Don Bennett has a very obvious love for camping.

“Our family is starting our 59th or 60th year of campground ownership," he said.

Running campgrounds is a family affair for Bennett so it only makes sense that he’s the president and CEO of Campground Owners of New York.  He said reservations are filling up quickly this year.

“Sometimes, you don’t go on vacation close to home and the fact that they did, they really enjoyed and rekindled what great resources New York has to offer,” said Bennett.

The for-profit association has about 190 members, all associated with independently owned campgrounds in the state. For these owners, revenue increased by about 30 percent in the 2020 season. And none of the grounds reported any COVID-19 incidents throughout the year.

“We were thrilled to be able to fill a niche that, frankly, people needed to get out of the house and get reacquainted with family,” said Bennett.

He said last season had a flux of cancellations and reservations. Early in the pandemic, the association's hired lobbying group pushed Albany to deem the businesses essential. Once that distinction was made, reservations skyrocketed.

“Early in the day, cancellations were coming in and by the end of the day, revenue might be close to the same with all the new reservations coming in. It was a very wild time for the front offices of the campgrounds,” said Bennett.

As for this year’s reservations, Bennett recommends keeping an eye out for mid-week openings.

Most campgrounds will open on April 15 with others opening on May 1 or May 15.

Bennett said most campground owners have already qualified to be vaccinated.