Affordable bunkhouses debut at Indigo Bluffs
By Cameryn Cass
Sun contributor
As the month of June came to a close, four new family bunkhouses were added to Indigo Bluffs RV Park & Resort in Empire.
With a queen bed and four bunks, the new 320 square foot accommodations sleep six, a number that campground owner Gary Becker described as “magic” in hospitality.
“The three generation vacation,” he said. “Grandparents, parents, children. Figure two plus two plus two.”
Beyond providing an enjoyable place to stay, the campground is concerned with “preserving and defending the opportunity for families to come here,” said Becker.
Which is precisely why, at the height of the tourist season in July, the bunkhouses are under $130 a night.
“The bunkhouses are affordable options for families,” he said. “I don’t want this to become an area of the rich and famous. Too many things are becoming too expensive and it’s unfortunate. Everyone should be able to come here and stay.”
As we talked under the canopy of hardwoods, a light breeze made the maple leaves overhead dance. Birds sang, and kids played at the playground on the other side of the trees.
Becker spoke of plans to plant pines around the bunkhouses for greater privacy, of clearing out more brush and cleaning the space up. After all, he just received the certificate of occupancy for the bunkhouses the day prior.
Even though they have yet to trim the windows and baseboards, and to paint the bunkhouses Indigo Bluffs blue, all four are already rented out.
“There’s even a waitlist going,” said Becker.
We watched a father wheel a wagon full of camp gear up the ramp to his bunkhouse. Already, visitors stretched out on the Adirondack chairs out front, making themselves at home.
There’s water onsite, but no running water inside the bunkhouses. Still, they’re equipped with a kitchenette. Outside, there’s picnic tables, fire pits and the aforementioned Adirondack chairs.
“We might add more cottages and things of that nature in the future. We’re looking at rearranging some things,” said Becker of the greater campground layout.
“People seem to be more comfortable camping this way,” he said, nodding toward the bunkhouses.
“When you say the word ‘camping,’ people think dirty, bugs, I’m sleeping on the ground, I’m wet,” he laughed. “Everything you can think of.”
This fall, Quality Structures LLC, an Amish building company out of Clare, will construct two more bunkhouses at the Bluffs so there will be six available to rent for the 2027 season.
“A family of four can stay elsewhere for hundreds of dollars a night,” said Becker. “The affordability (of the bunkhouses) is great.”
“People so love the fact that they can come and be a part of the area.”
