Rustic Lake Merwin retreat offers recreation to thousands

Jana Cooley, who was out playing putt-putt golf with her brother and his kids at the facility’s small course on a sunny Friday in July, said she loves the camp’s atmosphere. Cooley even owns two sites at the hideaway so she can accommodate visitors, she said.

“One of them’s the adult site, if you know what I mean,” Cooley said with a grin, mentioning that she enjoys a good glass of wine with her camping.

A Milwaukie, Ore., native, Cooley found her site somewhat by accident. She was looking for a manufactured home for her daughter last spring, and the hideaway popped up on her computer search. She ended up buying a site for herself soon after — and with it a path to some inner peace, she said.

About 20 years ago, her father, Jim Hansky, brought her to the Hideaway to look at campsites, but they ended up not buying. He died on May 1, 2016 — and it was shortly after that Cooley came to look at lots on the site again, not for her daughter, but for herself.

“It ended up being a wonderful healing place for me,” Cooley said. “I came up a lot by myself last year, just to think and feed the deer. It kind of brings him back for me.”

Her father loved Mount St. Helens, and his grave is placed in its shadow. Her main site at the campground also has a great view of the mountain, which reminds her of him.

“That was it for me,” she said. “Now I come all year. I even love getting stuck in the snow up here.”

And her favorite things to do at the site?

“Barbecuing, listening to these kids laugh — this place is just amazing,” Cooley said. “I just love to go around and look at the lots. Sneak around and get ideas. I love meeting new people here, too.”

Price range

Prices range pretty significantly for lots at the private Hideaway. On the low end, there’s a $12,000 site for sale that’s been available for a while. On the high end, there are a few $165,000 lots that pop up for sale occasionally, said Margo Jodoin, a member and part of the sales staff.

“It’s completely unique as a model,” Jodoin said. “But we all have the common denominators with our quest for camping, outdoors, and nature.”

Each lot is a bit different and designed around an RV, which typically comes with the lot when purchased. Some members have built wooden decks, fire pits or covered outdoor areas to expand on their sites. Members aren’t allowed to construct fully enclosed buildings on their sites, however, because the goal is to retain the campground feel, Jodoin said.

Lake Merwin Campers Hideaway was founded in 1971 by a group of local camping enthusiasts from Ridgefield, Battle Ground and Vancouver. They’ve all left, although a few of them still live nearby.

“It started out as a group of guys on their own,” said Dave Allmaras, a member and part of the facility’s sales team. “They did OK, but then they ran into cash flow issues, so they sold it to a Seattle developer.”

The developer built out the site until 1977, then sold it to members. And since then it’s been completely member owned and operated.

The hideaway also has some courtesy sites available for members’ friends and family for $18 a night. Site dues change every year and include water, electricity and garbage service. This year, they cost $1,247 per member, Jodoin said.

The hideaway has had close to record-breaking sales over the past two years. There are always people coming in and people moving out, though, which means interested buyers can usually find a spot up for sale, Jodoin said.

“We don’t even have to do any advertising,” she said. “One of the good things about our lake is it’s giant and there’s not a lot of public access.”

‘No one lives here’

Members also aren’t allowed to live at the site full time. The nonprofit campground only lets them stay for 30 consecutive days at a stretch.

“No one lives here,” said Allmaras. “It’s all just recreation. You can only be here for 234 days a year.”

The rules, aimed at keeping the campground from getting crowded, state that after being at the facility for 30 consecutive days, you have to leave for 20 hours before you can come back. The site itself, however, is open 365 days a year.

Most weekends, the camp is about 20 to 30 percent full, Allmaras said.

Kid friendly

The hideaway also does background checks on every member, which helps to create a more friendly environment for kids, he said.

“Kids are really safe up here,” Allmaras said. “It’s kind of a throwback to the old days.”

The site also has paid security and a volunteer neighborhood watch program.

“That’s one of the great things here — the kids can just be kids,” Jodoin said.

That was apparent after a chat with 5-year-old Cameron Bieber, who was enjoying a day out at the playground with his grandparents, Jamie and Jill Bieber, on that same lazy Friday in July.

“I like this playground and the golf course — oh yeah, and I also like the deer,” Cameron said eagerly of his time at the camp. “We named the little tiny baby (deer) ‘Little One,’ and the mother’s name is ‘Elly.’ ”

Cameron’s grandparents live in the Midwest and are retired. They often spend a month at a time up at the hideaway to be closer to their son, Cameron’s father, and his family, who live in Vancouver, they said.

“Our son wanted us to move out here,” Jamie Bieber said. “I told him best I could do is buy a camper. We started looking, and then I found a guy who was selling the place I bought here. We drove across the nation in April, looked at about 10 sites and the last one we saw, the price dropped and I ended up purchasing. We’re very satisfied.”

Across the hills at another campsite, Dave and Gayle Younghill sat outside relaxing, enjoying their retirement and reminiscing about when they used to bring their young children to the Hideaway.

“It’s just great being outdoors, listening to the birds all day,” Gayle Younghill said. “When we had young kids, this was just perfect.”

The Portland couple have been coming to the site fairly regularly since 1988, they added.

“It’s fairly low maintenance,” Dave Younghill said. “And we just love it out here.”

Busy marina

On busy weekends, the Hideaway also features a shuttle bus that takes campers from their sites to the popular waterfront area. Many guests also have boats, said Tim Gonzalez, the waterfront security volunteer.

“A large percentage of our membership have watercraft,” he said, estimating there are about 700 water vehicles on the site. “This is the place to be on a nice hot day. Get out on the lake or go swimming. We’ve even got areas for picnicking.”

Some of the watercraft include Jet Skis, pontoon boats and ski boats.

“We actually have the top female wakeboarder in the world coming here,” Gonzalez said.

Overall, the facility has 126 boat slips, he added.

“It’s a fairly large marina for that count,” Gonzalez said.

Members can also rent canoes and kayaks at the marina.

Meggie Chapman of Portland says she especially enjoys the waterfront. In the July weather she brought her son, Keegan Sardella, 5, and her niece Ellie Shipley down for a swim.

“It’s nice to get away from everything,” Chapman said. “It’s nice and quiet. We’ve had a place up here since I was in high school. We still have a bunch of friends up here. There’s just nothing like it.”