‘This recognition a testament to hard work and dedication’
‘A couple of waitresses reopened a legend’
February 17, 2025
WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN – Coming up on its ninth season of business, John and Debbie Bierbach – owners of the Hixton/Alma Center KOA – said people need to “camp more and worry less.”
Because they put their “heart and soul into what we do,” the couple said the campground was recently recognized with the KOA Icon Award.
According to the KOA (Kampgrounds of America) website – koa.com – the Icon Award is given to the top 10% of KOA campgrounds in North America and recognizes campgrounds that provide exceptional guest experiences and uphold the KOA brand’s values.
“More specifically, over the past year, KOA has taken a new approach to recognizing campgrounds and their superior excellence through this award,” John said. “It involves a more targeted criteria. It then recognizes the top 10% of similar-sized parks across the KOA system.”
John said the Hixton/Alma Center KOA, located at N9657 State Road 95 in Alma Center, was the only KOA recognized in the State of Wisconsin.
“We take pride in the way we treat our customers,” he said. “Most (people) say they feel like family when they come here. We take the scores they give us personally. If we score anything less than a perfect score, we ask ourselves, ‘What did we do wrong and what can we do better?’”
For example, John said that’s why the campground recently updated the men’s bathroom.
“That was based on comments we heard,” he said. “We also put in the new pool because of comments. We try to improve on other little things every year.”
Debbie said in 2023, the Hixton/Alma Center KOA received a net promoter score of 98.02.
“That was the highest in the KOA system,” she said. “There are more than 500 KOA campgrounds (in North America). The year before that, we were sixth, and the year before that, we were eighth – we’ve been doing well. Receiving the award was not just because of John and I – we have a wonderful staff. With the staff we have now, we are comfortable leaving for a day or so without being called – it’s nice.”
John said they don’t run the KOA to get rich.
“We make enough money to pay for everything, but then we invest it all (back into the campground),” he said.
Acquiring the property
The couple said it was a 20-plus-year dream of theirs to own a campground.
The property the KOA currently sits on came on the market when one of the previous co-owners passed away, and the wife/granddaughter eventually wanted to step away.
That’s when John said he and Debbie jumped at the chance to make their lifelong dream come true.
“It was already an existing KOA campground,” he said. “When the kids were growing up, we would travel around to see what campgrounds were available – we’d travel to different states. We probably looked at more than 200 campgrounds in our search.”
At one point, John said they found a good campground to possibly purchase, but it wasn’t a good time to jump into it.
“The kids were in school, and it wasn’t a good time to move them,” he said. “But then this one came up. Our daughter was a junior in high school, so we thought the timing was better. We were coming home from vacation in South Dakota when we heard this one was for sale, so we stopped and fell in love with it. It’s a beautiful park.”
What’s offered
The couple said there’s a lot to offer on the 47-acre property.
John said it takes three full days to cut the grass every week, and not all 47 acres are campground – “there are some hiking trails as well.”
“It’s a fluid situation at the campground, but like any business, there are always going to be issues at some point,” he said. “For example, last year we had a busted water line. It’s like owning a house – a big house. The bigger the house, the bigger the problems, right?”
Debbie said Hixton/Alma Center KOA is dog-friendly and even has dog-specific amenities.
“We have a fenced-in dog park, so that’s very popular,” she said. “We also allow dogs in our cabins for an extra fee. We often see people with more than one dog.”
John said the property has about 80 RV sites.
“Some have water, sewer and electricity, while others just have water and electricity,” he said. “We also have some basic tent sites and four RV patio sites.”
The on-site cabins, John said, offer different amenities.
“There are two deluxe cabins that have patios and bathrooms and seven other rustic cabins that don’t have bathrooms,” he said. “Some are two rooms that sleep six, while others are one room that sleep four.”
The new pool, John said, was installed in 2023.
“We had people tell us the pool was getting outdated – and that was true – so we bit the bullet and put in a new one,” he said. “The old one needed repairs, so we made a huge investment in the pool – doubled the deck size and bought all new furniture. The new pool has been a big hit for campers.”
Other campground amenities, the couple said, include:
- Jumping pillow
- Gaga ball pit
- Cement cornhole
- Volleyball
- Snack room
- Playground
- Movie nights
- Crafts
- Wagon rides (Memorial Day to Labor Day)
- Wi-Fi
- Cable TV
The duo said the campground is open from May 1 through Oct. 15.
Opening weekend is typically not all that busy, John said, because kids are still in school.
“During the week, we pretty much always have openings,” Debbie said. “We get a lot of road traffic and ‘one-nighters’ during the week. Holiday weekends get booked pretty solid, and most of the other weekends are busy, too. By no means are we fully booked for everything (this season) yet.”
John said the campground also has what they call “buddy sites.”
“It’s where one camper pulls in one way, and one pulls in the other way,” he said. “If two campers are traveling together, they face each other, and then they share a yard. That’s big with bigger families who are traveling in twos.”
The couple also said they get a lot of family reunion campers.
“We’ve got one area that will handle up to five or six RVs,” Debbie said. “It’s in the shape of a ‘U’ with common ground in the middle.”
John said Hixton/Alma Center KOA accommodates monthly reservations, but not seasonal.
“In our travels, we didn’t like what we saw when campgrounds allowed seasonal bookings,” he said. “They’d just kind of take over the campground. This park is so beautiful, so we want lots of people to enjoy it all summer.”
Show me the campground
As the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the country beginning in March 2020 – right before the Hixton/Alma Center KOA opened for the season – John said the campground saw an increase in visitors.
“When Illinois and Minnesota campgrounds were completely closed, we were still open,” he said. “We got a lot of people from those two states. I’d say it was more from Minnesota because Illinois residents had a 14-day quarantine requirement if they came into Wisconsin. Some of those campers who came during COVID are now repeat customers.”
Debbie said several people were buying campers during COVID.
“We’re probably not as high (in numbers we had during) COVID, but it hasn’t gone down much,” she said. “During the pandemic, we had more weekday campers because people could work from their campers because of the Wi-Fi we have. Some people RV full-time – it’s their house – so we want to make sure we have things like Wi-Fi.”
During the offseason – which they are in for a few more months – the Bierbachs said they complete maintenance projects, travel a bit more and get some much-needed rest and relaxation.
“Things like painting inside the cabins, rebuilding a golf cart, etc.,” Debbie said. “We rake as many leaves as we can in the fall, but when the spring snow melts, we get back out there. The weekend before we officially open, we have something called ‘Work Weekend.’ People can camp for free, but they have to work on that Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. cleaning the grounds. We provide dinner (that night) and breakfast the next morning for them.”
For now, the couple said they are enjoying some quiet time before things ramp up this summer.
For more information on the Hixton/Alma Center KOA, visit koa.com/campgrounds/hixton or find it on Facebook.
