CAMPGROUND RULES
MAXIMUM TRAILER LENGTH 35 FT. WE WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT TRAILERS MORE THAN 35 FT LONG.
FOR THE 2024 SEASON WE ARE CURRENTLY ACCEPTING ONLY SEASONAL CAMPERS AND NOT ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE ANY SHORT-TERM OR “WEEKENDER” CAMPING.
For the past couple of seasons we have been full with seasonal campers and are not able to accommodate any short-term campers.
BOWDISH LAKE CAMPING AREA
Campground Rules for Seasonal Campers
– Please read carefully. Permits for season-long camping are issued with the understanding that our rules will be followed. Our purpose is to provide wholesome family recreation for persons who respect rules.
ALCOHOL Intoxication will not be tolerated. If you are heavy into drinking, please camp some other place. Alcohol can be consumed on campsites only. No alcohol in our buildings or on our beaches at any time. We will evict campers who persist in being noisy with drinking. It is against the Law for any adult to give alcohol to a minor or for any minor to accept alcohol. The penalty is a fine and loss of license.
ALTERATIONS No renting of space or facilities takes place at Bowdish Lake Camping Area. You pay a fee to camp on a designated site, but you may not do anything to alter it. Surrounding woods and undergrowth is to be protected from damage. All sites must be kept clean and free of unused or non-camping items.
BOATS We want to keep the lake safe for young people, for small boats and for fishing. We do not encourage motors larger than 10Hp and charge fees to discourage them. Boats can be launched only where designated. There is no space for trailers to be left at the launch area. Trailers must be returned to your site while boat is in use. Never leave boat-trailers parked along our roadsides. All boats and boat-trailers must be registered. Fees apply. BLCA is not responsible for any boat or trailer brought into the camp. At the end of the camping season, boats must be removed or stored only on campsites for which storage fees have been paid.
CAMPFIRES Our permit allows campfires only if they are contained within a ring of stones, flames are never more than 12 inches high, they are never left unattended and are fully extinguished by midnight. Fires cannot be re-lit before morning daylight. No fire pit can exceed 30 inches in diameter, cannot be closer than 6 feet from any tree and cannot be located where heat will damage trees. Large fires invite eviction without refund, for reasons of public safety.
CLOTHESLINES No permanent lines can be installed. If you need a temporary line (no more than 2 days) tie your line loosely around a tree. Never use nails, screw-eyes or any other kind of inserted fastener.
CURFEW Respect your neighbors’ right to have quiet as you would like them to respect you. All persons are to be quiet between the hours of 11 p.m. and 9 a.m.
DECKS Decks must be made of pressure-treated material or exterior-grade materials in easily removable sections. (No pallets or plywood allowed due to deterioration.) All decks must have written permission of owner for size and material and construction method. A refundable, removal deposit will be required.
DECORATION/ORNAMENTATION Please limit ornamentation. No plastic fences, flowers, birds, signs, etc. No edgings of stumps or stones. No painting of stumps or stones. No nails in trees. No storing of unused or non-camping items on your site. NO OUTSIDE APPLIANCES. No auto seats. Just “woodsy”, please.
DOCKS No permanent dock can be built without a State permit. Allowable docks must be easily removable and can be no longer than 12 feet. Docks are considered private to the site they are at, must be clearly marked “PRIVATE” and are not to be trespassed by others. Docks, being private property, are the liability of the site occupant, not of the camping area, and must be kept in good repair for safety.
The signing of an insurance waiver is required for all docks.
ELECTRICITY The electricity usage is monitored by meters and charged monthly by kwh. There is a deposit required at the beginning of the season and a minimum charge per month. NO OUTSIDE REFRIGERATORS. We reserve the right to unplug ANYTHING left on outside when no person is at the site. Anyone who tampers with any electric box/meter will be evicted without refund.
EQUIPMENT Each permit allows one camping unit, one factory manufactured screen room and one transportation vehicle. No equipment can spill over into the natural growth around your site. Units more than 10 years old must be approved and may require a removal deposit, refundable when the unit is removed. No season permits will be issued to Tents, Buses, Vans, Truck Caps, Mobile Houses or to units in poor condition.
