With graduation, sports and event weekends bringing waves of visitors to Pullman, lodging is difficult to find — especially for those with an RV. Parking sites fill up quickly, leaving families with few options on where to stay.

Long Table Camping & Lodging seeks to help solve this problem, starting with this year’s graduation.

Founded by couple Ruth Gregory and Gemma Collins, Long Table is a new lodging site in Pullman meant for RVs. It is currently reserved for dry camping, meaning there are no hookups for electricity, water or sewage.

Unlike many other campgrounds, Long Table is walkable to Martin Stadium and the greater WSU campus. It is a 45-minute stroll to the stadium, but there is also a bus stop about 10 minutes from the site that takes people to campus.

“We looked at land on and off for a while, and when the property came up and we saw it, we were like, this is the perfect location for something like this,” Collins said.

In addition to being a walkable location, the area is also a major wetland that the two are attempting to rehabilitate. They hope to be environmentally friendly in this process and cultivate the area as they continue their business. They have already planted nearly 250 trees on-site.

Having lived in Pullman for 11 years, Gregory and Collins have consistently noticed how busy the city can get during sports and event weekends. Overflow is a huge problem, they said, and they wanted to help diminish it. On a camping trip in their RV last year, they came up with the idea for Long Table.

It has always been in Gregory and Collins’ purview to create a business. The two are experienced in managing and even ran a small one before, but this is their first time navigating hospitality specifically. This has presented some challenges they’ve had to work through to be successful.

“When you own a business, the buck stops with you. We have to make the decisions and you have to really make it happen, otherwise it doesn’t get done. Every evening is like, okay, what do we have to do? What are the priorities?” Gregory said.

Long Table’s business was formed on the philosophy, “If you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher wall.”

“We really wanted to create an inclusive space where people of all walks of life could feel comfortable and connect with each other,” Gregory said.

In addition to providing lodging during event weekends, Long Table is also planning a community Halloween pumpkin patch geared toward young children on Oct. 18–19. There will be activities in collaboration with other businesses, including animals, a pumpkin slingshot and a sunflower maze.

Long Table is located at 303 Old Moscow Road in Pullman. Updates on Long Table reservation opening dates, prices and other rules can be found on their website. Additional information on events is also listed on their Instagram.