Tall as a real tree, Kiesler’s Campground and RV Resort’s welcoming mascot KC is a lively embodiment of the values its owners aim for in every aspect of their 52-year-old business: friendliness, positive energy, vibrancy, flexibility, fun and smiles for all.
“KC is a tree the kids go crazy for,” said Kristi Corchran, 39, who, along with her husband Mike, 43, and parents, Steve and Belinda Kiesler, operates the popular resort situated on the southeast shores of Clear Lake in Waseca.
“My dad helped design our logo years ago, with a smiling tree in it, and that became the inspiration for KC," she said.
Guests lucky enough to reserve time at one of Kiesler’s 350 campsites (260 spots are available as seasonal rentals; there’s a two- to three-year waiting list for those, and reservations for other availability are accepted up to a year in advance) rave about the Kiesler’s Campground experience.
It includes access to a 2,000-square-foot heated pool, kiddie pool, shuffle board and volleyball courts, arcade, recreation hall for those inevitable inclement days, remote control car track, horseshoe pit, mini-golf, two playgrounds, KC’s Snack Shack and a camp store offering souvenirs and camping necessities.
Oh, and don’t forget the option of pontoon and fishing boat rentals, plus a nearly endless supply of thematic activities for kids and families alike.
“There’s always something to do at Kiesler’s,” said Diane Ambroz, 70. Ambroz and her husband Todd have made Kiesler’s their home away from (their relatively nearby Faribault) home for the past 16 years.
“The Kiesler’s crew really cares about the people who are camping here, and there are activities every hour that involve parents with children. It’s wonderful to make memories with mom and dad, or grandma and grandpa, and Kristi and Mike are parents themselves so they know what kids want.”
Kristi confirms that from Memorial Day through Labor Day (the campground opens in late April and closes in early October), Kiesler’s plans a full complement of activities, centered around “theme weekends,” from 9 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. daily.
“People have compared our activities to cruise ship schedules,” laughed Kristi. “We have things for various age groups—6 and under, 18 and up and every age in between. And we do crazy, messy relays [with substances like shaving cream and mud], ‘minute-to-win-it’ games, dances with DJs, bingo—it’s jam-packed.”
That’s due, in part, to the Corchrans and Kieslers viewing everything from a family lens, considering what they would enjoy and appreciate were it their own vacation rather than another day of work — albeit joyful, intergenerational work.
“As a mom, I know a vacation doesn’t feel like a vacation for me if I have to spend all my time planning things to keep the kids busy,” said Kristi. She and Mike are parents to sons Jaxon, 9, and Jameson,11.
“We try to take that off the parents so they can relax a little bit too—and we have an awesome, awesome staff that truly cares about the guest experience,” she continued.
“We employee between 40 and 45 people every summer and they’re all outstanding people who care about our guests as much as we do. One of our 16-year-old employees said in late August, ‘I just love it; they know my name and I know theirs.’ It’s a cool relationship, and we try to make our guests feel like family every time they’re here.”
Kristi and Mike emphasize customer service, guest satisfaction and cleanliness.
“We’re known in the industry for the cleanliness of our facility and for our high level of customer service,” said Kristi.
“Our rangers guide every single party to their campsite, so every guest gets personal attention from the moment they arrive.”
Employee empowerment is one key to Kiesler’s Campground’s success.
“For a lot of our employees, this is their first job. We strive to make a good impression on them and communicate that details are important,” said Mike.
“Many former employees return years later with their own families, or stop by to tell us what a great first job it was for them and how we helped instill a good work ethic.”
Added Steve Kiesler, “We’re all approachable, and we train the staff to know that if a guest has a problem or asks for something, they can figure it out or deliver it—unless it’s something huge.
“We really empower them to make decisions and let them help the customer on the spot.”
That method has certainly registered with Ambroz and her family.
“They go above and beyond with what they do,” said Ambroz, who’s loved how kids are readily awarded prizes for games in which they participate or given coupons for freebies at KC’s Snack Shack or the camp store.
“They’re [all the employees] so friendly, and the campground is so clean. It’s a safe, secure, fun place to be. And from April to October, the seasonal campers are a family along with them.”
As longtime Kiesler’s campers, Ambroz and her husband sometimes assist with certain activities, like wagon rides and a kids’ carnival in July.
“We mourn the end of the season at the campground,” she said.
Kiesler’s Campground origin
Is it merely a coincidence that Kristi’s initials — KC — are the same as those for Kiesler’s Campground?
Perhaps, but Kristi has been steeped in the Kiesler’s culture her entire life.
“I remember coming to the campground as a young child, helping with tasks around the place and loving it from the start,” said Kristi.
According to Kristi, her grandparents, Barb and Kal Kiesler, began in the early 1970s converting the acreage that is today’s campground from the strawberry patch it once was. Kal Kiesler, reputedly a hard-working man of German descent, believed developing a campground would enable his four children to learn a solid work ethic and many useful trade skills.
“My grandparents wanted their own family to work and be together, and they poured what they did into creating a place for other families to relax, create memories and enjoy time together,” said Kristi. “There aren’t a lot of businesses you can say are all about creating joy for people.”
