For more than 10 years now, Frank Timberlake has been keeping an eye on Kerr Lake parks and camping areas. And he says there are some spots that haven’t changed since he was a kid.
For some, that may seem like good news. But Timberlake said he and others in Kerr Lake Park Watch don’t see it that way.
Timberlake and others formed Kerr Lake Park Watch in 2010 as a way to monitor and support improvements in the park facilities on Kerr Lake. Their online presence includes a webpage and a Facebook page where campers and other park users can read reviews or reactions to what’s happening – or not happening – at the various campsites around the lake.
From the online booking surcharges that campers pay when they reserve a campsite to the physical layout of the sites, Timberlake and the group have opinions.
He spoke with John C. Rose on Thursday’s The Local Skinny! segment and acknowledged that some would consider him a “feather ruffler” when it comes to the lake’s camping areas.
“We want to protect, promote and improve the parks,” Timberlake said. Although there are still some tent campers who visit, more visitors bring their RVs. Those vehicles require a relatively flat surface for parking, so when you have campsites, with as much as a 20-degree slant, it’s a challenge for RVers.
When COVID-19 was in full swing, all the trashcans were removed from the camp areas, which Timberlake said created significant cost savings. But none of that came back to the campgrounds, he said.
And there are several openings for rangers across the system of camp areas, which Timberlake said makes it difficult for campers to get information they need when they’re out at the lake.
“We need to get staffed up here,” Timberlake said of the ranger positions. “Rangers should be sitting at that entrance station, focused on customer service. They need to be there in the parks, not riding the roads.
He said he’s personally shown first-time visitors to their campsite because there was no one else around to help.
Help is all he and his group want to do, he said. Help others enjoy the lake and its recreational opportunities, while “improving a place that is wonderful…to protect it and improve it.”
Visit http://kerrlakeparkwatch.org/home/ or find the group on Facebook.
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