For 11 years, Bear Ridge Campground and RV Resort in Boggs Township has provided its customers with a natural getaway, and they are now not only preparing for a change in ownership, but also a major expansion.
“The reason (the expansion) came about is we are busting at the seams here,” said Judy Tonya, the manager of Bear Ridge. “We don’t have enough spots for all the people who want to come in.”
Steven Tonya, Judy Tonya’s brother-in-law, is the current owner.
By the end of the month, the campground will change hands to the new owners — Doug and Lisa Snyder.
Judy Tonya will stay on as the manager.
“The owner now is ready to retire, but he wanted to sell it to somebody that would grow it in the way he knew it was meant to be,” Judy Tonya said. “Doug and Lisa Snyder were also campers here.”
Earlier this month, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that four small businesses throughout Pennsylvania were approved for low-interest loans through the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority program. Bear Ridge was among them. Bear Ridge will receive a $200,000, 15-year loan at a 3.75 percent fixed rate through the Southwestern Pennsylvania Corporation, the Wolf administration said in a press release. According to Tonya, the loan will enable further development on Bear Ridge’s 65 acres of property. This expansion, which will be completed this summer, will allow for 30 additional campers, bringing the total to approximately 150 camp sites, according to Tonya. By fall, the new owners hope to add two additional campers, and the winter will bring additions to the 3,000-square-foot lodge.
“When we bought this place, there was nothing here but a shell of a building,” said Tonya of the lodge. Even with growth this year, Tonya predicts that further expansion will be necessary. According to Tonya, they have seen an increase in customers in recent years, and many have been taking week long vacations there rather than just weekend getaways.
“I would say in the next few years we’re going to need another 100 sites,” Tonya said.