Photo by Karin Elton A grand opening ceremony was held Saturday for the renovated historic lodge at Camden State Park. The residence is located next to the former park entrance along Lyon County Road 25 at the north boundary.

LYND — “I could live here,” was one of the comments from visitors to the newly-renovated Redwood Lodge Saturday at Camden State Park. The lodge was overflowing with visitors attending the open house and grand opening.

The lodge opens to a living room with couch, chairs and a fireplace. On an end table is an old time replica radio, which is programmed to play an oral history of the former caretaker’s lodge. It also has President Franklin D. Roosevelt talking about the work relief project, the Civilian Conservation Corps and Veterans Conservation Corps which took place from 1933-1942.

The lodge has been updated while still maintaining a flavor of its Depression-era roots.

“It’s pretty cool,” said Lori Grant of Russell. “It’s a great way to be a revenue-producer for the park and since it has to be maintained anyway, it was a good idea to turn it into a lodge.”

The old Camden State Park caretaker’s residence is on the National Registry of Historic Places and has to be maintained by law.

“We decided to repurpose it into a guest house/lodge,” said Bill Dinesen, Camden park manager, at a presentation to attendees who included Sharon Hanson, Marshall city administrator and Lyon County Board members Charlie Sanow and Rick Anderson. “The lodge was built in 1934. The workers in 1934 did a superior job of building these structures. It was one of five they built here. It was occupied by managers or park staff up until 2008.”

Members of the Friends of Camden attended as well including Lori Timmerman and Stewart Day.

Day put in a plug for the service group that it could always use new members.

“We would love to have more volunteers,” he said.

“The Friends of Camden have been great at supporting the park,” said Dinesen.

“This is a real special place,” said Chuck Carpenter, the new regional manager of DNR Parks and Trails Southern Region, who drove to Lynd from New Ulm.

Saturday, which turned out to be a bright, sunny day with mild weather, was his first time at Camden.

“What a spectacular park,” Carpenter said.

He mentioned the maple trees and quaking aspen as part of the “amazing biodiversity of the park.”

Open house attendee Jon Wood of Marshall, a frequent visitor to the park, added, “there are eagles that hang out all winter long here.”

Carpenter said the lodge was part of the VCC’s “amazing work done across the country. The architecture is call ‘National Park Rustic,’ a unique style of using fieldstones to blend in with the natural environment.”

Brenda and Rick Lee of Marshall walked into one of the bedrooms which had two sturdy bunk beds.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Brenda Lee. “We could bring the grandchildren here. It’s larger than we remembered. We used to camp here as kids when the entrance was (nearby).”

“We still do,” said Rick Lee. “The top and bottom campgrounds. We use the state parks quite a bit.”

Wood said that he comes to the park often to photograph the scenery at sunrise and sunset.

“Camden is a hidden gem,” he said.

The renovation, which started in 2017, was funded through the Parks and Trails Legacy Fund. The lodge, which sleeps eight, is available for overnight guests and costs $230 per night. To make a lodging reservation, go to mndnr.gov/reservations, or call 866-857-2757.