What goes hand in hand with camping? Smoking cannabis, of course. And, what has always been the biggest problem when you were camping and enjoying your ganja? Neighboring campers that do not approve, and law enforcement that might get called by those same bothersome campers. Now Southern Oregon has a campground that embraces cannabis use, and it sits beside a beautiful lake in the heart of Oregon’s cannabis cultivation region.
Wayne Zallen recently took over the old Lake Selmac Resort in Selma, Oregon, and it has begun the transformation into the new Smoke on the Water campground. The aging Lake Selmac Resort was the perfect setting for a cannabis centered campground, but it is in need of upgrades which they have planned. They had a soft opening on 4/20 after recently completing the purchase on the property.
“We bought Lake Selmac Resort and we are re-branding it to the Smoke on the Water brand and doing a bunch of improvements,” Zallen told Oregon Cannabis Connection.. “It was a pretty run-down park when we got it.”
There are plenty of activities on Lake Selmac and Smoke on the Water rents motor boats, paddle boats, kayaks, and stand up paddle boards. They allow day use in their picnic grounds for those that can’t stay overnight but want to experience the cannabis friendly resort. Lake Selmac is also the location that produces Oregon’s record large mouth bass regularly (at least 3 times), so the fishing is excellent and also includes panfish, walleye and trout. They can accommodate everything from RVs to Tents and also have cabins for rent and have planned even more.
“We will eventually have a dispensary on the property, we have a general store, and we will have munchies and camping supplies available,” He said. “we are putting up three custom tipis by [Nomadic Tipi Makers] out of Bend, Oregon and we have a couple of cottages for rent and plan on remodeling a [home] on the property into an Air BnB.”
The region has fairly cold winters and many years the lake will freeze over. The previous owners were from California and would not stay around when the chill set in. There lack of campers made that a logical choice. But, with the new marijuana industry in Southern Oregon and the large outdoor grows that harvest in the fall, there is “housing” a niche the resort plans to fill.
“We have been contacted by several growers about housing trimmers at the resort in the winter months since they are not allowed to camp out on their land,” Zallen explained. “The previous owners closed the park down in the winter…but we do plan on operating 12 months a year.”
Smoke on the Water is a subsidiary of Grow Condos, Inc., a publicly traded company that leases industrial warehouse spaces built just for growers on a property in Eagle Point, Oregon. They are publicly traded as OTC: GRWC.
There are a lot of new businesses popping up around Oregon that are centered on cannabis use. There are rafting companies, tour companies, rental vacation rentals and more. This will not be the last campground that caters to them, but it may be one of the most visited destinations with all the amenities they have and the beautiful location in the heart of Oregon pristine cannabis growing region.
They are currently open for business and taking reservations. They are located at 2700 Lakeshore Dr. Selma, Oregon and their phone number is 541-597-2277. Find them online at www.lakeselmac.com and their email is [email protected].