The Guthrie County Conservation Department will be preparing county parks for winter starting next week.

Conservation Director Brad Halterman says that they annually aim for the same date to begin the winterization process, where they shut off water at Lenon Mill and Nations Bridge Parks. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio when they plan to start.

“We always say that to October 15th, weather permitting. Of course, it doesn’t look like it this year, but if the weather were to happen to drop below freezing before the 15th, we’d have to shut off our water beforehand. But it doesn’t look like the weather is going to drop below freezing before October 15th.”

Halterman mentions that they also will be closing the lower camping area and the watch tower road on October 31st, though they usually do it on November 1st, but had to change the date since November 1st is a Saturday. He adds that they try to stick to these dates so that there is some consistency for those that may use the parks in the winter, and not catch them off guard with the closings.