Dave Matthews
Woodward News
Woodward, Okla. —
Labor Day is coming up this weekend which will be the final big event of the summer, and parks officials say campgrounds are going fast.
Here is a look around area parks.
Canton Lake
Park Ranger Debbie Chaloupek said she is expecting a big crowd.
Chaloupek said Canton Lake has 3 camping areas; Class A, Class B and Class C.
Campsites in A and B, both have electric and water hook ups per site. Campsites in C have electric hook ups but a community shared water hook up, Chaloupek said.
“There are approximately 250 campsites reserved in Class A and Class B” Chaloupek said, noting all sites are reserved in both classes
Chaloupek said there are a few campsites left in Class C on a first-come, first-served basis.
However, Chaloupek said, “if we get completely full we will have an overflow section, but campers won’t have a designated campsite.”
Chaloupek said it has been a few years since officials have used the overflow section during Labor Day weekend, but it mostly depends on the weather.
“I just finished watching the weather for the weekend and it looks like it is going to be nice” Chaloupek said.
The main concern for the park with all the visitors is their safety.
“The safety of the visitors is mostly up to them” Chaloupek said. “There is water information on the boards located throughout the park, safety infromation is handed out at the gates and we have many rangers working that are available.”
In addition, dove hunting startd today and Canton Lake will have free hunting days on Saturday and Sunday.
“We have quite a bit of dove hunting around Canton Lake,” Chaloupek said.
Chaloupek said after this weekend the park transitions from camping to hunting season.
“This closes the summer recreational season, but during winter we are getting ready for the summer again,” Chaloupek said.
Fort Supply Lake
Lead Ranger Don Underwood described Labor Day weekend as the last outing for a family.
“We are expecting a big crowd this weekend, but most of it is families camping,” Underwood said, noting this is normally the last time families can go camping since school starts and everyone becomes busy again.
“As far as reservations are concerned, it doesn’t look promising for someone who doesn’t have a campsite already,” Underwood said.
Underwood said campsites often get booked up months in advance for holiday events.
“We have a 110 campsites in the park, and approximately a 100 of them are reserved,” Underwood said.
After the sites are all reserved it will be first come first serve for the other camping spots, he said.
Underwood describes safety as a partnership.
“They (campers) are pretty well responsible for their safety, but we enforce laws and regulations that will protect them,” Underwood said, adding vehicle safety is the biggest concern.
“We have had vehicle accidents in the past whether that be cars, trucks, boats and jet skis and some of them have been fatal,” Underwood said.
He said the park is normally full, but it is usually quiet and not much trouble.
“Labor Day weekend is the big send-off for summer,” Underwood said.
Little Sahara State Park
While, the lake is busy during Labor Day weekend the Sand dunes are very slow, according to assistant manager of the park Greg Grimsley.
“Most of our visitors here also have boats and jet skis and this is typically the last weekend of the summer,” Grimsley said.
According to Grimlsley, there are only a couple spots reserved for the weekend.
“Right now, it is still hot out and people would rather be in the water than playing in the sand,” Grimley said.
Grimley said the parks’ season normally doesn’t normally start until the middle of September because by then the weather is cooler and people will want to be out riding their 4-wheeler or dirt bikes.
“We actually have 2 seasons, fall and spring” Grimley said, noting Sand Fest takes place in the fall and the rattlesnake hunt takes place in the spring.
“We might be slow this weekend, but business will pick up in a few weeks,” Grimley said.
