Campers embrace final big summer weekend

Mark and Melaina Walker, Ottawa, will join a swarm of campers, RVs and vehicles Friday.

That’s when campers will descend upon Pomona Lake, ready to enjoy what traditionally has been considered the last weekend of summer, Labor Day weekend.

The Walkers camp at Pomona Lake about every other weekend, and they’ll be heading to the lake along with hundreds of other campers this weekend.

“It’s a good time for our family to just sit around the campfire and get caught up on our lives,” Melaina Walker said. “We’ve noticed a lot more people camping this year, not just the holiday weekends.”

Even for those people who got a late start with the camping experience, it’s not too late to enjoy the lake, David Green, operations manager for Pomona and Melvern lakes, said.

That’s because camping has changed a lot in the past 30 years,  he said, including the idea that camping season ends after Labor Day.

“Fall is a beautiful time to camp, and more and more people are finding that out all the time,” Green said. “Settling down to the campfire with the leaves falling around you is just a beautiful evening.”

September and October are becoming more popular months for camping, he said. That’s typically because of the weather, he said, with campers attracted by cooler days and nights.

Walker agreed. She and her family used to stop camping after Labor Day, but now they keep going to the lake throughout September and into October.

Utilities like water and electricity are shut off Sept. 30 at most of the camping sites, like at Michigan Valley and Wolf Creek. However, utilities are available through the winter at the outlet park, and camping is allowed year-round without access to water and electricity at the other sites.

Attendance at the lake is slow in the middle of winter, but one or two campers generally can be found at the lake no matter what time of year, Green said.

Weather is the biggest factor determining attendance at the lake, Green said.

Unusually cool and wet weather this summer brought lots of campers. This weekend, the weather is forecasted to be cool with a chance for thunderstorms, which could affect attendance.

Fred Kent, Topeka, a volunteer who cleans brush and does other odd jobs around the lake, said he has seen more and more people camping this summer because of the nice weather and the economy.

“It’ll fill up,” Kent, who has been camping since 1964, said. “The people are all friendly. That’s what I like about it.”

Campers can reserve a site up to six months in advance via an online system at www.recreation.gov .

Walker said she likes the reservation system. It allows her family to save their favorite camping spots, without having to haul the camper out on a Tuesday or Wednesday and leave it there for the next weekend.

“At first we didn’t think we’d like [the reservation system], but it’s been nice,” she said.

There have been many weekends this summer that all the reserved sites were taken, Green said, and that’s especially true for holiday weekends like this coming weekend.

However, plans change. Some people have canceled their reservations, and most of those sites quickly were reserved again.

Still, Green said, there are plenty of places to camp. In additon to last-minute cancellations, the lake offers “primitive” camping sites that do not have water or electricity but still have access to restrooms and other features like playgrounds or disc golf.

Holiday weekends may be busy at the lake, Green said. Holidays typically bring more gatherings of friends and families, while non-holiday weekends bring campers who are just looking to relax and enjoy nature.

That’s been especially true this summer, with its unseasonably cool nights and mornings.

“It’s just beautiful to wake up and be outside in the morning,” he said. “This has probably been a once-in-a-lifetime summer.”