Garretson parks popular & busy, break records this year (Preview)

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. 

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