on why that might be happening, but the agency noted that there are other factors besides higher prices such as rainy weekends and stretches of high heat.