County golf courses, parks set revenue records

Ozaukee County’s two golf courses are on the verge of another record year, generating more than $2.9 million through October, according to figures presented to the Natural Resources Committee earlier this month.

Meanwhile, revenue from other park operations also are setting a record.

Both courses earned more this year than in 2024, which was a record year.

Final net revenue, which accounts for golf course expenses, won’t be available until March.

Through October, Mee-Kwon took in nearly $1.56 million, compared to nearly $1.43 million in 2024, while Hawthorne Hills revenue totaled almost $1.36 million this year compared to more than $1.29 million last year.

Those totals were reached even though the number of golfers was down at Hawthorne Hills — 36,984 last year to 35,421 through October this year — and up only slightly at Mee-Kwon,­ from 42,710 last year to 42,792 this year.

“That’s despite opening later in the season” in 2025, county Planning and Parks Director Andrew Struck told the Natural Resources Committee last week. “We lost exactly a month compared to 2024.”

The improvement in revenue also was in spite of green reconstruction at two holes at Hawthorne Hills and installation of a new irrigation system there, Struck has said.

Struck said similar work is planned for Mee-Kwon.

The increased revenue, despite the drop in the number of golfers, is due to the installation of four golf simulators at the two  clubhouses, improved food and beverage service, increased sales of gift cards, online ID cards, increased golf cart rentals and slightly higher fees.

The simulators help make the clubhouses year-round attractions for golfers, generating additional revenue.

Reservations for the simulators can be made online, similar to reserving a tee time.

In April, county supervisors also voted to spend $488,940 to buy 120 Yamaha golf carts to replace its fleet of 2016 Club Car Precedent models.

The golf courses are a county “enterprise fund,” meaning any net revenue raised goes back to the courses for maintenance or to make improvements. They are not supported by the property tax levy.

In addition, the courses were able to contribute $100,000 from those profits to support the county budget in 2025 and again in 2026.

As for other park operations, fees through October totaled $71,674, far outpacing 2024’s 10-month total of $58,913, thanks mainly to a nearly $12,000 increase in camping fees, mostly at Waubedonia Park in Fredonia.

Camping fees increased from $25,488 through October 2024 to $37,121 over the first 10 months this year.

Earnings also increased at Covered Bridge Park  in the Town of Cedarburg, H.H. Peters Youth Camp at Hawthorne Hills Park and Virmond Park in Mequon, while dropping slightly at Tendick Nature Park in the Town of Saukville. Donations from visitors to Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve, by far the county’s most visited park, also fell slightly in the Town of Grafton. 

Ozaukee County has increasingly become a camping destination for visitors from outside the county and even outside Wisconsin, causing county leaders to more than double the number of camping spots starting this year.

“We’ve seen a huge demand for the campground in the last several years and we will continue to see that,” Struck said..

Only about a quarter of camping reservations are made by Ozaukee County residents and another quarter are by people living out of state, according to county figures.

Waubedonia has 17 campsites after adding three last year. Of those, seven can accommodate recreational vehicles.

Implementing an online reservation system in recent years has helped, Struck said.

Ozaukee County has drawn increasing numbers to its parks because of its location near golf courses, river and lake recreational opportunities and hiking, such as at Lion’s Den, officials say.

Plans call for adding a group campsite and another RV site at Waubedonia, but the county’s camping offerings are set to greatly expand with the addition of a new campground at Hawthorne Hills County Park.

Construction has already started on 18 campsites, including five or six RV sites, at the north end of Hawthorne Hills.

Full development of that first phase is waiting on the construction of bathrooms, although some of the campsites will be able to utilize facilities at the utility building nearby.

The new bathrooms are expected to be completed in 2026.

A second phase that will include 20 or more RV sites will be developed nearby, probably in 2026, Struck said.

That site is next to the Sugar Maple Nature School, which opened last year. Those campsites will be open in the summer when the school is out of session.

The estimated cost of the first phase of campsites plus the new bathroom facilities is about $500,000, officials have said.

There is no cost estimate yet for the second phase, which will require running water and electrical service for the RVs.