Turning Moses Lake into a prime tourist stop
PHOTOS: Lakefront RV Park owner Beatriz Herrera sits in the spot where she's hoping to eventually put in a marina. Herrera cleared the area in order to accentuate her business' close proximity to the lake.
Lakefront RV Park puts emphasis on lakeside location
The owner of Lakefront RV Park says she's trying to make a peaceful environment.
Listening to Moses Lake lap up against the shore and the docks, it's easy to believe she's capable of doing it.
Beatriz Herrera, owner of the park — formerly known as Big Sun RV Park — since taking it over with her husband Bill in October, has a plan to incorporate the park's location on the lake to draw in business.
"We're changing the name to Lakefront so people can know we're on the lake," Herrera said. "It's open to the public, for RVers mostly. We have a few campers, but I want families here. I don't want party animals."
Aside from some of the people dwelling on park property as they work on Home Depot, Herrera said that she would prefer the clientele not be Moses Lake residents, but more temporary or vacationers.
"We get a lot of tourists from California in these beautiful big rigs, and I like them to pull in and have a nice memory of Moses Lake when they come," she said. "And then Canadians too. We get a lot of Canadians and people from California. People asked what there is to do in Moses Lake. 'We're just here for the night.' They're here on vacation."
As part of that plan, Herrera, her husband and her brother, grounds manager Mario Zamora, cleared away some of the trees and brush to allow a view of the lake. They also cleared an area for fishing, for flowers and camping down by the lake.
"You couldn't see this area; it was all jungle out here," Herrera said. "The trees were in pretty bad conditions, so we're just trimming them down so they can grow healthy again."
During the winter, Zamora remodeled the inside of the office building to include a game room and a place to socialize for people staying on the park.
Herrera and her husband were looking for an endeavor in Issaquah, after Herrera got tired of the rain and traffic congestion. They heard about the availability of the property through Zamora.
"It was on the market for three years," Herrera said. "I don't know why nobody bought it. Gosh, there's a lot of potential here. It's 850 feet of lakefront."
Herrera said she is working with the city to build a marina down by the water, in hopes of attracting tourists to pull their boats in and possibly even put in a little eatery. They're working with the city and architects and engineers to build the marina and make sure that they're not damaging the environment. Herrera would also like to start attracting birds in the coming years.
"Memorial Weekend was the first time we were busy," Herrera said. "Everyone was having a good time. They really like it here. There were kids out fishing, and people were just sitting around watching the boats and water skis … It's like entertainment."
Reaction from neighbors across the lake has also been favorable.
"We get people that look over here and have been watching what we are doing here and they go 'Can we take a drive?' " she said. "They say 'This is really nice what you've done to this place.'"
Herrera said that people are happy to hear that, as a member of the Zamora family, she was born and raised in Moses Lake.
"I came back and it's really nice," she said.
The park is zoned for 50 RV sites, most of which are full hook-ups but three are being worked on, Herrera said.
"We had this place packed," she said. "I couldn't take any more people."
Zamora and one or sometimes two Work Source students typically work on the property, Herrera said.
She said alcohol is allowed on the property, but not disorderly behavior.
"As soon as there's any complaints, you're out of here," she said. "Yeah, you can have a beer or a glass of wine with your family and your friends. Just no obnoxious people here. Because I want it to be a peaceful place, where they're going to come back again."
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