The Lemoines Spent a Decade Running a Michigan Campground

Buying the campground

Mark and Karla Lemoine had spent years camping when they decided to run a campground of their own. In August 2016, they bought the Coloma/St. Joseph KOA Holiday near Benton Harbor, Michigan. Mark had been reconsidering his future in state government. In KOA’s 2023 account, Karla said the strain of his work had been reaching into their family life. They chose a business tied to something they already enjoyed doing together.

The couple sold their home and used savings to buy the campground. KOA reported a $1.6 million purchase price. They were used to arriving at a campground with time set aside to be outdoors. Once the deal went through, they had a property to run and guests to look after. Camping had been something the family did with time away from work. Now the campground was their work.

What they bought had been in one family’s hands for decades. Ginter and Ursula Bansen opened the campground in 1974 on a former blueberry field, according to the campground’s 2024 retrospective. The Lemoines were the second owners. They took over a place that had already spent 42 years welcoming campers.

The work after the purchase

The Lemoines started with the bathrooms and the camp store. They renovated the bathrooms, updated the store and added a café. They also gave guests more ways to stay, including RV sites with patios and glamping tents. By the time the campground looked back on its first 50 years in 2024, the list of work also included renovations to the clubhouse. The changes touched the places where guests slept and the places everyone used.

There were changes in how the business ran, too. The couple hired year-round managers in 2022, according to the campground’s retrospective. In June 2023, KOA reported an estimated value of $6 million for the property. By then, the campground the Lemoines had taken over in 2016 included new places to stay as well as the facilities they had redone.

In their August 2026 announcement, Mark and Karla said they had sold the campground to KCN Campgrounds after ten years as owners. KCN confirmed the acquisition in September. The notice gave the couple’s plans for the months ahead. They hoped to retire at the end of 2026, travel more and spend time with their adult children and grandchildren.