BY KEVIN MCCONLOGUE
Camping has always been one of the favorite activities of Mark and Lisa Zawadzki. So much of a passion, they decided to purchase their own campground.
The couple took over Cozy Creek Family Campground, located at 30 Vacation Lane in Tunkhannock, in February. They had spent parts of their summers at the campground for the past three years, and jumped at the opportunity when they heard it was for sale.
“I’m originally from Nanticoke, but I’ve had family in the Tunkhannock area so I’ve been coming here since I was young,” Lisa Zawadzki said. “It’s a totally different style of scenery than where we have been living, and I think it suits us better.”
So right after purchasing the campground, the Zawadzki family put their house up for sale in Nanticoke, moved up to the campground, and immediately started thinking about what improvements can be made to the area.
Some improvements made in the past seven months include a dog park, renovations to the inside of the cabins, and a fully functioning arcade for children to go inside and cool off on a hot summer day.
“Returning campers have been very happy with the improvements,” Zawadzki said. “The kids love the arcade. We’ve also put new swings and a slide on the playground, so we’re making the place a lot more kid friendly.”
Cozy Creek Family Campground offers three different types of camping options. There are two cabins, which can be rented. RV sites, which are $58 per day, and tent sites which are $31 per day. All campsites come with water, sewer and electricity, cable is optional. There are no limits on the length of someone’s stay.
“People can rent a site for a weekend, a month, or the whole summer if they want,” Zawadzki said. “We like to say, ‘the longer the stay the better.'”
The campground also features a swimming pool, a store, and a café which serves food specials on the weekend. Zawadzki said there has been a big increase in the amount of people camping this summer compared to previous years.
“I don’t think this increase is due to the pandemic winding down. This is the biggest number of people that the campground has seen in three years,” Zawadzki said. “People have been hearing about all of the improvements that have been made, and I think it’s attracting more campers.”
A lot of people view camping as a summertime activity, but Cozy Creek Family Campground is open all year round. Believe it or not, the winter still tends to be a busy time for people looking for a weekend getaway. The campground in the winter is also home for many workers in the gas industry who are working on projects.
“This is a very big area when it comes to natural gas, so workers come from all over the place to work on projects,” Mark Zawadzki said. “Last year, there were some who stayed in the cabins for a week at a time and went to work every day. I think that’s a really cool thing to be able to do.”
Cozy Creek Family Campground is still taking reservations for the rest of the summer. According to Zawadzki, there are still a couple weekends left where the cabins are available for rent.
Interested customers can call 570-836-4122, or show up to the campground office to make a reservation. RV and tent sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
