Ocean Lakes: More than camping

The campground is more accurately called a resort.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Imagine yourself at a fabulous oceanfront resort in this outstanding vacation city, but only at this resort you get to bring your own room.
Ocean Lakes Family Campground is the place, and if you get there, expect to have one of the best vacations you could ever imagine.
First of all, calling Ocean Lakes a campground is like calling the Taj Mahal a building. It is so much more, but the key word in itsname is Family. The campground caters to every family, from those withlittle tent campers all the way up to those withmillion-dollar motor homes.
The beauty and hospitality of Ocean Lakes certainly hasn't gone unnoticed. The campground has been voted the National RV Park of the Year three times in the last seven years, most recently in 2002-03.
It has also been selectedfor "Best of the Beach" choice award for the last seven years in a row.
The resort (I refuse to use campground too often) offers great diversity in camping accommodations.
Hundreds of campsites
For starters, there are 893 campsites -- allwithin a short walk to the ocean and beach.
Now, if you're a camper, these next items will be of great interest.
All the campsites are large, pull-through sites. All have a picnic table and include full hookups such as 20-, 30-, and 50-amp electric (you can even run a washer and dryer), water and sewer.
Now for you not-so-primitive campers, there is also a 70-channel cable TV hookup and a modem-friendly phone jack with free local calls. This is all included in the modest daily rental fee. Oh, yes, there are also nearly 100 campsites that have large concrete pads (45x18) for a slightlylarger fee.
Ocean Lakes sits on 310 oceanfront acres including one mile of beach along the Atlantic Ocean.
The resort includes 2,519 annual lease sites, which is campground land leased on an annual basis, and these structures include mobile homes, travel trailers with decksbuilt around them, and two-story houses with up to 800 square feet of living space per floor.
Did I mention rental property?
So you don't own a camper, or even like camping for that matter, but you can still enjoy Ocean Lakes since at any given time the resort has anywhere from 200 to 250 units in its rental program.
So far all I've talked about has been the campsites and annual lease sites, but there is so much more to Ocean Lakes.
Conveniences
The Sandy Harbor Camptown Center, which opened in 2002, features Meet and Eat restaurant, which is all outdoors but seats up to 300, and the 12,000-square-foot Sandy Mart, which features everything from groceries, gifts, swimwear, hardware and even fishing bait.
There is also Sandy's Soapy Suds, the camptowncoin laundry that features 100 machines and is air-conditioned. It also features Sandy's Fluff 'n' Fold laundry service if you don't want to wash your own clothes.
The Sandy Harbor Family Fun Center is great for kids of all ages. There are five pools in the center including an Olympic-sized main pool along with three baby pools, one of which is in the "Splash Zone" and loved by all the little ones. There is also an indoor pool for those chilly fall and winter days.
Also in the fun center is a complete game room, and right next to that is the 18-hole miniature golf course. The center has a huge recreational building that can easily seat 1,000 guests and employs a full-time staff and director who have activities going on all year round.
Let's see ... what else?
Much, much more
How about the Nature Center, one of the newer additions to the resort; and there are two playgrounds, horseshoe pits, shuffleboard courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts and a bocce court.
How about an Oceanfront Observation Deck, which is handicapped-accessible.
Remember when I told you that the Sandy's Mart sold fishing bait? Well, that's because there are also eight lakes in Ocean Lakes. Five freshwater lakes that are popular fishing sites carry catfish, bass, bream, crappie and carp -- and you don't need a fishing license to fish these lakes.
Just last year the campground put in a huge water slide for its guests. It operates only in season (May through September), but it has been a huge success, especially with the youngsters.
Ocean Lakes was built in 1970 by Nelson and Mary Emily Jackson, who are still the owners along with their five daughters. The camp opened in 1971 with 30 sites and one bathhouse. It has been told that Jackson was on his bulldozer clearing sites as the customers were lining up to camp.
The camp now has five bathhouses, and it also offers free distilled water at three sites on the grounds.
The campground has itsown security force,RV sales and service department, andsomeone will come right to your site and work on your trailer.
Golf carts and golf
But probably the most popular place in the entire campground is the golf cart rental office. Ocean Lakes has over 750 golf carts to rent, and most weeks most of those are gone since it is a great way to get around the 29 1/2 miles of paved roadsinside the campground.
You can alsobuy golf carts from the office or you can bring your own if you have one.It must be electric and has to be registered with the office.
Did I mention golf?
Well, the Jacksons also own the prestigious Prestwick Country Club, which is just a short drive from the campground. Guests at Ocean Lakes get a big break on the greens fees at Prestwick.
Store your trailer
Another example of just how popular Ocean Lakes is:The campground offers trailer storage, which is a great thing now that the cost of gas has been rising out ofsight.Nearly 2,000 trailers are registered inthe storage lots. You can also store your golf cart if you so desire.
What makes the storage so popular is that when you want to come to Ocean Lakes, all you do is call to make your reservations, and when you get there you will find your trailer right on your site at no additional charge other than the storage fee.
If you would like to get a glance at even more opportunities at Ocean Lakes you might want to take the virtual 360-tour of the place on the Web, at www.oceanlakes.com.
When youcombine all of the abovewith the great vacation area of Myrtle Beach,it makes for an unbelievable time.
It just might be one of the greatest vacations you ever had.