CampV – Giving Vancorom Artistic Licence

CampV was formerly a mining camp known as Vancorum, built by Vanadium Corporation of America in 1942. The 120+ acre site was originally used to house the engineers who worked on the nearby uranium mill. Closed down in 1970, the property was then bought and used as year-round rental community. This was until 2017, when Natalie seemed destined to become the next owner.

"Both sides of my family are from the area, which is how I ended up down the road in Telluride, CO for the past 20 years. I had been looking for a spot to launch a creative endeavor and when the property came on the market, it was hard to turn away from the opportunity to restore a historic mining community that my Dad's family had lived at when he was a child. The family history, natural beauty and setting was impossible to turn away from. So, I think this location chose me!" says Natalie.

CampV officially opened in April 2021; Covid slowed down Natalie’s plans for the site, but there was a silver lining, “The pandemic delayed our opening as the availability and cost of materials went up towards the end of the construction. We had to pivot, but on the flip side more people began venturing to this remote part of the State and discovering how much there is to explore.”

Art is an integral aspect of the experience offered at CampV that draws people from all over the world. The idea for this was created by Natalie and her business partners Bruce and Jodie Wright, who are founders of an architecture firm, “We met at an incredible project they had just completed in Telluride 12 years ago,” says Natalie. “We always connected on our involvement in the local arts in Telluride and kept coming back to the conversation that we needed to spread this to the other [rural] communities and how important the arts are to community building. On a basic level, we all really enjoy sending each other inspiring art and it’s been super fun to bring some of these ideas to life and work on future ideas.”

Natalie hopes guests will connect with the history of the land as well as with the artistic interpretation. “I think interacting with art is such a personal experience that we hope it brings curiosity and joy at the most basic level. On a higher level, we want to start a conversation about how rural communities deserve access to art - amazing art. We started a non-profit called WE Arts (or West End Arts) and our mission is to bring people together and start a conversation about the history and future of these small rural communities… many of which were based in the extraction industries… what is life like after the coal mines shut down? We believe art is a great avenue and connector to a new path.”

A lot of the art on site has been repurposed from what could be found in the area. Upcycling, which is growing in popularity across the globe, is important to Natalie, “It has been a major tenet and goal of ours. At the property, we reused as much as we could - there was an old vintage bus we turned into a lounge and most recently an artist came and transformed in to a speakeasy art lounge - we bought an old water tank from the town and it is now a sound chamber for singing… the local coal power plant is in the process of being dismantled and we bought pieces and transformed them into art so this part of history can be restored - we are in the process of turning the old sheds into workshops. The bus is probably my favorite!”

There are a number of different accommodation types available at CampV, including 12 historic cabins which have been fully restored, “The cabins were built in 1942 by the mining company. They were completely gutted and have all the modern amenities and touches. They were built to be modeled after an East Coast Main Street, so we had to play with the existing layout and topography of the property to add additional accommodations.” says Natalie.

“We developed the lower 12 acres of the property along the river as a primitive camp that features a magic bus lounge, swimming pond and art structures. There are 3 new airstreams, 3 glamping tents and 8 full hook-up sites called Hook Up Town. We felt it was important from the beginning to offer a variety of options and price points to be inclusive and diverse. The lower river camp is so peaceful and wild that we have maintained the peace and wilderness aspect of sleeping next to the river in a tent. The Airstreams and Glamping Tents were chosen to create an opportunity for guests to try other ways to experience and sleep at the property and to give options for larger groups when they buy out the entire property.”

As well as the public art on display throughout the camp, the site also features star gazing (the community was just designated as a Dark Sky community), communal fire pits, a bath house, local food boxes, WiFi, record players (in cabins) swimming pond with floating docks and canoes.

As well as operating as a glamping site, CampV also hosts a number of events each year with an emphasis on connection and quality time, “Burning Van is our premier event that feels like a mini Burn experience, but with the water experience (the swimming pond and river). We’ve had a Fashion Show, Mountain Film movie series, spoken word mixed with music experience and fun and intimate concerts. Much of the process has been organic and come to us through relationships or word of mouth. It’s been such a fun journey to have friends reach out and support us by making introductions to their amazing friends. So far, it’s all been such a perfect fit to host them at CampV.”

Plans for the future are looking bright and include not only CampV but also WE Arts, “For CampV: unique programming, community events, being open to how we need to evolve to best serve our supporters and the community. We also want to continue to build our non-profit WE Arts public art presence at CampV and the surrounding community.”