Humboldt Sawmill Company Grounds The River Electric in Place

Twelve acres of sun-drenched meadow and towering redwood groves flank the Russian River in Guerneville, California, where a new camp resort and swim club called The River Electric opened in 2025. Comprising 40 tented campsites, two pools, and three event spaces, the property was built with redwood supplied by Humboldt Sawmill Company throughout: Heart B grade siding on the welcome building, restaurant, and bath house; timber framing in the pool cabanas; and decking across the event spaces set within a grove of mature trees.

For operating partner Michael Gibson, the material selection answered to the place before anything else. “Redwood is integral to what we decided to do here,” he said. “Your entire view is of massive redwoods that are over a thousand years old. Being able to use redwood just completely blends this space and makes it feel like it's been here forever.”

The attention to material continuity runs through the smallest details. Steel posts at the bar were wrapped in redwood, and the back wall lined to match—both described as a way to soften the space. The sourcing follows the same reasoning. The material grows in the same climate it serves, with the Russian River Valley subject to winter flooding. Redwood performs here because it evolved here—in a climate that swings from misty mornings to ninety-five-degree heat, the wood resists the insects and decay that compromise other species, holds its dimensions across temperature swings, and stays cool underfoot on the hottest days.

The River Electric sits in a Wildland-Urban Interface zone, a designation imposing California Building Code Chapter 7A, among the country's most demanding material compliance frameworks. Redwood decking and siding meet California's existing wildfire code and are fully compliant with updated standards taking effect January 1, 2026. The material carries a natural Class B flame spread rating and is approved for use in all fire hazard severity zones without restriction. For the property's operators, that compliance was not incidental. The redwood would be an approved product from the California Fire Department, one that could withstand seasonal extremes and maintain its appearance for years to come.

The property operates May through October. Each fall, the tents, pool cabanas, restaurant furnishings, and redwood decking are dismantled and moved into dry storage, a precaution against the flooding that routinely inundates the valley each winter. The decision to make portions of the build non-permanent reflects the same pragmatism that defines the material palette: what works here, for this place, under these conditions. When the property reopens each spring, the landscape it returns to is framed by trees that predate it by a millennium or more.