Thousand Trails is a membership campground company operating private trailer park and campground resorts (referred to as "preserves" in company parlance) in the United States and Canada. As of 2010, the company claimed to have 130,000 "member families" and over 80 preserves in 23 states and the Canadian province of British Columbia.[1] Members typically pay a one-time membership fee and annual dues to use Thousand Trails campgrounds, which tend to cater to the owners of recreational vehicles. Over the years, Thousand Trails has offered different types of memberships. Some memberships allow members to have longer continuous stays at a campground and grant access to a greater number of campgrounds.
History
editThe company was founded by Milt Kuolt in 1969 with one campground in Chehalis, Washington, officially opening in 1972.[2][3] In 1979, Kuolt made Thousand Trails a publicly traded corporation.[2][4] Kuolt would go on to found the airline Horizon Air, which he sold in 1986 to Alaska Airlines.
In 1991, Thousand Trails and another membership campground company, NACO (National American Corporation), both came under the umbrella of the newly formed USTrails, Inc. (which took the name Thousand Trails, Inc., in 1996).[4] Concurrent with this consolidation, USTrails filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 1991.[5]
In 1999, Thousand Trails, Inc. purchased the holding company that owned Leisure Time Resorts of America, Inc., a network of ten membership campgrounds in Washington and Oregon.[6] Since that time, ownership has changed repeatedly: the private equity firm of Kohlberg & Co. purchased Thousand Trails for $113 million in 2003,[7] Privileged Access Gp. Corp. of Frisco, Texas, bought it in 2006,[8] and Equity Lifestyle Properties bought it in 2008.[9]
Thousand Trails began a program in the mid-2000s known as "Club Blazer", an education initiative to teach children environmental protection and stewardship. The company publishes its own magazine, TrailBlazer.[2]
Chehalis campground
editThe first resort, the Chehalis Thousand Trails location was first begun on 640 acres (260 ha)[3] and by the late 1970s, contained a pool and lodge. As of 2007[update], the campground is part of a nature reserve and contains 3,000 camp sites, a 100 foot (30 metres) Slip 'N Slide, and an open area known as Roy Rogers' Field, named in honor of the company's first spokesperson.[2]
References
edit- ^ "About Us". Thousandtrails.com.
- ^ a b c d VanTuyl, Aaron (August 11, 2007). "A Thousand Trails for 35 YearsParty Today: Membership Camping Started in Chehalis". The Chronicle. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ a b "Thousand Trails Concludes Year-Long 50th Anniversary Celebration Year Filled with Events, Giveaways and Time Capsules". PRNewswire (Press release). December 19, 2019. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
- ^ a b "fundinguniverse.com".
- ^ New York Times, Jan. 10, 1992, page D4
- ^ "highbeam.com".[dead link]
- ^ New York Times, May 1, 2003, page C4
- ^ "woodalls.biz". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ "woodalls.biz". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