Kal and Barb’s son Steve became a master electrician but remembers well the hands-on effort it took to establish Kiesler’s Campground.
“Dad had three jobs sometimes to keep things rolling,” said Steve.
When Steve was 18, his parents encouraged him to leave Waseca for a time.
“They wanted to make sure we experienced other things and other jobs,” said Steve.
He and Belinda lived in Texas, where both Kristi and her sister Katie were born. When Kristi was about seven, the family returned to Waseca. Steve, Belinda and their girls jumped in to campground life at full throttle.
“I loved talking to all the customers, and I got to meet new kids every weekend so it was a really fun environment,” said Kristi, who estimates she worked 40 hours a week each summer from age 12 on.
When Kristi came of age, she earned a bachelor of fine arts degree, with an emphasis on interior design, at University of Wisconsin, Stout, before moving to Colorado to work in that field for a few years.
“My parents told me the same thing — that I had to move away and do something else because they didn’t want me to have any regrets about not having tried something new,” she said.
Yet the campground proved a magnet for Kristi, who called her dad every so often to ask, “Can I come back yet?” He eventually agreed she’d spread her wings long enough, and Kristi moved home.
Meanwhile, Mike Corchran remembered the slightly younger Kristi as “one of my little brother’s friends I’d see around occasionally,” he said. “She was in eighth grade when I was a senior in high school, so we didn’t even have a conversation at that stage.”
During Kristi’s self-imposed exile in Denver, though, the two connected through mutual friends, and their relationship developed quickly thereafter.
“We started dating when she moved back to Waseca, became engaged about nine to 10 months later and married 10 months after that,” said Mike.
Their first son, Jameson, arrived just less than a year after their wedding, and their second son, Jaxon, was born less than two years after his elder brother.
“It was a busy stretch for us,” Mike understated.
Meanwhile, Kristi had taken a deep dive into Kiesler’s Campground; she’s put her academic background and technical skills to use in many ways.
“I use all the graphic design knowledge I gained and I do our website design, created our phone app and designed the interior of our Snack Shack,” Kristi listed.
She also produces Kiesler’s Campground brochures and digital ads.
“It takes a lot of time, but I love design,” said Kristi. “It might be easier to hire it out, but I’m too particular.”
Teaming up for campground success
While Kristi represents the third generation of Kieslers to run the campground, Mike was similarly the third generation of his family to operate a different Waseca business—the former Lakeshore Inn, now known as Lakeshore Rehabilitation Center.
“My grandparents owned the nursing home here, and I had every intention of staying there because I really was helping people,” said Mike.
But as their dating relationship grew more serious, Kristi and Mike realized that if each stuck with their family legacy business, they’d have many scheduling conflicts.
“And we knew we wanted to have kids so we thought about where they might prefer to grow up — at a nursing home or a campground?” Mike said. “The answer seemed obvious.”
Mike, a University of St. Thomas graduate, continued managing Lakeshore Inn for several years, helping at Kiesler’s Campground on weekends. A challenge for Mike was the fact that, unlike his father-in-law Steve, he was not naturally mechanically inclined nor trained—and at a campground, repairs are a constant reality.
“You have to be a jack of all trades here,” said Steve.
Said Mike, “I joke that Kristi’s family could fix anything and my family wrote a check to have someone else do it. But I got thrown in the deep end and I’ve learned a ton.
“It’s been nice to learn from Steve, and we have ‘work campers’ who help us every summer; one was a former plumber, for instance, and I’m now a certified pool operator.”
After Mike’s family sold Lakeshore Inn, he, too, was all-in at Kiesler’s Campground. While his energies are focused on the outdoors—pool, lawn and equipment maintenance—Kristi is geared to the inside work, including marketing and programming.
In or out, running a campground is an enormous endeavor and requires an “all hands on deck” mentality.
“We put in a couple thousand hours of work—what most people do in a year—in about six months,” said Steve. “It’s not for everybody.”
Community pride
Notably, the Corchrans and Kieslers engage in and promote the greater Waseca community. Their guests spend time and money shopping, dining and even making major purchases (like vehicles from Deml Ford).
“Waseca has amazing restaurants, boutiques and antique shops,” said Kristi. “It’s really awesome to see so many businesses thriving here.”
Mike listed a number of local businesses that benefit from the thousands of guests their campground hosts each year, naming hardware and appliance stores, RV suppliers and restaurants.
“There’s a trickle-down effect, for sure,” he said.
Additionally, Mike is a past president of the Waseca Hockey Association and has coached every level of hockey, from learn-to-skate up to varsity, over the past 20 years.
“My dad passed away when I was young and I looked up to some of my coaches as father figures,” said Mike. “I see coaching as a way for me to give back and help other kids have that same kind of experience.”
Mike has also served on various community boards in past years, and he hopes to do so again when their sons are grown. At all times, the Corchrans and Kieslers are proud to be residents and contributors to the greater Waseca community.
“Our town is fantastic,” enthused Steve.
And operating Kiesler’s Campground as a committed team only adds to their satisfaction.
“We’re so family-focused; we get to engage with people, smile, laugh and help create memories they’ll have forever,” said Kristi. “This job is so rewarding.”
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