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By Dian Ver Valen
The Times 

Lyons Ferry State Park Day Area Opens in June

Park is owned by Corps of Engineers but will be operated by the state

 

Dian Ver Valen

Passers by may have noticed the day-use area of Lewis & Clark Trail State Park close recently after being open most of the off season. The park, both day-use and camping, will open this week for the spring and summer, but lack of staffing means both will close again in the fall and winter, according to a state parks spokesperson. Staff tried to keep the day-use open as a rest stop in the off season but couldn't maintain it.

STARBUCK – Lyons Ferry State Park, on the Franklin County side of the Snake River off Highway 261, will open this season with a grand re-opening celebration on June 5, according to a Washington State Parks representative.

The state announced earlier this year that management of the park has been returned to the state park system after budget cuts demanded the state pull out of Lyons Ferry in 2002. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns the park; the Corps operated the day-use area seasonally, with a lot of Starbuck volunteer help, for many years.

Only the day-use area will be open, according to Virginia Painter, communications director for Washington State Parks. "We don't have the capacity to open the park for camping yet," she said. "We're hopeful that a group of volunteer folks in the area who've helped the Corps keep it going might come forward and continue to help."

Hours at the park are planned for 6:30 a.m. to dusk through Labor Day; in future years, the state hopes to open Lyons Ferry State Park early enough for Memorial Day weekend.

The park was built as part of the federal Lower Monumental Dam project, with the state responsible for its upkeep and operation. The Corps usually closes leased parks that are returned to the agency, but it made an exception for Lyons Ferry. Private concessionaires attempted to operate the park but failed to generate enough revenue and so its operation fell to volunteers.

Senator Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, secured $600,000 in the state's 2013 capital budget for the park. Under the new lease agreement, state parks will operate the day-use area, restroom and swim beach, as well as the watercraft launch area. The park also has an administrative area and two residences on site.

Under state management, the park will be staffed seasonally with a park ranger and park aides. A new restroom with shower facilities is planned at the park near the boat launch, which was recently installed by the Corps. The new restroom should be complete by the June 5 opening, Painter said.

The $600,000 Schoesler obtained will be used to remodel a bathhouse, improve the parking lot and water system, provide minor boat launch dock maintenance and make irrigation system repairs.

 

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