Lesbian-owned campground in rural Ohio wants to be a connective community space for LGBTQ+ visitors and locals alike

One year ago, Tessa Pratt-Smith thought her dream of a community-centered, LGBTQ-friendly campground was 15 years away at best.

But that dream came to fruition this year, with The Bright Spot Campground and Marina opening in May in McConnelsville, Ohio—the same month Tessa and her partner, Chelsea, married.

The local community has welcomed the lesbian co-founders with open arms. The campground has attracted the attention of other prospective and current campground owners who want to learn from them.

Though their LGBTQ+ identities aren’t “the star of the show,” Tessa said they’ve created an intentional, connected and welcoming safe space for queer folk right on the border of Appalachia in Southeast Ohio, along the Muskingum River.

“I feel so lucky to have her help me with this dream,” Tessa said of Chelsea. “We think it’s crazy that we’re here doing this, but we love it.”

A family diner “planted the seed”

Tessa learned about the importance of community from her grandparents’ diner in Meyersdale, a small rural town in Pennsylvania.

The diner was an “intergenerational hub” of regulars who were part of Tessa’s family traditions. Tessa not only grew up around the diner, but started working there at 12 years old. Those experiences “planted the seed” for Bright Spot, she said.

“Wouldn’t that be amazing if I could create something like my grandmother did – where people want to go make memories and have this be a consistent part of their lives?” Smith recalled thinking.

Tessa and Chelsea had never been camping until after they met while studying education at Ohio State University. The pandemic hit when they were at grad school, and during lockdown they set out on a cross-country tent-camping trip. The experience solidified Tessa’s brewing idea from studying death and grief education as an undergrad at Ohio University in Athens.

Though it’s not central to Bright Spot right now, Tessa said the idea of mortality is present at the camp and “organically pop up around the campfire.”

“We haven’t mentioned it in any marketing – I think it’s too soon [and] we need to get established first,” Tessa said. “My grandma passed away during COVID-19, the one who owned the diner, and being here each day, like cleaning off the tables and stuff, I feel a connection with her, and I can see this little 10-year-old version of me learning to clean off the tables at the diner.”

As Tessa’s work contract came to a close, she began looking around online for good campground locations, but the couple weren’t finding anything suitable. When they learned of the Bright Spot site, they didn’t even know where McConnelsville was.

They drove to the site in the dead of winter, and immediately Tessa was enthralled. She originally thought their campground would be some resort-style glamping setup, but the smallness of the campgrounds and its simplicity felt manageable. 

“I feel like a lot of first-time business owners have a mentality of like, ‘I’m gonna go in, invest, and then leave,’” Tessa said. “This place feels like, ‘I’m gonna go in, and I’m gonna stay.’”

A welcoming vibe

Bright Spot has 28 campsites laid out in an oval. In the middle is a community space with cornhole, volleyball, badminton and a children’s playground.

Surrounding the campground is a tree line that marks the edge of the property. A dammed creek that runs through the east side is prone to flooding after a heavy rain.

Besides the campsites, Bright Spot has one on-site RV on offer named “Dixie,” in honor of the (apparently infamous) original owner of the property, Tessa said.

“Basically, Dixie was a wild woman,” she joked. “I hope one day people are saying, ‘Tessa Pratt-Smith? That lady was nuts.’”

A small storage shed holds lawn games, tents, air mattresses and sleeping bags. Affirmations on the wall announce “You belong here” and “These are the good old days.”

Tessa wants the campground to be accessible to people who have never camped before, so a wealth of camping equipment is available, as is a Camping 101 class taught by Tessa and Chelsea.

Tessa has a vision for future improvements as well. Take their community fire pit, for instance. Right now, she said it has a cozy intimate vibe where they host book clubs and music performances. She would like to have a covered stage so a band can play more comfortably – especially after some flash flooding thanks to an unusually wet summer in Southeast Ohio.

Their property includes a house – originally owned by Dixie – and a barn that could be retrofitted into a reservable cabin space, or more community space (“hopefully [Dixie’s spirit] doesn’t still live in here,” Tessa joked). 

Their small marina with rentable spaces is on the south side where the Muskingum River flows, where Tessa and Chelsea are fixing up a pavilion next to a small booth that could be converted into an equipment rental for kayaks, water games and so on.

’We’re not doing anything groundbreaking besides existing’

Tessa believes many of their campers so far are in the LGBTQ+ community.

“Usually every weekend there’s somebody walking by who has their shirt off, and they’ve had top surgery, and they’re just freeing their body,” she said.

During community events, Tessa and Chelsea always state their pronouns beforehand – no assumptions. Their book club highlights a lot of local queer authors, and they have booked queer musicians.

“We’re being intentional about supporting queer folks in the community, but we’re not doing anything groundbreaking besides existing,” Tessa said.

Despite Chelsea and Tessa’s excitement around opening Bright Spot, Tessa said they “absolutely were nervous” about being an out, queer-owned business in rural Ohio.

They weren’t sure if McConnelsville would welcome their business and if people would come, and they worried about possible vandalism. 

But Tessa said they had nothing to worry about.

“We have received the warmest welcome here,” she said.

After the couple married in May, neighbors dropped off cards with gift certificates to local restaurants and other businesses, she said. 

“I’ve definitely learned that just existing and stating your values plainly is a form of activism that creates conversations across difference,” Tessa said.

To highlight this, a retired fire chief who lives down the road would come over on “a little golf cart” to talk about tools and local history with Tessa, but she “didn’t know how to read him.” She shared that her wedding was coming up, and she told him that Chelsea was her fiancée.

“He looked utterly stunned, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m gay, so, that’s kind of how it works,’” Tessa recalled.

Later, around the Fourth of July, Tessa was in a “grouchy” mood doing work on the campgrounds when the retired fire chief visited again. He started talking about tools for a bit, before handing Tessa a small red square and driving off. 

She thought it was some “patriotic” thing, but then she unrolled the square. The gift was a Pride flag, which now hangs in the main office.

“It was so heartwarming,” she said. “Now, every time he comes around, I’m like, ‘Take me for a boat ride,’ and he always says, ‘Get on, girl.’” 🔥

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• To learn more about The Bright Spot Campgrounds & Marina, visit its website here.