Fontana Dam – Members of the Graham County Travel & Tourism board discussed ways to rescue Cable Cove Campground from closure.
The U.S. Forest Service won’t reopen the 26-space campground, but a nearby boat ramp will remain open. With occupancy rates of only 17 percent (over a 10-year period), average annual fee receipts of approximately $9,500 per year barely cover costs for trash removal, restroom cleaning and landscaping, the National Forest Service has said. The facility has over $184,300 in deferred maintenance needs. An estimated $350,000 is needed to meet deferred maintenance needs, to install new restrooms to address health and safety concerns, and to comply with accessibility requirements.
During the board’s April 7 meeting, Dale Wiggins – a county commissioner who chairs the Travel & Tourism board – urged the board to seek ways to keep the campground open. Seeking a private operator to partner with the Forest Service to run the campground is one option, he said.
Wiggins said Duke Energy was approached in the 1990s to provide electricity to the campground, but nothing came of it.