Scott Swanson
The record-breaking temperatures this year may have caused problems in other areas, but for the Linn County Parks Department it was a boon.
Until the very end of August, camping in the parks has been at record levels, parks Director Brian Carroll said.
“June was amazing. July continued that,” he said. “I think the hot weather, and the fact that we had water in Foster was a contribution to that.”
Foster Lake was the only reservoir in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Willamette Basin Project that was close to full as of Friday, at 93 percent of capacity. The next closest was Fern Ridge, at 62 percent.
Usage of the county’s parks in June was up 24 percent over 2014, which was also a “good” year, he said.
“It was really, really high.” Usage in July was 18 percent over last year. That trend continued into August, when things slowed a bit, which Carroll said was likely due to the prohibition on anything but gas-fired or electric stoves in all public county campsites.
“I think the fire ban hurt us a little bit,” he said. “Certainly, it was not something we would have preferred to have happen, but it was necessary. We have to do what we need to do to protect the forests.”
August’s numbers were 3 percent down from last year.
“Even being off 3 percent is not so bad,” Carroll said. “We finished off so good in the last fiscal year.”
Usage of individual campgrounds was up “pretty much across the board,” with River Bend in particular full for most of the summer.
“Probably the biggest issue for River Bend is just demand. We have so many people wanting to get there. It’s not unusual, at midweek, to be just about at capacity. People are upset because we’re full on Monday or Tuesday. It’s a nice problem to have, but it certainly increases demand on staff time.”
He said staffing wasn’t increased for that campground, but that need will have to be addressed.
The Edgewater RV Park and Marina, which the county purchased last year after banks foreclosed on the previous owners, finished “in the middle” of the “rather conservative” estimates Carroll projected prior to the purchase. The marina was full again this summer and he said county staff will look at whether it should be expanded.
Carroll said he is not sure what Edgewater’s numbers were when it was operated by the previous owners, but he believes usage this summer exceeded recent years. At the very least, the park provides opportunities when others are maxed out.
“Part of our thought is that we’re so full at some of our other facilities, Edgewater becomes, to a certain extent, a place we can send folks.”
Clear Lake also did “very, very well,” he said, with usage increasing approximately 10 percent over last year.
“Even during midweek we do a very brisk business,” Carroll said. He said county staff didn’t expect the response from the public to the warm and dry winter.
“We thought the mild winter would hurt us, because people in the valley like to go up and play in the snow. But it was so dry that people could go up there and hike and they were up there doing that. I was up there in January and mountain bikers were coming through Clear Lake.”
The U.S. Forest Service campgrounds east of Sweet Home, managed by Linn County, also did “very, very well,” he said.
In particular, Fernview and Lost Prairie campgrounds, which were converted this year to group campsites, drew crowds.
“It was a wonderful thing for me to see when I checked on them, seeing the place full instead of seeing a few people in there,” Carroll said.
Income from one USFS camp multiplied more than six times from last year, to about $6,000.
“The opportunity for group camping wasn’t there before and people love it,” Carroll said. “It’s a remote area near the river and you can bring in 10 or 12 families who have the whole place to themselves. It’s been a bright spot.”
The department began offering kayak and paddle board rentals at Lewis Creek Park at the end of July and that proved a success, he said.
“It seems to be popular,” he said. “We probably need to supply some tandem kayaks. We bought singles.”
As far as the future goes, the department plans to modernize its website this winter.
“It’s really old. It really needs to be redone,” Carroll said. He said staff have used Facebook more this year and found it helpful in getting word out about fire concerns, openings in campgrounds, and even a warning about a cougar sighting in the River Bend area that resulted in 12,000 shares overnight.
Work on the expansion of Whitcomb Creek continues, mostly on paper, as the county negotiates details with the Corps of Engineers and contractors. Carroll said he hopes to start clearing trees for new campsites later in the year.
The proposed turnover of Cascadia State Park to the county is still up in the air, he said. The state is still interested, but “there are a few technical details they’re working on, things regarding deeds that need to be cleared up.”
He said acquiring Cascadia, which is isolated from the other State Parks Department facilities, makes a lot of sense, given the county’s management of the U.S.F.S. campgrounds and its other local parks.
“It gives us the ability to market the whole area and that’s what we’re trying to do with Cascadia,” Carroll said.
He said it’s difficult to project what is coming after this year’s record numbers, but he hopes the visitors return.
“I think we had a lot of new people discover Linn County, who had not been here before. That’s what we heard from folks. I believe they had a good time while they were here. We’re hoping that will bring people back.”