Hello Campers!
Have you ever been really happy, but also really nervous at the same time?
That's us, and we imagine that is many of you too. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has announced the state will move into Phase 4 of its coronavirus reopening plan on Friday, June 26
th
. We are so excited to be one more step closer to “normal fun,” but with that continues the responsibility of keeping our employees and all of you as safe as possible.
So, with the fun will also come rules and guidelines in order to do this. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) & Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) will give us guidelines that we are required to follow to reduce the spread of the COVID-19, however, other than self-quarantine there are no 100% safe activities.
The Coronavirus is still here and each person or parent has to decide their own risk tolerance. We will do our best to help our campers stay safe, but in the end everyone is responsible to stay at home if sick, wash hands frequently or use hand sanitizer, maintain 6' social distancing, and wear a mask when in close contact. We are all in this together and thank you to all who have taken this seriously.
We have been given some guidelines for outdoor recreation by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).
These basically state that
outdoor recreation facilities should limit group sizes to 50 customers, with multiple groups permitted if proper social distancing and group management is enforced. We will use these guidelines when planning for group activities. Capacity restrictions and group sizes may change throughout phase IV as they will be reassessed based on the latest science and public health metrics on an ongoing basis.
We know Phase IV allows for use of the pool and beach. However, the DCEO guidelines state that
recreational swimming will be allowed to reopen in accordance with other guidance published by IDPH, which we haven’t received yet.
This also happened in Phase 3 when campgrounds weren’t given guidance until almost a week after beginning of it. Like in Phase 3, and with what we know now about Phase 4, we have pieced together guidelines from other states and our national organization of campground owner’s to come up with what we feel are the best safety protocols for us regarding the pool and beach at this time. Once IDPH releases their guidelines we will re-assess ours and let you all know.
Below is a summary for the procedures we will be using in the 3 main areas that are new to being open in Phase 4.
Please remember we are trying to be fair to all our campers. We recognize that we are not going to make everyone happy, but we are doing our best. These are unusual times and this is our attempt at figuring out how to comply. We will modify our guidelines as needed every Friday. You will be notified on our seasonal Facebook page, Campers App or by email.
Playground:
Unfortunately, it is not possible to keep the playgrounds sanitized. Please bring sanitizer with you to wash your child's hands when using community playground equipment.
Beach:
- The beach will be open for swimming from 10a-4p on weekends. A lifeguard will be present on weekends, but not all weekdays. Campers are expected to watch their children at all times.
- Within the group of 50, please do your best to maintain a 6' distance from others not in your family in the water or on the beach itself.
- If we find that there are more than 50 wanting to swim at the same time, our lifeguards will clear the water and allow another group of 50 to swim. We will maintain this rotation every hour.
- All other beach rules still apply.
- We do not know how many people to expect for the beach, so this is truly trial and error. If you see that the beach is full and others are waiting to use the beach, please be considerate and share the time allotted.
Pool (large pool, kiddie pool, and hot tub):
- There will be six, 90 minute time slots each day with 30 minute breaks in between to sanitize.
- The pool has a maximum of 50 persons (every child counted) in the deck enclosure at a time. There are also 50 chairs of varying types. The deck chairs are spaced 6’ apart and should not be moved from the position you find them in.
- Of those 50 people
- Maximum 4 in the hot tub. Please limit your stay in the hot tub to 20 minutes to allow others their turn.
- Maximum 6 tots and 6 adults in kiddie pool area at a time. Please limit your stay to 20 minutes if others want to use the kiddie pool.
Here is how it will work:
- Only same day reservations will be taken. Each day between 8a-8:30a there will be an employee in the pavilion for any camper to sign up for a time slot for that day. This is being done so those without smart phones or computer access have an opportunity to sign up. Only one person from each campsite needs to come to the in-person sign-up. After 9 a.m. campers will be able to sign up online through Sign Up genius. A link to Sign Up Genius will be published on Campers App and our Seasonal Facebook Page.
- Sign Up Genius will ask for your Name, Campsite, Email address, how many in your party and a standard COVID symptom question.
- Campers may sign up for one time slot per day.
- Please show up for your assigned time slot within 15 minutes of the start time. If you are not there by that time your space will be given up to walk-ins.
- If there is availability during a time slot because 50 didn't sign up or show up, campers will be admitted at the gate on a first come basis until the maximum is reached.
- The 6 time slots will be as follows: 9-10:30a, 11-12:30p, 1-2:30p, 3-4:30p, 5-6:30p, and 7-8:30p.
- Each time slot is for 90 minutes. There will be a 30 minute intermission for the deck chairs to be sanitized, and the guard to have a break.
- There will be no morning adult swim time on weekends. Monday thru Friday the first time slot from 9-10:30a will be for adults only. Night adult swims are cancelled.
- A colored wrist band will be handed to you when you enter the pool area. That will allow you to leave and return to the pool area during your time slot. These are a one-time use only wristband and can be discarded after your session is over.
- Only one entrance and exit to the pool deck will be open. All other gates will be locked. Maintain safe distancing as you wait to enter.
- Face masks are permitted to be worn in the pool or on deck if desired.
- In order to be fair we are asking that you do not bring guests to the pool at this time. We need to save allotted space for our campers first.
- All other posted pool rules apply.
Please remember this is all new to us and every campground we know. There are no guidelines as to how to do this but we have given it a lot of thought and have followed what other campgrounds in other states are posting. Changes will most likely be made.
Please give us and our staff grace as we figure this out. We really feel that with everyone’s cooperation, patience and understanding this could work and we can bring back a favorite summer past time! If you ever have any concerns or kind suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us 847-546-2228 or by email at
[email protected]
