SANTEE LAKES RECREATION PRESERVE WINS NATIONAL AWARDS

Source: Santee Lakes

November 13, 2024 (Santee) — Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve received “Large Park of the Year” for Park and Campgrounds and “Plan‐It Green Park of the Year” awards from the Outdoor Hospitality Industry (formerly ARVC) at its annual Outdoor Hospitality Conference in Oklahoma City on November 6, 2024. 

This marks the 5th year Santee Lakes has received Park of the Year and the 9th year for Plan-It Green Park of the Year national awards.

“Santee Lakes is honored to be named the National 2024 Large Park of the Year and Plan-it Green Park of the Year award at the Outdoor Hospitality Industry (OHI) Annual Conference and Awards of Excellence ceremony. This national recognition highlights our team’s commitment to enhancing the lives of our guests through exceptional camping and recreation experiences”, said Cory Kading, Park & Recreation Director at Santee Lakes. 

The OHI Awards of Excellence serve as a platform to acknowledge and appreciate the exemplary efforts of individuals, businesses and parks within the outdoor hospitality community. These awards encompass various categories, recognizing excellence in areas such as campground operations, customer service, marketing, innovation, environmental stewardship, and community involvement. By honoring exceptional achievements, the OHI Awards of Excellence inspire the community to strive for greatness and continuously raise the bar in the industry.

A few of the items highlighted include:

• Guest Experience – How the park strives to give guests a great experience at the park & campground
• Amenities – Recreational activities and services offered to provide a great guest experience
• Guest Reviews – What guests say they appreciate about the park
• Marketing — How th park generates traffic to the facility
• Social Media — How social media is used to generate attention for the park

The “Plan‐It” Green Award recognizes campgrounds that practice green initiatives throughout the facility. Santee Lakes strives to provide excellent facilities in a natural environment. One of the park’s objectives over the last five years has been to become a green park. Some of the projects making Santee Lakes green include:

• Two million gallons of water daily is recycled at the Water Reclamation Facility and the water flows through Santee Lakes and creates a recreation area that greets more than 760,000 visitors annually. The water recycling project diverts 2 million gallons of partially treated sewage from entering the Pacific Ocean every day, 730 million gallons every year
• Solar RV Storage Project with 14,000 solar arrays attached to RV storage units, which generate 50% of the campground energy needs while providing high demand RV storage facilities
• The recycling program has been successful in diverting ten tons of waste from entering the local landfill annually.  By separating green waste, another 50 tons is diverted each year.
• The Urban Forestry Program, with 2,103 trees in 53 varieties, absorbs 97,000 lbs. of carbon every year

OHI is a leader in outdoor hospitality and is the only national association exclusively representing the interests of private RV parks and campgrounds in the U.S. They serve and provide value‐added service to over 3,000 members.

Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve hosts over 760,000 visitors a year. The 190‐acre park with seven beautiful recycled water lakes provides amenities including camping, fishing, boating, special events, playgrounds, trails, and approximately 230 bird species. Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve is owned and operated by Padre Dam Municipal Water District. It is self‐sustaining, receiving no funds from  water/sewer ratepayers or taxpayer subsidies.  The park operates from user fees, grants, awards and collaborations with community groups and organization partnerships. Santee Lakes is located at 9310 Fanita Parkway, Santee in San Diego County. Call 619‐596‐3141 or visit www.santeelakes.com [1]for additional information.