For Chandler Zedic and Kristy Kilbourne, Outdoors Plus is about more than hunting, fishing and camping. It’s about a love of the outdoors, raising their family in Haliburton County and helping others enjoy everything this part of Ontario has to offer.

As the owners of Outdoors Plus, Chandler and Kristy are proud to carry on the tradition of a local business that has served generations of outdoor enthusiasts in the Haliburton Highlands.

Their connection to the area stretches back more than two decades, when Chandler’s father purchased a property on Spruce Lake. What began as a place to spend time in the Highlands grew into a lasting connection to the community and, eventually, a place Chandler and Kristy knew they wanted to call home.

Today, they are raising their three sons here, making Outdoors Plus very much a family business.

Chandler and Kristy bring different backgrounds and experiences to the store, along with a shared appreciation for the outdoors.

Kristy is an urban planner by trade, but her connection to Ontario’s outdoor community began early. Her first summer job was with the Ministry of Natural Resources in Peterborough, where she worked in fisheries policy and later in fish and wildlife.

Chandler brings experience from his career in the military, as well as a strong connection to the outdoor lifestyle that is such an important part of life in Haliburton County.

Long before they owned Outdoors Plus, they were customers themselves.

That experience helped give them an appreciation for the role the store plays in the community. Outdoors Plus serves experienced hunters and anglers, families heading out camping for the weekend, cottagers getting ready for a day on the lake and people discovering fishing or other outdoor activities for the first time.

For Chandler, that broad connection to the outdoors is what the store is all about.

“I think Outdoors Plus is about a lifestyle,” Chandler says. “It’s a hunting and fishing store but it’s all the things people want to do outside.”

Owning Outdoors Plus has given Chandler and Kristy another way to become part of the community they have called home for years.

They want the store to be a place where people feel comfortable asking questions, finding the right gear and getting ready for their next adventure, regardless of their level of experience.

It’s also important to them that Outdoors Plus continues to reflect the community around it, including supporting locally made products and listening to customers about the products and services they would like to see.

Their three sons are part of the story as well. As they get older, they have the opportunity to help out and experience what it means to be part of a local family business.

For Chandler and Kristy, Outdoors Plus represents many of the things they value most: family, community and spending time outside.

And there are few better places to bring those things together than the Haliburton Highlands.