Spring is upon us and Tuttle Creek Lake is preparing for the season with recreation opportunities on some of the US Army Corps of Engineers property.
Tuttle Creek Cove and Stockdale will be opening April 15 to the general public.
“Tuttle Cove is open through October, Stockdale we shut down at the end of September, but they’ve been open for reservations for months now,” said Caleb Snider, Park Manager.
Snider says campsites can be reserved up to six months in advance. All campsites include electricity services and water hookups. The Recreation.gov mobile app allows residents to make reservations from their phones. Volunteers are also being sought at both Stockdale and Tuttle Cove.
“We rely heavily on volunteers to help us operate these campgrounds. We really couldn’t do what we do out there without our volunteers,” Snider said.
An enticing exchange for park volunteers is the guarantee of a free hookup that includes water, electricity, and sewer that they can use for the duration of their term at the park. More information on the park can be found here.
US Army Corps of Engineers officials at Tuttle Creek Lake are also anticipating the closure of roads, including areas along the dam, due to a prolonged issue with rock being acquired from a local quarry.
The quarry, who the park has a contract with, ran out of rock last fall and experienced a period of shutdown over the winter which delayed the scheduled improvements. P
“There’s some requirements in the contract about the production of that rock. Basically, it comes out of the ground with moisture in it. And if you set it up on the ground, with the freeze thaw action, it actually damages the rock, and we want to avoid that,” said Brian McNulty, Operations Manager.
However, construction around the dam along River Pond Road has been moving according to schedule. The park expects the erection of a crane next to the dam Thursday morning for construction around the tubes within the stilling basin. McNulty says the contractor has been off site for about three weeks, but that is by design,
“The reason for that is is they did all the demolition work at the base of one of the gates and they placed the concrete and the concrete has to cure for 21 to 28 days before they can start putting anchors in,” he said.
Park personnel are anticipating River Pond Road to be closed Thursday morning, providing the construction goes as scheduled.
Public access areas are being improved in the lower portion of the lake with parking lots and barriers to exclude illegal off road traffic in areas around the lake. ORV fencing is also underway and the Corps expects the project to be completed in the spring, depending on weather.
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