For April Hearns, life at McGowan Lake Campground in Maberly, Ontario, has always been more than a business. It’s home.
As a third-generation owner, she’s putting her own mark on it, creating a space that feels like family from the moment you arrive while using her voice to support fellow campground owners all across Ontario.
McGowan Lake Campground has been in April’s family since 1981, when her grandparents purchased the property.
“My Oma and Opa were of Dutch descent,” April shared. “Opa had his own construction company, and he came across this property because the previous owner was going bankrupt. The business was being sold off fairly cheaply. My Opa thought, ‘Well, let’s try this and see how it goes.’ ”
When April’s grandparents took over, only about 30 sites had trailers, and most of the property was set up for basic tent camping. Many of the long-term guests were behind on payments, but her grandparents couldn’t just start fresh because they needed the income from whoever was already there and willing to pay.
“It was a hard time,” April recalled. “There was no hydro or water in the majority of the park. It was very small and rough around the edges.”
Through persistence, April’s grandparents kept the park going and laid the foundation for what it would become. When April’s mother took over in 1994, she built on that foundation and ushered in a new era of growth.
“My mom put in a significant amount of hydro and water upgrades and was able to transform the land that was for tents in the back and made those all premium sites,” April said. “Because she did all those upgrades, she was getting a different clientele coming in.”
Over time, her mother added a recreational hall and new playgrounds, reinvesting every year to make the park stronger and more welcoming.
“She was able to get that family vibe back in here,” April said.
As a kid, April helped out around the campground, running the store and greeting guests. Even then, she was sure she’d take a different path.
“I said, ‘Nope, I don't ever want to run this park,’ ” April admitted. “I was going to do something else.”
That “something else” took her to university, where she studied law in Ottawa. But city life wasn’t what she wanted in the long run.
“I love law. I’d go to the courthouse and just listen if I could,” April said. “But my husband and I had to ask ourselves what we wanted our future to look like for our kids. Lawyers have very long hours, and I thought, ‘I’m not going to have much of a family life.’ I wanted to go back to the country.”
The timing worked out perfectly. Her mother was ready to retire, and April was ready to return to the park.
“It was a no-brainer,” April shared. “I was like, we need to be out in the country, away from the city, building our family life, and having our time together. That is more what I wanted my immediate future to look like.”
When April took over McGowan Lake Campground in 2016, the park was in a quiet phase. The kids who had once filled the park were grown, and the energy that defined her mother’s years had faded.
“It was mostly retirees or older couples,” April explained. “I’d look out at six o’clock and see no kids playing on the playground. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, what did I get myself into?’ “
To bring the energy back, April focused on building a sense of community. Seasonal and overnight guests were all treated as part of the family, and that made a difference.
“I don’t care if you’re staying one night or five months; you each have equal access to the property and the enjoyment of it,” April said. “I get a lot of returning customers that are overnight visitors because they get to know the seasonals in the park. We do have events, and we encourage the overnight guests to come out and attend the events just like everyone else. And they do.”
That atmosphere has helped turn many short-term guests into long-term ones.
“Most of the time, the overnights end up wanting to become seasonals because they have built relationships in the park, or they like the vibe,” April shared. “It’s also a good way for us to kind of vet them in, which is great.”
Now, a decade later, April has reached her goal. The park is full of life again. It’s a place where kids play until dusk, neighbors wave from across the field, and friendships last beyond the summer season.
As the park found its rhythm again, April’s focus began to stretch beyond McGowan Lake. She had grown up watching her mother serve on the Camping in Ontario board and remembered how much she loved tagging along to conventions.
“I was like, this is cool,” April recalled. “You get to meet kids from other campgrounds. I knew one day I wanted to be involved.”
That opportunity came five years ago when April joined the Board of Directors for Camping in Ontario. Over time, her involvement grew and she now serves as secretary on the executive level.
“I did get approached to be a board member for a couple of different reasons,” April said. “The gentleman who reached out really wanted to see representation from eastern Ontario. The executive director also wanted me on there because I have a background in law.”
And her law experience proved helpful when she joined the board just months before the pandemic.
“That was a whirlwind in itself,” April admitted. “My background in law helped with all of the government notices coming down about closures and how we could open again. There were so many documents that needed to be set up.”
Despite the initial challenges, she says the experience has been one of the most rewarding parts of her career.
“A huge benefit to being part of an association like Camping in Ontario is the access to information that you would not have otherwise,” April said. “You definitely want to know what is coming down the line in terms of legal repercussions or services such as hydro, water, and septic. You learn so much from being involved in an association. The relationships, the networks, the knowledge—it’s a give and take. It’s fantastic being a part of it.”
Serving on the board has also shown her just how powerful it is when park owners work together.
“When you’re part of an association, you have a voice,” April explained. “If I went to the government about an issue alone, they’d see me as one person. But when you have an association behind you that’s got 350 or 400 campgrounds saying, ‘This isn’t ok,’ that carries weight. We’re more than one voice.”
So April built the family-friendly, active park she’d envisioned and found a way to serve the industry she loves through Camping in Ontario—a role that also drew on her background in law. There was only one piece left to complete the picture, and she found it at Camping in Ontario’s CampEx conference.
At the 2024 CampEx conference, April stopped by the CampLife booth and struck up a conversation that would change how she handled reservations.
“Anybody who knows me knows that I’m not tech savvy,” April laughed. “I was very pen and paper. I was doing reservations by hand.”
As demand for camping grew during the pandemic, she noticed how quickly guests expected to book.
“After COVID, everyone was in more of a rush to find something now,” April said. “It got to the point where the phone would be ringing for reservations, and I would be helping someone in the store. So I would deal with the person in front of me, and then I would get the message off the phone and call them back. I would say it would be in the span of probably like five minutes, and they would say, ‘Oh, I have already found something else.’ “
April realized she was losing business. She connected with Brandon Reese from CampLife and decided it was time to start taking reservations online.
“I said, ‘Ok, sign me up,’ “ April shared. “Brandon did not lead me astray, one bit. I was hooked up with Lacy for onboarding. Then I was with Rebecca in Customer Success, who answers my calls all the time. When we went live, it was like a weight had just been lifted off my shoulders. It was so easy. And I would say the phone ringing this summer was reduced by 95%.”
For April, the best part was working with people who shared her commitment to great service.
“Being in this industry, I always appreciate when there is good customer service,” April said. “CampLife is the best business I think I have ever met as far as good customer service. It's hard not to get along with you guys.”
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