Thanks for checking out our blog!
How it all started....
Riverside Retreat is the dream of Taya and Shannon Burke. As the saying goes, Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life. While is may be true for some dreams, let me tell you, building a campground from scratch is hard work. Its satisfying and rewarding work, but still hard work.
In the beginning, the work was all chainsaw and clearing trees. The area that was to become Riverside Retreat was heavily treed with a few ATV trails crossing through. It was Shannon that could see the campground through the forest, planning out the road, where to put the campsites, the best spot for the office and where to set up the playground.
Long days and a few nights were spent carving out a road that would eventually lead down to the Cheticamp River.
In these early days, our lives were upside down, trying to juggle road construction, business development, moving into a new house (from across the country), kids starting a new school and a brand new baby. It's been a busy year for us!
Now that we are ten months into construction and getting ready to open, I want to take a minute to introduce ourselves and invite you to explore the beauty of Riverside Retreat.
If you are local to the area, stop in and check things out! The road down is still a little rough, so you're best bet is to walk in from Bourgeois road or take one of the many trails in (we'll have a trail map available soon). The short walk in from the road will take you down to the Cheticamp River, where you can rent a kayak for the day and explore the water, hang out on the swings, or relax in the lawn chairs overlooking the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
We hope you'll stop in for a visit sometime soon!
Taya