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Above, left to right are Paul Grossgold, Director of General Services Ventura County, Ventura Ranch KOA Owner Steven Bitter, Santa Paula Mayor Fred Robinson, Ventura Ranch KOA Owner Scott Cory, and Supervisor Kathy Long. The official Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting was held last Friday at the Ventura Ranch KOA Campground, 7400 Pine Grove Rd. near Steckel Park. |
Guests zipping through Ventura Ranch KOA on Zipline at grand opening
June 17, 2011
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Guests were zipping through - literally - the grand opening celebration at Ventura Ranch Kampgrounds of America, where they not only enjoyed tours of perhaps the state’s most unique campground but also got to take a ride on the 750-foot plus Zipline. The Zipline is a Ventura Ranch KOA attraction that carries riders through the air and onto a platform offering a bird’s-eye view of a portion of the 76-acre camp.
With its array of camping sites, RV parking with patios, glamour tents, deluxe lodges and even upscale Teepee accommodations, Ventura Ranch KOA is far from a traditional campsite and is instead a playground perfect for locals as well as members of the international community to escape and spend quality time together.
Scott Cory, who co-owns the camp with franchise partner Steve Bitter, said he was “extremely happy” that Ventura County and City of Santa Paula representatives “were all very complimentary” on the results of renovation, as well as the economic impacts from the hefty numbers of guests already visiting the camp.
“We’ve invested over $1 million to date,” said Cory. “We’re still investing... we’re at the beginning part of it!”
The former executive with KOA said the camp is “a little different than the typical KOA,” and has a heavy emphasis on a “glamping component, glamour camping.” The combination of glamour and camping - glamping - extends to teepees set up on a wooden deck that sleep up to six in their luxurious rustic interior; the tents with seven-foot high ceilings, refrigerators, microwaves, luxury queen beds and sleeper sofa; and the glamour lodges that, as the other accommodations, have to be seen to be believed.
Ventura Ranch KOA has been open for more than a year, and booked 15,000 camper nights in 2010. “We probably bring in more tourism to Santa Paula” than anything else, and Cory said the numbers are expected to swell in 2011.
It’s been a team effort: “We’re extremely excited about our public private partnership with the county and the city of Santa Paula.... Along with the businesses and the residents, they have all been super in supporting our development.”
If the grand opening was any indication, the Zipline will be a major fun factor for KOA visitors, although Martin Hernandez, chief of staff for Supervisor Kathy Long, said he would pass. “Oh no, I do motorcycles, not heights,” said Hernandez, who found the entire park “very, very nice... unique!”
Paul Grossgold, Ventura County Director of General Services, which owns the property leased by Ventura Ranch KOA, said he would not usually wear a suit to try the Zipline, but “That’s how I was dressed” for the grand opening ceremony. “They asked us if we wanted to ride and I did... it was fun!”
Grossgold said the county has several leases used for recreation, from golf courses to Kenney Grove Park, which is “nothing like the KOA; it’s passive camping where people make their own entertainment. The KOA is much more actively managed.”
And it’s a good fit for the county parks department: “We’re very pleased to have them out there... this is certainly the first KOA in the county,” and perhaps the greater region. Grossgold said “There’s nothing like it... it’s a resort, a new model for us in the county. I think it’s great and am very happy about it.”
Supervisor Long was impressed at the “entire transformation of that park,” and although she and her husband have visited KOAs in the past, she said this one is “truly unique. We were very pleased when we got the lease from them and the commitment,” and the county is also delighted at the number of visitors.
“That’s good news for Santa Paula.... People come into town to see where to eat, what to do, what to see and just enjoy the town and the region.”
Long did try the Zipline: “It was my virgin Zip, I hadn’t done it before,” she admitted with a laugh.
She saw and avoided Catalina’s famous Zipline, but at the KOA “I said I have to do this, it’s a baby zip... and then I’m standing on the platform strapped into all the gear and the helmet,” and Long said she had a flashback to a childhood experience when she froze on a high diving board. But, Long said, Grossgold “had experience jumping out of huge planes, parachuting, so he told me what to expect... and it was fun! I loved it!”
Cory said there’s more fun in store for those who would like their children to take part in filming for KTLA Channel 5 news broadcasts to be aired Friday, which will feature Ventura Ranch KOA. Adventuresome kids are needed Friday, June 17 from 5 to 8 a.m. Those interested in taking part can call Cory at 760-666-0010.
Ventura Ranch KOA also offers RV sites with patios and camping sites. Ventura Ranch KOA is located at 7400 Pine Grove Rd., Santa Paula, and is open all year with activities dependant on the season.
For more information on Kampgrounds of America, visit www.KOA.com. To make your reservations at Ventura Ranch KOA, visit http://koa.com/campgrounds/ventura-ranch/
