by Owen Wiese
Visitors to Devils Gulch study the hiking trails sign and the jump bridge overlook. Devils Gulch has seen many improvements in the past few years, including new hiking trails, improved signage, and bench installation, and is a popular tourist destination.
Two of Garretson’s parks, Split Rock Park and Devils Gulch, are being enjoyed by what appears to be record numbers of visitors.
On the weekends, the camping areas in Split Rock Park are nearly full with campers enjoying the well-equipped camping sites. Many people are on the river in their kayaks, and many are taking the excursion ride up the river on Admiral Bruce Rekstad’s Norwegian Cruise Liner.
On almost any day the Devils Gulch parking area at the Visitors Center will have ten to sixteen cars in it. There are several hiking trails designated from which people can view the unique scenery and rock formations of the Gulch, including a few new trails that have been placed in the past couple of years.
Long-time community member and city councilor Tom Godbey built a day use picnic shelter in the north end of Split Rock Park this summer. The shelter was built in memory of Godbey’s father, LaMoyne. The Garretson Parks Advisory Committee is planning for more day use sites throughout Split Rock Park over the next several years, though most will not likely contain a shelter.
The credit for providing these two wonderful attractions for people visiting Garretson must go to the people working at them. First of course is the Garretson Parks Advisory Committee, who does the planning for the parks and works with the City on allocating funds to maintain and improve them.
The two Visitor Centers are manned by students who answer questions and sell the attractive array of merchandise showcasing the parks. Great credit must be given to Randy Megard who plans and designates the hiking trails, supervises the maintenance in the parks, and does many other jobs. One must also give credit to Anna Uhl, who keeps the books straight and orders the merchandise which is for sale. Jodi Gloe from the Park Board supervises and guides the students who do much of the maintenance, such as cutting of tree branches and mowing small areas in the parks. Jodi also helps with mowing other parts of the Park. The main task of mowing the larger sections of the parks falls to Jim Hanson and Randy Aanenson.
Both Devil’s Gulch and Split Rock Park are very well-kept and are attractive to visitors.
Reservations for camping spots in Split Rock Park are now done on-line, which is supervised by Bruce Rekstad. That method ensures that occupied spots are paid for. The latest addition to Split Rock Park is the covered platform for cooking and other uses built at the far north end of the park by Tom Godbey.
Garretson residents can be very proud of the parks and hope that after the rebuilding of Main Street, visitors to the parks will use those businesses.
Pete Jessen and crew prepare the ground around the Devils Gulch Visitors Center, readying it for the installation of Kwik Kerb, which will make landscaping and mowing easier for maintenance crews.
