Wiles Family Celebrates 20 Years Of Owning Chattanooga/North Cleveland KOA

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

For 20 years, Jerry Wiles worked at Peabody Coal in Illinois. When he prepared to retire, he and his wife Harriet wanted to do something a little different.

“We’d camped for years and were interested in the industry,” Jerry says. “Our parents were campers—we all liked to camp. We’d meet at certain places throughout the year, be together and have a good time. When I got ready to break free and retire, we decided to take a run at it.”

Jerry and Harriet, along with Jerry’s brother and sister-in-law, Terry and Brenda, decided to go into business together.

Jerry and Harriet would run the campground, while the other couple would remain as largely silent investors. After looking at multiple campgrounds, they finally purchased the Chattanooga North/Cleveland KOA in 1995.

The Wiles had quite a challenge ahead of them. The campground needed a great deal of work, and the costs were significant. Their daughter, Maggie, moved with them to the campground to help, and continues to work in the store. Their son John worked with them for three years before moving to the northern U.S.

“It was a rough run for awhile,” Jerry says. “And it took time to get it where it is now. It was a three-acre campground when we bought it. Now it’s 20 acres. We bought more land every time we had the chance.”

Located at 648 Pleasant Grove Road in Cleveland, the Chattanooga North/Cleveland KOA is one of 485 open-to-the-public KOA campgrounds in the Kampgrounds of America system in the U.S. and Canada. Open al year, it offers a variety of accommodations including spacious RV sites, rustic tenting areas and comfortable basic and deluxe cabins. Bike rentals, a snack bar, and a swimming pool are just a few of the many activities and amenities found at the campground.

For more information, please phone 423-472-8928. Reservations are also accepted via telephone at 800-562-9039.