The wooded property near the Luverne City Park has been purchased by private investors for a possible campground site.
The Luverne Country Club owned the former Boy Scouts land and sold it earlier this month for roughly $36,000 to Billy Cowell and Mike Davis, with possible financial support by other investors.
Davis serves on the campground committee of local leaders and community volunteers who have been studying possible locations for a campground in Luverne.
“It’s a really firm possibility,” about recent committee discussions about that site as a campground.
Since it is outside of city limits, it would require a county zoning variance and approval from the Minnesota Department of Health, which regulates campgrounds.
Davis said the land is still just an idea for a campground, considering all the required approvals that would be involved.
“The campground committee has been working on this for a long time, and we’re hoping to finally have a possibility for a site,” he said.
The property, just over 13 acres, is located toward the south end of the wooded area between River Road and the railroad tracks. Dean Toftleland owns the piece north of the tracks.
The Boy Scouts once owned the entire piece, which is partially in the flood zone, and decades ago it was used for Boy Scouts camping activities.
Since then, however, the area has become overgrown, and Davis said some work has begun to clear the ground in order to plan for possible campground placement.
“We don’t want to clear too much, because we’ll want trees for the campground,” he said.
Davis said the size of the property isn’t big enough to make it a destination campground, but he said the committee has entertained the notion of splitting campsites between River Road and The Lake.
“We put it in Billy’s name, and with The Lake property in my name, we could possibly have two campgrounds,” he said.
Considering the future route of the Loop hiking and biking trail, the two sites could share that connection.
Davis said he also hopes to see action on the local canoe and kayak trail if a campground is established near the Rock River.
“Hopefully it will draw people down Main Street and bring some money into town,” he said.
The Campground Committee has not yet made a formal recommendation on the site but has it on the short list of possibilities.
Other areas that have been considered are Reese property east of the Luverne City Park (not for sale), city-owned property northeast of the old power plant (too wet), and property owned by Warren Baker east of the fairgrounds (which would have to clear conservation stipulations).
City leaders have indicated they’re not interested in having a government-run or owned campground, but they have pledged city support and dirt-moving services.