Do Outdoor Enthusiasts Go Shopping?
January 29th, 2010 | 
Author: 
Years ago I was taking a summer’s evening walk through the Ice Age campground at Devil’s Lake State Park. I heard some people singing around a campfire. It took a minute for me to properly focus on the words. The song went something like, “Baraboo, Baraboo.. .What’s there to do in Baraboo?…” and ended with a lot of laughter.
Some suggest there is plenty to do in our little town. I realize it’s an issue of perspective. It all depends on what you want to do, and of course if you know about it. Some believe catering to outdoor enthusiasts isn’t worth it since they stay within the park or recreational areas and don’t support the communities they are in. Others suggest even those that do are so few in number that it’s still not worth the effort. That has me thinking about the 1.4 million visitors each year to our local state park. Shouldn’t they be lighting up the town, at least in the summer months? Are parks and natural areas simply self contained islands? Where’s the disconnect?
As you can imagine, here in the heart of the Baraboo hills this is a topic worth discussing.. Do outdoor enthusiasts go shopping? Do they visit restaurants? Do they buy little mementos? The answers of course seem obvious.. but for some reason they are not.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Related Articles
Posted in Travel & Tourism | 
Tags: business, devils lake, Downtown Baraboo, tourism, Travel & Tourism
8 Responses to “Do Outdoor Enthusiasts Go Shopping?”
Leave a Reply
- BP's tree fell on my lawn - Roger Ebert's Journal July 26, 2010
- Support the IATA | Ice Age Trail Alliance July 20, 2010
- USDA Admits Link Between Antibiotic Use by Big Ag and Human Health July 20, 2010
- 10 Simple Ways to Renew Your Spirit Outdoors July 12, 2010
- Gray Wolf Distribution Map - 2009 - WDNR July 5, 2010
When my wife and I travel to state parks, or national parks, we like to camp because it’s fun and it saves money. That being said, camping isn’t always cheap. In order to keep what we need to load in the car to a minimum, we leave things at home knowing that we are going to have to buy them once we get to our destination. Food is a perfect example. Why pack a cooler full of food and let it sit in the car while we drive across the state, or county? We will load up the cooler full of other camping supplies to save room and then stop at a local grocery store to fill the cooler once we arrive at our destination. We will do the same with fire wood. No point in hauling it with us when we know we can pick it up once we get there. This is even more important now that the emerald ash borer is spreading across our state.
We will also visit restaurants on gift shops on our trips. Sometimes it seems like we spend more time in town than we do in the park. We try to find an ornament from place we visit to decorate our tree during the holidays. It may not sound like much, but a cooler full of groceries, a couple meals at a restaurant, firewood, an ornament or two, bait if I want to go fishing, and lets not forget gas for the car all add up.
We are not dropping large amounts of cash at a time like some people do by getting a hotel room, or renting an ATV or snowmobile but we are spending money. We are spreading it around in smaller amounts throughout the community.
Hey Derrick,
Well, let me tell you where we don’t spend money first. Water parks, mini golf, chain restaurants, movie theaters, indeterminate arty/crafty/trinket stores, “Native American” gift stores, T-shirt shops, overpriced antique shops, etc. Basically, anything you find in the Dells.
Where we do spend our money. farmer’s markets, local butchers (when we can find them) local restaurants, used book stores, street fairs, Boy Scout pancake breakfasts, Firehouse spaghetti dinners, roadside firewood and veggie stands.
I think you can see the pattern here.
Yeah looking for reinforcement… I think there is a place for setting up communication channels for community leaders & outdoor business leaders, park staff etc., I’m pretty sure this is not the only area that get’s blinded by the glitter dome in their area.. LOL!
I have to say, I was absolutely shocked when we had pizza delivered to ur campsite the first night I was at Devil’s Lake. I am not used to that type of camping but after day of travel it was really nice to not worry about cooking, get a warm meal, and get to sleep early for a big day of climbing. I could see how this would be appealing to families as well as having restaurants and other shops available and welcoming campers by anticipating their needs.
My friend Eileen, aka RockGrrl carries an awesome line of items that say “Your Worst Nightmare is My Dream Vacation” and for many outdoorsy types it’s true. Our idea of dirbag bliss is something a lot of people would find a complete turn off if not torturous. However, the outdoors and camping is for everyone to enjoy and businesses that cater to all types by allowing for some comforts of home and a break from the sun and elements for a little shopping and time “on the town”, well I think it’s just could business.
While it may not currently be a huge chunk of local businesses revenue a little marketing and planning can help increase the influx of business for parks/campgrounds as well as the businesses that surround them.
Pizza! I forgot about that. When I worked at the park people would come down to the office looking for pizza delivery too.. Funny. My impression as i did deeper into this is that the businesses of the most interest to park users are the ones that often don’t do any marketing and the ones spending the advertising budgets are total turn offs to ah, well, I use “outdoor types” but it’s more than that. David’s aside, “when you can find them” I think is important. Which is on my task list for 2010.
another side note on the “while it may not currently be a huge chunk of local business”.. is simply how it affects business hours.. something like;
1)
park users: busy all day playing at the park
Local businesses: Open..
2)
park users: evening, ready to run into town
local business; closed
3)
local businesses try extended hours.. don’t market heavily..
park users: don’t know, don’t show up
4)
local business.. see.. it’s not worth it..
Go back to 1.
This is an excellent point. When we got into Baraboo for our dining night out it felt like a ghost town and I get that at other places too. While it may not be the intent the message is “We don’t want your business”.
With any other industry you have to adapt to reach a target audience. In this case, the people are there, they most likely want to use the services however they’re not available when they need them. Adaptation and education paired with proper marketing can make it beneficial for everyone.
I’m with you there. Many communities and smaller mom & pops just don’t get the exposure to the concepts and simply hope that main street, business hours, and an ad in the local paper will do it..