EVICTION Evictions for failure to make payment or for failure to obey rules will be made without refund. It is understood by all parties that BLCA will remove all equipment from any site for which fees have not been paid timely and will reclaim the site for use by others. BLCA is in no way responsible for the condition of vehicles or equipment so removed. Determination of cause for eviction will be at the sole discretion of BLCA.
EXTRA CHARGES It is our policy to charge based on what you use which is why we have a base site fee and extra fees which include, but are not limited to, electricity, extra vehicles, golf carts, children over the age of 14, extra adults, dogs, boats and boat-trailers.
EXTRA PERSONS For each child over the age of 14 in an immediate family, the charge is $100.00. Other persons, related and un-related, will be charged camper visitor fees each time they come.
FEES (see Extra Charges) The season camping fee varies depending on location, size of site, privacy, closeness to bathhouse or waterfront, etc. Ask at the office for the base fee for the site you are interested in. (see Payments)
FENCES No fences of any kind can be installed. If you have a fence, please remove it. We want to maintain the natural appearance of our property.
FIREPLACES Only loose stones or cinder-blocks can be used to create a fire-ring. No mortar, please. Size can not be greater than 30 inches across, all ways. No fire-ring can be placed closer than 6 feet from any tree or in a place where heat will damage the trees above it. Ask at the office before moving or constructing fire-rings.
FIREWOOD Only cut and split logs can be used. No trash or scrap or construction materials. (It causes flying hot ash and leaves nails, etc. in fire pits.) Do not have more than ½ cord of wood delivered to your site. Never pile firewood in the woods surrounding your site. The value of our property is in our woods. Never try to burn long pieces which overhang the fire-ring.
GRANDCHILDREN Campers may bring their grandchildren under age 14 to camp without charge. If their parents are with them however, then season camper visitor fees apply.
MOTORCYCLES No motorcycles or motorized bikes are allowed in camp either by campers or their visitors. No exceptions. Our insurance forbids them. If you regularly use a motorcycle, we suggest you find another place to camp.
MOTORIZED CARTS Carts with motors (golf carts) are treated as extra vehicles. They must carry liability insurance and can be driven only by licensed drivers. We reserve the right to deny use of carts when their use endangers others.
NOISE No radio or TV is to be played loud enough to be heard by your neighbor. We ask you to understand that our entertainment sometimes creates noise which can be heard from the Pavilion or from sports areas. However, we remind you that all Pavilion activity ends at 10:30 p.m. and sports contests are of limited time.
PARENTS OF SEASONAL CAMPERS Parents of seasonal campers may visit (not camp) without charge. A visit is defined as a period of 1-2 hours spent with family members with no participation in the programs or use of facilities of the camp. Parents vehicles will be charged fees on weekends and holidays. Parents who come to camp or for longer than 2 hours, will register and pay the published season camper visitor fees.
PARKING All roads must be kept clear at all times for emergencies by Town Law. Each site is allowed one vehicle, to limit traffic on our roads. All vehicles in excess of one will be charged fees. No vehicle can be parked on an empty campsite, at either beach, at the boat launch area, at the rec halls or on any roadbed at any time for any reason. It is a condition of our license to keep the camp accessible for emergency vehicles. For events at Safari Field, vehicles may be parked on the grass where directed. Speed limit of 10 mph must be observed for safety. Speed creates dust, and children are everywhere. Study the arrows on our site map and follow one-way roads. No practice driving by unlicensed drivers in camp.
PATHS Do not clear or construct paths in our woods. You may not clear additional space for your use in the woods next to your site. Our woods are important to us. Please value and protect our woods.
PAYMENTS For new campers, a 10% deposit is required to reserve a site prior to bringing trailer in. For repeat and new season campers, 25% of the base site fee is due on or before October 15; 25% is due on or before February 28; and full payment must be made prior to May 15. No use of a stored unit may be made until fees are paid in full. Should scheduled payments not be made BLCA shall have the right to make the site available to others. Campers who ask to camp seasonally after the season has begun must pay in full before the selected site can be occupied. Should BLCA be required to remove a unit from a site for non-payment, a charge of $50.00 will apply.
