The Unique History of the Property

The Unique History of this Property

I will start this page off by introducing ourselves. My name is Sheri Crockatt and along with my husband Dennis we have created Rubber Ducky Resort and Campground. Also along on the adventure have been our two daughters, Haylie and Sarah. The land that is now a campground has not always been that way. Over the last few years we have transformed the family farm into a family campground.

This property was previously a mixed farm started by Dennis’ parents. Dennis’ father retired from farming in 1997 and we moved on to other ventures. We began Sherden Yard Services in approx 1996 and later branched out to start Rubber Ducky Hot Tub Rentals, which is now part of the Resort. During the majority of this time we lived in the town of Warren, but we knew that some day we would get back out to the farm. The thought of owning a campground had always been a dream in the back of our heads. Somewhere along the way the thought of converting the farm came up. It sounded a little crazy at the time, but here we are today.

One of the two barns that formerly housed hogs has been completely renovated and now houses the Crockatt family as well as four Bed and Breakfast suites. The second barn has been renovated into the recreation building for the campground.  What was once the barnyard is now a full service campground, playground and pool area. At one time there was a barn just south of where the playground is today. We have tried to preserve some of the heritage of the property.  The original machine shed still stands and is now used as a picnic shelter. The overflow and parking area was previously used as a pasture for the cattle. You’ll have to excuse us if we still refer to it as the pasture sometimes; some things are just hard to change. We still own approximately 200 acres surrounding the resort, which is still grain land.

We began renovation on the building that is now our home in mid July 2005 and had our first Bed and Breakfast guests on October 23, 2005. Our recreation building was renovated over that winter and we were open as a snowmobile warm-up shelter in January 2006. The first 30 campsites were finished in mid May 2006 and our pool area was completed in mid July 2006.  In the spring of 2007 we added a second phase of campsites which brought us up to 68 campsites and 4 rooms. During late summer and early fall of 2007 we began construction on the new trout pond. In the fall of 2008 we built a camping cabin to add another accommodation option for people that don’t have a camper and don’t want to tent. We modelled the cabin after the popular KOA models and it has been a popular option. Our rec building was also home to our office, retail area and restaurant which we quickly outgrew the original design. We spent the winter of 08/09 trying to figure out how to gain more space for this, but not take too much away from the community area. In the end we came up with a design that only took away a small area from the rec area, but added a more usuable space for our working. Once this was completed we were able to upgrade our concession area and the RDR Grill was born. We now have a fully functioning restaurant to offer some yummy snacks for our guests. In 2009 we realized that there was a great need for more seasonal campsites and what started as a simple comment turned into Pintail Bay becoming a new seasonal area. We made the choice to convert the tenting sites in Muscovy Cove into seasonal campsites at the same time. In spring 2010 we had a  total at 80 campsites, 4 motel-style rooms and 1 camping cabin.  In the fall of 2011 we did another minor reno and expansion. We upgraded some sites and added some new ones to put us at 87 campsites. Over the past couple years we have planted over 10,000 trees in anticipation of our next expansion. In 2012 it was time to go big or go home as the expression goes. Well we went big. We were thankfully blessed with an early Spring and in April construction began on a 2nd pool, 2nd hot tub and 120 campsites. Most of the sites were opened in summer 2012. That was whirlwind summer to say the least. The majority of these sites were seasonals and we welcomed over 80 new families to our campground. The final sites were opened in 2013.  Late in the Fall of 2012 we heard of some Bumper Boats for sale and this certainly piqued our interest. Things didn’t work out in the fall, but in the Spring we were able to give the bumper boats a new home and the kids have had a splashing good time ever since. We now have 6 Bumper Boats cruising the pond. Follow this Blog as our adventure continues. In 2014 the final portion of the big expansion was completed with a 2800sq ft addition to the Rec Building and Washrooms in the West area.

As we head into the Spring of 2015 we now have 205 campsites, 6 Motel Rooms, 1 Camping Cabin, 2 pools, 2 hot tubs, Bumper Boats, Mini Golf, Volleyball, Baseball Diamond, 3 playgrounds, and a screened in outdoor movie theater

Many of the details of our additions and expansions have been detailed throughout this blog. Be sure to check back through the archives.

We hope that you enjoy your stay with us.

Dennis, Sheri, Haylie and Sarah