By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
While some people want to be pampered on vacations, others prefer sleeping bags to luxury accommodations and lightning bugs to chandeliers. They want little more than a body of water where they can cast a line, and a fire pit where they can roast marshmallows.
For these folks, Wood County does have a few spots where people can pitch their tents or park their campers. True, there are no geysers, great mountain peaks or grand herds of bison, but the local campgrounds give people a taste of a nature without the travel time.
The three campgrounds are at Mary Jane Thurston State Park on the edge of Grand Rapids; Fire Lake just south of Bowling Green; and Buttonwood in Perrysburg Township.
“People in Wood County don’t even know this park is here,” Al Alvord, campground host, said about Mary Jane Thurston that sits on the banks of the Maumee River. But Alvord is hoping that recent work at the campground will put it on the map for local residents.
“We’ve just made vast improvements,” he said, including adding showers at the marina and putting in electricity to 22 of the 37 campsites. “It has finally happened.”
In addition to beautiful views along the river and plenty of fishing spots, the site also features concessions and a day use lodge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The campground is a stopping point for people traveling through on bicycles, and for local people looking for a mini-vacation from home.
“We have people who come here from Weston,” Alvord said. “They come out and enjoy the peace and quiet and solitude.”
Some hike trails, some walk the towpath to Grand Rapids, some launch their boats from the marina, and some dip a line in the river. Just the other day, a camper caught a 48-inch flathead catfish, Alvord said.
Some campers make the short drive from Bowling Green. “They get away from it all. I’d much rather be in the park.”
According to Alvord, who has been host at Mary Jane Thurston for 15 years and who operates Weenie Dog Concessions there, the campground is a “great place to wake up.”
“It’s Wood County’s best kept secret,” he said of the only state park in the county. “People are missing out on a great time out here.”
On the southern edge of Bowling Green sits Fire Lake Campground, where campers can swim in the lake, ride pedal boats, use the playground, and play volleyball and basketball. The fishing is catch and release, except for blue gill. The campground has three rustic cabins available for rental, a camp store and game room.
Most of the 138 sites at Fire Lake are used by regulars, who stay at the campground off and on every summer, said Jennifer Gladieux, who owns the site with her husband, Martin. The majority of the campers live within 45 minutes of Fire Lake.
“They don’t want to drive, and their kids have sports,” Gladieux said. The location allows families to run to the ball park for games, then return to the campground.
At the same time, it allows them to escape the everyday duties at home. By being minutes from home, campers can return to their residences to mow the lawn, then retreat back to their firepit and fishing.
Though Fire Lake has welcomed campers for more than 40 years, some local residents are unaware of its existence, Gladieux said.
“A lot of people in Bowling Green don’t know it’s here,” she said.
In the northern part of the county is Buttonwood Park, managed by the Wood County Park District, on the banks of the Maumee River. Camping is allowed in the spring through fall, according to Jamie Sands, volunteer services and communication specialist with the park district.
“It’s just primitive camping,” she said of the 15 sites off the end of Hull Prairie Road that can be rented for $10 a night on a first-come first-serve basis.
The best features of Buttonwood camping, Sands said, are the fishing and the scenery. “It’s a beautiful place to watch the sunset and the sunrise.”
