Campground usage proposed for Lock Haven’s Peddie Park

LOCK HAVEN, PA – The City of Lock Haven is looking at a request to develop a portion of Peddie Park into a campground. Tracy and Rob Ellis have approached City Hall, proposing a lease agreement to place 50 camp sites plus another ten glamping (upscale) sites on the city-owned land a mile north of town along the Susquehanna River in Allison Township.

The Ellis request is on the agenda for City Council’s Monday night meeting. Per information relayed from Kasey Campbell, the city’s Director of Community Life, the campground would be open from April to October; the site would be maintained by the Ellis’s. Campbell is recommending to council that it direct city administration to continue to explore the lease and review a draft of a lease agreement prepared by the couple.

According to information provided to the city by the Ellises, there is no public camping on the river, no overnight accommodations on the river; it is challenging to access kayak and boat drop offs; and the land at Peddie Park is not utilized to its full potential.

The city’s cost of maintaining the park is $15,000 a year, as of 2019, according to the Ellis-provided information. They said a lease with them would alleviate that financial burden. They also said there would be a boost to the local economy through the opening of a “family friendly” campground.

The Peddie Park site, formerly farmland, was acquired by the city more than half a century ago and has been used for amateur softball in recent years.