Fox Lake has always been home to the Haugen family

But now it IS home – literally – and the family couldn’t be more thrilled!

Mark Haugen, son of Orvis and Debbie Haugen, is a Grygla High School 1999 graduate. He and his wife Amanda have recently purchased a 70+ site campground just north of Bemidji and they feel right at home.

Mark’s family has been going to Fox Lake Campground of Bemidji (formerly Hamilton’s Fox Lake Campground) since Mark was around 10 years old; almost 30 years now. His parents, Orvis and Debbie, have been seasonal there since 1997.

“Our girls have been coming here since they were newborns,” shared Amanda. “We came every weekend to visit family and just hang out!” Mark and Amanda have two daughters, Jillian, age 9, and Alix, age 7. Around the 4th of July last year, Mark told Amanda the campground was for sale and the couple joked about buying it. The previous owners ran it for 43 years and were soon set to retire. “We started talking about what we’d do to make it our own, which led to researching if it was something we could do or actually wanted to do,” Amanda laughed. 

Deciding to make the leap, the couple moved forward with their ideas and plans, and the campground was officially theirs on March 18th, 2019.

After meeting at Bemidji State in 1999 and getting married in 2004, Mark and Amanda previously lived in Park Rapids and most recently, Becker, MN, where they lived for the last 6 years. They now reside on site at Fox Lake Campground. Among all the personal and professional perks, their new home is also only five minutes away from their girls’ new school and also has a 54-foot deck overlooking the beautiful lake view. 

Approximately 10 minutes north of Bemidji, the manager’s residence is right within the 13-acre campground. “13 acres isn’t a lot,” explained Amanda. “But 13 acres on 1100 feet of shoreline is pretty special.” 

Fox Lake Campground is entirely along the shore line, which means excellent lake views for every guest. The quiet lake is on the Turtle River chain of lakes. There are some resorts nearby, but they don’t have a lot of RV capabilities so people are sent on over to FLC. Amanda said a lot of fishermen go after pan fish on the quiet lake, with many using the connected channel to venture onto a bigger lake for the day. 

FLC has four docks people can use and, as mentioned, 70+ sites; 40 of those are seasonal spots. Everything is full hookup – sewer, water and electric. People can also put tents up.

Guests and visitors will immediately be drawn to the sandy beach at Fox Lake Campground and will have water toys at their fingertips, which includes access to paddle boats, kayaks, canoes (and life jackets). On site is a playground, volleyball and basketball courts, a campground store and game room.

Amanda said she loves to decorate and her big goal this year is to attack the game room and store. “I love all things cozy, comfy, bright and shiny! My goal for the store is to make it more of a boutique with clothing available inside,” she explained. “As for the game room, we’re trying to make it a little more loungy where guests can sit back with their coffee or ice cream and just enjoy a different vibe. We’ll also have a little library nook going in, too,” she confirmed.

The previous owners still own a lot across the road and will help the Haugens with some mentoring and maintenance the next couple of months. 

Fox Lake Campground officially opens for the season the weekend of May 3rd; fishing opener is May 11th. 

While the role of being new owners will keep them quite busy, Mark is also still working full-time with the U of M Extension based out of Crookston, where he’ll travel 1-2 times a week, in addition to working from his home office. Amanda owned a photography studio for the last 15 years and still plans to do some photographing, but says it’ll look a bit different now with this transition. 

She says, “Photography has helped me a lot in doing my own web design and social media marketing.” That design and photography image background helps Amanda manage the campground’s new website and monthly newsletter, among other things. Amanda has been taking photos at Fox Lake for years and now gets to use some of those photos for advertising purposes! 

One of the biggest changes made to the website, also includes online reservations being an option. You can check out Fox Lake Campground of Bemidji on Facebook and online at campatfoxlake.com. The office/store phone number is 218-586-2231. You can also send any questions/comments to info@campatfoxlake.com

As the April 2019 newsletter states, “Good things come to those who camp.” 

The Haugens are sure to agree with that as they set out on this new endeavor.