My son, Micah, and I took a quick 1-day drip to the Black Hills to investigate a potential land purchase. The land sold in the middle of our 6.5 hour drive.
But the trip was not in vain. We were able to line up our finances and capital. We connected with a property manager in the area. We visited area businesses and talked with other entrepreneurs.
We decided to visit a listed property that was off the beaten path in Keystone, and low-and-behold…we ran into Under Canvas! They are one of the biggest glamping operations in the world, and we stumbled across their Mount Rushmore operation. We stopped in and said hi to the manager, and she was kind enough to show us around.
Perhaps the nicest thing about the Black Hills is the lack of zoning. Building a glamping operation in northern El Paso County, Colorado, is extremely bureaucratic and expensive. The Black Hills, not so much.
But tourism is getting hit hard this year. The Black Hills is down considerably from last year, arguably because of the fear of recession and high gas prices. The area businesspeople are claiming 20%-40% drop!
That didn’t stop Micah and I from taking a helicopter ride! We’ll be back to the Black Hills, I’m sure, to expand our glamping endeavors.
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