A Family Farm Turned Campground

Written By Danna Larson

Hello, I'm Annette Rogers, my husband John and I are originally from Cascade. Let me tell you a bit about our business, Riverview Ridge Campgrounds and Recreation.

It all started with preserving my parents farm. Never thought it would be us doing that. We were not farmers like some of my family members. But when no one else seemed interested in buying mom and dad's place, I guess we blindly stepped up when asked. Well, we are not farmers, so what would we do with this grand place?

We love the rolling hills, the river running around it and the nice woods. So it made sense that others would love it too. So we created our campgrounds in a portion of the farm. We planted 2700 trees one year. I think we were the only people taking out crop land and putting in trees! My husband John does plumbing, heating, and electric and is handy at everything, and also a great planner. We started with 15 sites in 2007, then 29 a year after, etc. etc., and now we are at 92 RV sites and 35 tent sites. I went to school for advertising, so I have been able to market a bit. We try to keep the family farm theme in mind when we add buildings and signage. We recently added Dan and Debbies, a local dairy's ice cream, to our campstore.

We have seasonal and nightly/weekend campers. We added tubing and kayak rentals and return rides in 2009. It’s such a pretty river. Kid friendly for sure.

We have had guests from all over America on a regular basis and from many countries as well. And that is what makes it so worthwhile. We love listening to stories from our travelers and seeing the country through their eyes. They bring their business to town and I am happy to say that Cascade has welcomed them and provides a great place for them to visit. It’s just amazing to me how much they love our little town. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, we love it too!

Danna Larson
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