Meet Greg Query | Campground Owner and Outdoor Lover

We had the good fortune of connecting with Greg Query and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Greg, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’ve been in my family’s business since I was 23 years old. Over time, I eventually became President, CEO and majority stockholder of the family business running it in a moral and ethical manner for 33 years. However, the family business (insurance) wasn’t what I wanted to do in my life, but it did provide a good living for my family. My true passion was to go into Forestry and Wildlife Management. Back in the early 80’s jobs in this field were in short supply. So I reluctantly changed my major from Forestry to Business.

So what does one do when they are at the top of the ladder, President, CEO and majority stockholder? I fired myself and sold the business. No one could believe that I would do this. I received comments like “How could you do this to the family business” and “Are you having a mid-life crisis, etc. There was actually a lot of anger from my family and my decision. I was the glue that held everything together and now I was leaving.

The move really shouldn’t have shocked anyone if you were to think about it. I never really liked the insurance business, but I was an anomaly in the insurance world. I was an honest insurance agent who actually knew what he was doing. Therefore, I seldom lost clients. If I did, they usually came back.

Everyone knew that I loved the outdoors. In fact, my wife and I met on a backpacking trip in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan and have now been married 33 years. She was a naturalist at a local park and holds a degree in parks and recreation. Together we worked on many park projects for our local park district and were able to obtain over $3M in grant money for park projects such as bike paths, soccer complexes and splashpads, all on a volunteer basis. So why would buying a campground in Colorado surprise anyone?

Anyways, in 2016 we bought the KOA Campground in Estes Park Colorado. At that time I figured that I had 20 more good years in me. After all, who wants to retire and sit around looking at the 4 walls in a retirement home somewhere. We now work and play in the place where we used to vacation.

In April of 2022, we purchased a second campground in Grand Lake Colorado. This will be a KOA campground beginning in the 2023 season. So now our family has two campground in two magnificent places in Colorado.

The best part about our new life is that we get to put smiles on peoples faces and help them make wonderful memories for their family. In essence, we have created our own little bubble when kindness and the outdoors can come together in a world where kindness is in short supply.

I am also blessed in the fact that my daughter and son have join us on the campgrounds. My daughter Jamie runs both of the store operations and is also know as the “Director of Fun Stuff” as she keeps the fun in the campground. She has worked for multiple other campgrounds before we purchased our own, but definitely has a “gift” in campground hospitality. She may be the next generation to own the campground, but that will be her decision. As for my son, he has Special Needs so he helps us out where he can. He absolutely loves living on the campground and will always have a job here as long as we own it.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
As listed before, I spent 33 years in the insurance world as an Independent Insurance Agent eventually owning the family insurance agency. I Held a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation for 26 of those 33 years.

I do not hold a college degree (only some college) as my parents mentored me thru the family business and the school of hard knocks.

My Mom calls me brave for what I did because she can hear how happy I am in my life now. Leaving a family business is never easy. There were many untrue things said about me after my departure. But, one of my favorite quotes is “A lie has speed, but the truth has endurance”. I think that over time, my truth has been vindicated thru my business ventures and that it wasn’t a fluke, or simply good luck.

I now live my life with passion for my business and I love where I live. Who could ask for more?

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Wow, where do I begin…Both Grand Lake and Estes Park have fabulous places to eat and have an experience at the same time. When my guests show up at the campground, I typically ask them if they are going to eat in the RV or go into town tonight. When they tell me that they’re going into town, I ask them what kind of food they want. Almost invariably they say “Anything”. My response is “You need to tell me what your taste buds are saying, because we have good Italian (Mama Roses), good pub food (Claire’s or Wapiti Pub) , good trout (The Rock Inn) , good BBQ (Smokin Daves) and good Mexican (Casa Grande and La Cocina De Mama). Eat outside whenever you have the chance to take in the views.

If it’s lunch, I tell people to “Do something you can’t do back at home”. For example, one of my favorites is to go to the Country Market near the Beaver Meadows entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. Go up to the deli counter and order one of their custom deli sandwiches. You fill out an order form with exactly what you want. Their sandwiches are amazing and huge! Grab a bag of chips and your favorite drink. Then go into Rocky Mountain National Park and hike to and sit next to a waterfall or a mountain lake and enjoy your sandwich. People who have done this come back and tell me how amazing this simple thing was and it will make a memory for a lifetime.

As for Grand Lake, go to Charlie’s and have a Mexican meal out on the deck wachting all of the people enjoy paddle boarding, kayaking swimming and sailing on Grand Lake. We also enjoy the Sagebrush and the pizza at World’s End Brewpub rivals that of Chicago pizza. really good stuff.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents. My Dad is an Eagle Scout and showed me the great outdoors. My Mom was this gentle soul who always had a compass pointing in the right direction in life. They both taught me that it wasn’t about how much you had. It was about the impact you made in others lives. Being successful at what I do has hopefully given me the ability to make a positive impact in others by providing a safe, moral work environment where we simply love on our guests thru an outdoor experience.

Website: http://www.estesparkkoa.com/