Wildcat Park & Landing welcomes new managers

By RACHEL STOCK rachel.stock@apgecm.com

Steve Goetzinger and Amber Miller are taking over Brownsville’s Wildcat Park & Landing.

In early May 2023, Miller and partner Goetzinger were instituted as the new park management team for Wildcat. The management agreement with the county is a one year contract, with a possibility for renewal come the 2024 camping season. According to Miller, the couple lives on-site and, under their new company Fireside Management LLC, “handles campers’ concerns, visitors’ concerns, takes reservations and cares for the maintenance of the park.”

Prior to filling this management position, Goetzinger had a 20-year career in construction, whereas Miller worked at Gunderson for some odd 10 years doing labs and x-rays. The duo also own and operate two AirBnBs in Houston County, one in Spring Grove and one in La Crescent.

“Running a campground, it’s kind of along the same lines as the Airbnbs, with the reservations and the hospitality,” said Miller.

For Miller and Goetzinger, the opportunity to care for Wildcat “is so much more” than just a job. The family have been camping at the park with their kids for many years and had “quite the journey” getting where they are now.

In September of 2021, a friend of Miller’s asked if she and Steve would be interested in quitting their job, selling their Caledonia home and going on an eight month road trip around the United States. The following September, after taking a year to save up, plan and make the trip feasible, the family hopped in a vehicle and made the jump.

“Last September, we did that,” said Miller. “We left our W2s. … We sold our house in Caledonia in a week and took off on a road trip. We homeschooled the kids and visited lots of national parks.”

The trip further ignited the family’s love of nature and desire to better connect with others. It was around this time “a fellow camper” sent the couple an application link to the then open management position at Wildcat Park & Landing.

After reading [the application], I realized it aligned perfectly with being out in nature, spending time with our friends and our kids, things like that,” said Miller. “I knew we had all of the skills and qualifications to come and run this park. … We just decided it was the next leap.”

Miller and Steve quickly began working together to figure out how to write a budget proposal and other necessities, preparing them for the position and its application process. Hiring of the pair was confirmed by the Houston County Board of Commissioners in mid-April and the family was settled at the park by the start of camping season.

According to Miller, the couple quickly got to work making a Facebook page dedicated to the park, called Wildcat Camp & Recreation, to “keep campers in the loop of what’s going on.” A website for Wildcat is also in the works, to be complete with online reservation access and credit card processing. The management team is hopeful the site will be fully operational by the end of July, early August.

“Wildcat is still a hidden gem in Houston County,” said Miller. “There’s still so many people that don’t know about this campground and that’s why it was super important for me to start getting the word out.”

In addition to making Wildcat more accessible digitally, Miller and Goetzinger have made improvements to the park itself. Yoga on Mondays at 9 a.m. started recently and Miller hopes to continue to add more activities throughout the season.

“This little river town has so much to offer,” said Miller. “We’re open to whatever anybody comes to us with. If it fits the park, we want to support that.”

Volleyball nets have been added to the park, new mulch was recently laid on the playground and new sand can be found on the beach. Apparel is now available at the management office and, just outside, a meat vending machine can now be found, stocked with goodies from City Meat Market in New Albin.

According to Miller, the couple has also started working with a few “kid entrepreneurs” in the area. Their own son Deacon invested in a gumball machine for the office, “the Augedahl kids, they bring us our bait,” and Harper’s Bug Spray, a natural spray made by a local kid, is also for sale.

“It’s been amazing. It’s been everything we thought it would be, everything that we hoped it’d be,” said Miller. “I want Houston County to know what a gem of a resource they have here. Wildcat could easily become one of the top tourist destinations in the county.”