This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Salt Lake City KOA campground on North Temple used TRAX construction as an excuse to make some major renovations the past two years and it paid off.
The Billings, Mont.-based headquarters of Kampgrounds of America recently honored the campground with one of 50 2014 KOA President's and Founder's Awards at the group's annual international convention in Austin, Texas. KOA is celebrating its 51st anniversary this year.
The awards are presented annually to the campgrounds that receive the highest scores in customer service from their campers and also receive top scores in KOA's annual quality awards.
Preston Menlove, co-owner of the Salt Lake City facility, said owners have been extensively upgrading the campground the past two years and, as a result, it has been getting rave online reviews from visitors.
"We renovated the exterior of all of our buildings," Menlove said. "We renovated our bathrooms and did more landscaping. We upgraded our sites and playgrounds. We've been real aggressive over the past two years doing that."
Other improvements have included an updated Wi-Fi system to provide high-speed Internet across the park.
Park amenities include a pool, pavilion, hookups, hot tub, sauna, recreational vehicle and car wash, laundromat, free shuttle to Temple Square, cabins, kitchen, dog park, movie night and summer weekend pancake breakfast. The facility is on the new airport TRAX line and is near the Jordan River Parkway.
"About 50 campgrounds out of 485 in the system get the award," Menlove said. "It's based on the quality of reviews, our score when a review person comes through and assesses the park and customer feedback."
KOA was founded in 1962 on the banks of the Yellowstone River in Billings.
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