PERSONAL PROPERTY Bowdish Lake Camping Area and its Owners are not responsible for personal property of any kind.
PERSONS INCLUDED IN PERMIT A season camping permit allows either of the following to camp on the designated site from the date of the full payment to Columbus day 1) Two Parents and all their children 14 and under (in immediate family); 2) Two Adults without children. No sharing of a site or doubling of families on one campsite can occur due to limits in our license.
PETS We love pets but are required by our insurance to limit and control them. Dogs must be of approved breed; cannot roam free; must be on a leash; cannot be in our buildings, on our beaches or in the water anywhere near where swimming occurs; must have required shots; must be licensed; and must be cleaned up after. Do not use staked leashes which cause damage to our woods. Should we receive complaints of barking or running unleashed, we will require such pet be taken out of the camp.
REFUNDS The 10% site fee deposit made to hold a specific site is non-refundable but may be transferred to another site. This is to assure that choice sites are not tied up wherein other opportunities for their use may be lost. Refunds of camping deposits, with a $50.00 processing fee withheld, will be made only prior to April 30 of the year for which the deposit was made. Deposits made after April 30 will be returned, if requested, only within three days of the date of the deposit. Should any camper leave mid-season, for any reason, including eviction, no refund will be made.
SCREEN ROOMS For insurance reasons, only factory-manufactured screen-rooms will be allowed. “Home-made” rooms have been proven to be a safety hazard in not being built to code i.e. able to withstand weights, collapse causing damage and possible injury.
SEASON The camping season begins on the Friday in May closest to the fifteenth, as weather allows and ends on Columbus Day at 5 p.m. No camping can be allowed prior to the posted opening date due to limits in our license and insurance; facilities not being fully operational and/or inspected and approved for use.
SITE IMPROVEMENTS Any improvements to the site such as adding gravel, crushed stone or other landscaping, must have prior approval from the Owner. Understand that if you make ANY type of improvement, whether you had permission or not, that improvement becomes a permanent part of the site. Should you leave the campground or move to another site, you will not be allowed to remove stone or landscaping. You may not destroy the site or leave it such a mess that it is unrentable to the next person without a lot of landscaping.
SIZE OF TRAILERS Camping units longer than 35 feet require permission by Owner for location to avoid infringement on the views from surrounding campsites. We require that you select a site that is compatible with the size of your unit.
STORAGE Trailers may be stored over the off-season months only if fees are paid in advance and only if information required by the Town of Glocester is provided. Bowdish Lake Camping Area, its Owners, or Managers, are not responsible for or liable for stored property. No storage is allowed during the camping season. Any unit left for winter storage without fee paid or form filled out incurs a penalty of $200.00. Any camper or equipment stored for the winter (without reserving site for following season) must be removed from site by April 1st.
TARPS To maintain the beauty of our Camping Area, blue tarps will not be allowed during the camping season. Only brown tarps may be used to cover firewood, grills, etc.
TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP No transfer of ownership of any unit can be made by any seasonal camper without prior notice and permission of the camp Owners. Contracts for seasonal camping are not transferable. No exceptions.
VISITORS All visitors must be registered and fees must be paid, each time they come. This includes all children. Seasonal campers are responsible for the actions and behavior of their visitors, at all times. Liability which accrues to the camping area from actions of visitors shall be defended by the seasonal camper being visited. Failure to register visitors invites eviction.
WATERFRONT SITES Any seasonal camper occupying a waterfront site must follow the directives of the DEM to prevent environmental impact on the lake or pond by keeping all equipment and activity other than lake or pond access, back no less than twenty feet from the water’s edge. It is essential that the natural plant growth is not impeded. You may NOT clear your site down to the water’s edge. Plants and their roots protect the lake water from polluting run-off. Care should be taken not to dispose of liquids or solids of any kind into the lake or pond water. BLCA reserves the right to inspect all waterfront campsites and to instruct any camper in the requirements of compliance.
