Blue Lake RV park

The new owners of Blue Lake RV Resort have made several improvements to the Naples park with more in the works, including the addition of up to 20 more sites.

“I wish we had them now,” said Heidi Carson, who in February purchased the Highway 95 RV park with her fiancé James Boraski.

“We’ve been extremely busy,” Boraski added. “We’ve had quite the first year. We’ve had a lot of Canadians and travelers. A lot are staying for a week.”

So far 1,200 people have been through the park, Carson said. She estimates that at least one-half of those folks traveled to Bonners Ferry.

“One third have bought stuff and have said what a nice downtown we have,” she said.

The couple renovated the sites and the park to accommodate big rig RVs. They said they are the first RV Park in Idaho to qualify for the yellow "big rig friendly" symbol on the Idaho State Tourism signs on the highway.

Blue Lake has 14 full-hookup sites and 14 partials, which means they offer water and electric only. They are developing eight to 16 more partials for next year, and four to five more full hookups.

Blue Lake now offers Wifi, a new bath house with individual bathrooms with on-demand hot water and radiant floor heat. The couple continues to work on its a laundry facility and a clubhouse with kitchen to seat 50 guests.

The clubhouse is designed to accommodate RV groups, weddings and reunions, and serve as a lounge area for guests when not reserved.

The lakeside deck, dock and lake are open for guests. The catch-and-release lake is stocked with trout, Kayaks and a canoe are available for rent.

There is also a group fire pit, ladder ball, horseshoes, ping pong, jumbo checkers, volleyball and badminton.

Blue Lake RV Resort also features a boutique Civil War tent. The 12- by14-foot canvas wall tent sits on the lake and features a log bed, bistro table and optional linens. The Pole Tent site is cozy with a fire pit, table and barbecue grill, and picks up Wifi. Shortly, it will have an electric fireplace inside the tent.

Boraski and Carson managed a 5 star RV resort in Anacortes, Wash., for the last two years when parents and long-term residents Pat and Xyla Carson found the Naples park for sale. Together with brother Matt Carson, the couple purchased Blue Lake RV Resort from previous owners Valencia Voth.