It’s another hot day in Île-des-Chênes, where Lise and Bruce Bale balance family life with customers on the phone and checking in at the office. The couple purchased Arrowhead RV Park from Lise’s parents in 2015, the same year their youngest of three children was born. At the time, they were both working full-time, Bruce as an electrician and Lise as an HR director, and the chance to own and operate an RV park seemed like an opportunity to slow things down and spend more time at home with the kids.
“I didn’t want our lives to be consumed by commuting to daycare,” Lise says. “It felt like a better lifestyle for us and the kids. I can always work around stuff going on in the park.”
Lise tends to the clientele, office work, and gardening while Bruce stays on top of hardware and maintenance. With their own residence onsite, the couple employs one full-time employee and two part-time employees who cover the week to keep the place running shipshape. Indeed, the team has created a picturesque landscape with RVs lined up along a lightly treed park complete with a picnic area, neatly manicured gardens, play structure, and sandbox.
Even so, the key perks of the park extend well beyond the view.
“We have full hook-ups on our sites, including septic, water, and electricity,” says Bruce.
“Our customers tell us that we are one of the top three RV parks for wireless internet in Canada,” Lise adds. “If you don’t have internet, people are not going to stay. That’s how they keep in touch with their families and do their banking.”
People also pay high compliments to the onsite washroom and coin-op laundry facility, which is somewhat unique for a RV park.
“People tell us our washrooms are homey, clean, and pretty, which means a lot to travellers,” Lise says.
In addition to wireless internet and home-like amenities, the park also boasts full limestone lots, a valued perk for anyone who has tried to park an RV in Manitoba mud.
In the summer, Arrowhead RV Park is kept busy with an ongoing stream of customers.
“We are the first to open in the spring and the last to close in the fall,” offers Bruce.
Most of their customers are seniors or recently retired folks and the couple figures that about 50 percent of them are snowbirds who have family here and travel south to the States when the snow arrives. Other customers include those working in the area or just coming through as part of their recreational journey.
“The mentality of most of our customers seems to be that you park, and then you go visit stuff,” says Lise.
There’s plenty to see and do with Steinbach and Winnipeg in proximity and plenty of smaller towns in between. Lise acts as a concierge to push local events and attractions like the Niverville Olde Tyme Country Fair and the Steinbach Mennonite Heritage Village. Meanwhile, Arrowhead RV Park serves as a quiet, convenient place to rest in the heart of country living.
Now well into their third busy season, the Bale household has its plate full with three active kids and an RV park operating at capacity during the Canada Day long weekend. As for the future, the Bales have their hands full for now, but Lise is still looking to the future: “I hope one of our kids will become a third-generation RV Park owner.”
The youngest son seems to agree, but then quickly gets distracted by the play area where a red tractor beckons.
