This weekend, Springbrook State Park will get its first opportunity to welcome seasonal visitors, as Friday marks the opening day for the 2018 camping season for state parks across Iowa.

While staff at Springbrook didn’t have too much to replace or restore at the park this year, they were delayed by the prolonged winter. Park Ranger Rod Nelsen explains one challenge they dealt with during the offseason. “There’s a couple big items that were delayed. One was opening up our restroom and shower house buildings. Of course when the temperatures are in the 30s and 40s for lows it’s really tough to open those up in fear of things frosting over inside our buildings and busting up some plumbing.”

Nelsen also said the trails took a little while longer to spruce up than in past years. He’s hoping the hard work will pay off when campers start arriving. “When they get here, we want them to make sure they check out everything we have. Walk away from your camper, get on the trails. Enjoy the scenery, walk around the lake and just enjoy the outdoors. That’s what it’s all about.”

To celebrate opening weekend, the park will be giving kayaking lessons at the beach from 9-11:30am. There will also be live music at the campground gazebo starting at 1pm and lasting into the evening. To hear more on the upcoming camping season, listen to Nelsen on today’s Let’s Talk Guthrie County program.