Thousand Trails is a membership campground company operating private trailer park and campground resorts (referred to as "preserves" in company parlance) in the United States and Canada. As of 2010, the company claimed to have 130,000 "member families" and over 80 preserves in 23 states and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Members typically pay a one-time membership fee and annual dues to use Thousand Trails campgrounds, which tend to cater to the owners of

recreational vehicles A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camp ...

. Over the years, Thousand Trails has offered different types of memberships. Some memberships allow members to have longer continuous stays at a campground and grant access to a greater number of campgrounds.

History

The company was founded by Milt Kuolt in 1969 with one campground in

Chehalis, Washington Chehalis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 7,439 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is located in the Chehalis valley and is split by Interstate 5 (I-5) and State Route 6 ...

, officially opening in 1972. In 1979, Kuolt made Thousand Trails a publicly traded corporation. Kuolt would go on to found the airline

Horizon Air Horizon Air is an American regional airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Alaska Air Group and it is paid by fellow group member Alaska Airlines to staff, ope ...

, which he sold in 1986 to

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the fifth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried, as of 2024. Alaska, togethe ...

. In 1991, Thousand Trails and another membership campground company, NACO (National American Corporation), both came under the umbrella of the newly formed USTrails, Inc. (which took the name Thousand Trails, Inc., in 1996). Concurrent with this consolidation, USTrails filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

bankruptcy in May 1991. In 1999, Thousand Trails, Inc. purchased the holding company that owned Leisure Time Resorts of America, Inc., a network of ten membership campgrounds in Washington and Oregon. Since that time, ownership has changed repeatedly: the private equity firm of Kohlberg & Co. purchased Thousand Trails for $113 million in 2003, Privileged Access Gp. Corp. of

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Collin County, Texas, Collin and Denton County, Texas, Denton counties. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth In ...

, bought it in 2006, and Equity Lifestyle Properties bought it in 2008. Thousand Trails began a program in the mid-2000s known as "Club Blazer", an education initiative to teach children environmental protection and stewardship. The company publishes its own magazine, ''TrailBlazer''.

Chehalis campground

The first resort, the Chehalis Thousand Trails location was first begun on and by the late 1970s, contained a pool and lodge. , the campground is part of a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

and contains 3,000 camp sites, a

Slip 'N Slide Slip 'N Slide is a children's toy invented by Robert Carrier and manufactured by Wham-O. It was first sold in 1961. The main form is a plastic sheet and a method of wetting it; when the surface is wet it becomes very slippery, thus allowing the ...

, and an open area known as Roy Rogers' Field, named in honor of the company's first spokesperson.

References

External links

{{Official website Camping in the United States 1969 establishments in Washington (state)