Burlingame a jolt to summer economy

HAPPY CAMPERS: Christopher Craig prices batteries at the Burlingame state park store. / PBN PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD
HAPPY CAMPERS: Christopher Craig prices batteries at the Burlingame state park store. / PBN PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD

In the pine-wood forest of Charlestown lies 3,100-acre Burlingame State Campground, a somewhat-hidden economic driver that for years has brought people to the Ocean State. On its busiest weekends the park, which also encompasses Watchaug Pond, takes on the appearance of a small town.
Equipped with 775 camping spaces and 11 cabins, its weekend population can reach 4,500 campers, or a 57 percent increase in Charlestown’s 2010 census population of 7,827. Last year, 58,332 people visited the park.
“We’ve been busy this summer, especially with the weekends,” said Kellie Williams, who works at the campground’s check-in station. “During the weekdays this year has been slower than most but the weekends can get full.”
She faults some of the weekday absences to the campground’s updated reservation system, through which customers now can go online or on the telephone to book reservations in advance. Five or six years ago, the system didn’t exist. “We used to be on a first-come, first-served basis. Sometimes, people would start moving in on Wednesday to make sure they had a spot for the weekend. Now, people wait to the last minute and you can choose any weekend at your convenience,” Williams said.
But regardless of whether the weekdays are booked or not, the park’s impact is felt along Rhode Island’s central south shore.
At Michael’s Food Mart on Route 1, Charlestown, Burlingame can have an overwhelming effect on business. “Located where we are, we are a seasonal business to begin with,” said Chelsea Frade, manager of the all-purpose store and filling station, “but the effect the park has on us is obvious. The campground has [775] sites and if you multiply that by five or six people per family, it adds up quickly.
“Our deli gets very busy in the summer – it’s closed in the winter – and aside from [gasoline], we also stock a lot of firewood and propane tanks,” Frade said. Last fall, the building underwent construction in order to add an outdoor ice cream stand, which Frade says has performed well. “People go camping but on vacation stopping for a grinder or an ice cream is what they like to do.”
Inside the park sits the camp’s privately managed general store. For parents it’s a place to get anything, from cereal and souvenir mugs to sleeping bags and dog food. For children it’s a chance grab a toy or to play a video game. Manager Howard Bentley has been there for 11 years. “It’s still too slow,” he complained on Aug. 7, while conducting inventory, “especially on the weekdays. It used to be that year after year you would see the same faces but it’s not like that anymore.”
He agrees that booking sites in advance diminished the amount of weekly vacationers. But stocking the store has become easier and better organized. “I usually call the front office to see how many people will be coming here on Friday. They are usually out of here by Monday and that’s how I plan the deliveries. So far it is working out fine, but I’m really not ordering for the entire weeks,” he said.
“Years ago, families would come up and stay for two weeks. After a few days they would run out of supplies, anything from food to laundry. Now with families just staying the weekends they need less supplies,” he said.
The state doesn’t keep track of the park’s effect on the local economy, “But I can tell you that [Burlingame] is the largest state-run campground,” said Robert J. Paquette, chief of the state’s parks division. “Knowing that and its location near the south shore and beaches, I think it is clear that it has an [economic] impact.”
With more than 3,000 acres and the potential for 775 families, each weekend Charlestown’s population sees a big boost, with a parade of tourists along Route 1. Restaurants such as The Cove, The Hitching Post in Charlestown and Applebee’s and Cody’s in Westerly reap the benefits throughout the summer.
Frank Glista is a longtime Charlestown resident and chairman of the town’s Economic Improvement Commission.
“We certainly see [a population increase] at our beaches,” he said. “People stop at our local stores and pick up a drink or a sandwich to go,” he said. “The people at Burlingame that head to our beaches take advantage of that.”
Glista also noted that the tourism season has started to end a little earlier over the last decade because many school systems, regardless of location, tend to start in late August. “Burlingame is still a big influence on the weekends but during the week we have been seeing less traffic on the roads in the latter half of August,” he said. The Rhythm & Roots Festival is scheduled for Labor Day weekend at Ninigret Park, a town-run facility also home to the Big Apple Circus and the annual Charlestown Seafood Festival. “That’s where we’ll have our last big influx of the season, and I’m sure Burlingame will be filled, which is good news for our delis and restaurants,” he said.
Such has been the case for businesses and beaches around the park for almost 80 years, when the Metropolitan Park Commission began purchasing land around Watchaug Pond, leading to Burlingame Reservation, and ultimately, Burlingame State Campground.
In 1930, the land was simply a wildlife preserve, but by 1934, it was opened as Burlingame State Reservation, or state park, named after commission Chairman Edwin A. Burlingame.
Like almost all parks of its era, it became a home to the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Depression-era Worker’s Progress Administration relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942, through which the unemployed constructed roads and trails. Twenty years ago the camp underwent a comprehensive overhaul that included upgrading the camp sites, sanitary services and amenities, thanks to some federal and state grants.
The camp has also seen some competition lately from Ninigret Park. During events such as the Rhythm & Roots Festival held every Labor Day weekend, Ninigret also provides camping at competitive prices.
Burlingame’s amenities, however, keep tourists and campers coming back, which is also good news for the state. Last year park fees generated $850,000 for state coffers.
The park and environs abound with nature trails and wildlife, including the state-run management area, Kimball Wildlife Refuge, Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge and the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Kettle Pond Visitor Center. In the middle sits Watchaug Pond, a 570-acre freshwater pond.
At the Charlestown Mini-Super on Old Post Road, manager Jerry Smith always looks forward to the uptick in summer business from Burlingame.
“The huge camping area makes all the difference,” he said. “When [campers] come in the summer they will bring a little food with them for a night or two but then they will come shop here.” •

No posts to display