Last Call for Lions Club Campground at Mineral Lake

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As it has been for every recent Labor Day, the Lions Club campground at Mineral Lake was filled with RVers out to enjoy some fishing and time away from home Monday.

But a somber cloud hung over the south shore because this could very well be the last holiday weekend the campground is open. 

The Lions Den campground, as it’s called, has been operated by the Mineral Lions Club since the early 1970s. They rent it out to RVers at $105 per month and then give the proceeds to a number of charitable causes around Mineral. From the beginning, the club has rented the property from Murray Pacific lumber company, but the property has now been sold to Sierra Pacific Industries, and it doesn’t appear the company is going to renew the agreement. 

In fact, the company gave lessees until Dec. 1 to move all of their things out.

“It’s terrible, we’re devastated,” Butch Carvalho, a 32-year campground visitor, said. “Everybody down here is devastated; we’re all family.”  

Joe Johnson, of the Mineral Lions Club, said they received the notice to vacate from Sierra Pacific about two weeks ago. He said the space is just one of dozens of sites that came with the Murray purchase. He had heard rumors about the property being sold for about three years, but thought by keeping the property looking clean it would keep them from changing it. He’s heard the company was just going to chain the gate shut.

Like many people, he’s hoping the decision is only temporary, something to give the company time to understand their new investment, rather than a permanent eviction. But without it, he said, the club’s fundraising is “back to bake sales.” 

“We’ve donated over $100,000 to the fire department. This campground keeps the tavern open — which is the only food source other than the grocery store. We have scholarship programs we contribute to … just about any community needs from food banks to eyeglasses exams.”

He’s doubtful bake sales will match the revenue brought in by the campground. 



For most of the people who come to the Lions campground it has become far more than a parking spot. It has evolved into a summertime neighborhood. They feel invested in the place, and several have said it has the type of community they’re unable to find in their own neighborhoods back home. 

The residents leave their trailers for months at a time and have maintained the property by putting in gravel roads and installing above-ground powerlines. During the camping season, they have big potluck meals and spend time together. In the off season they take fishing trips to Mexico or go crabbing in Puget Sound together. 

“There are so many people’s ashes spread in this lake,” said Scott Nuckolls, a Spanaway resident and a more than 20-year visitor of the campground. “When people die they want to be out there so we’ll have a funeral service in our pontoon boats on the water.”

A few years ago, he invited a friend who met another visitor and eventually married her. Now they too have become resident campers. 

Nancy Barnes, a bartender at the Headquarter Tavern across the street, has mixed feelings about the situation. She said she doesn’t believe Sierra Pacific would shut the place down given all the history that is there. But if they do she worries about the ripple effects on the Mineral economy if they do close it. The Lions Club supports the local fire department and gives to a number of other causes. The majority of their income comes from the campground. 

“If that shuts down, they’re killing a town,” she said. “I’m not worried because I started a home business. I’m worried for the town itself, but … I hope they’d continue to do something for the community.”

No one from Sierra Pacific was available Monday due to the holiday.