A perfect combination

With very warm temperatures lasting into late September, Lewis and Clark State Park southeast of Williston enjoyed extremely strong numbers of visitors to finish its summer season.

Park manager Greg Corcoran said the facility was absolutely packed and nearly overflowing with visitors all September. The turnout may have been the best September ever for the park.

"We were very pleased. It was in the 90s Labor Day weekend and beautiful weather. We had to get some of our summer help to come back for that weekend," said Corcoran.

Corcoran said by looking at its numbers, the park is up about 87 percent in the count of campers compared to 2008. He said last year it had about 1,900 campers through the end of September. This year that number skyrocketed to at least 3,200.

Corcoran said the warm weather staying until the end of the month, coupled with the higher water levels on Lake Sakakawea, made the overall experience for people a very positive one.

"We made some extra efforts to squeeze a few extra people in on Labor Day weekend. The whole fishing and boating experience for people was just fantastic as well. We're just so thrilled that we could help people come on out and recreate themselves," said Corcoran.

Across North Dakota, state parks recorded a total of over 136,000 visitors for the month of September, a 70 percent increase over 2008. For the third quarter, state park visitation was up 32 percent overall. With over 960,000 visitors statewide through the end of September, North Dakota is expected to easily pass the 1 million mark before the end of the year.

"It was my expectation that we'd have a drop off after Labor Day, but the warm weather kept bringing everyone out. It wasn't until the cold weather and storms at the end of the month when it finally drove a lot of people away," said Corcoran.

Corcoran said with the water levels up and likely to remain next year, he expects attendance at Lewis and Clark to be fairly strong again next year.

He said the addition of a fueling dock for boaters should make for strong numbers of boats on the lake.

He also was grateful for the respectful and polite crowds that came out this summer. Corcoran said there were very few incidents at the park over the summer and people were very well behaved despite the large crowds.

Corcoran thanked the public for making 2009 such a successful year for the park.

"The support has been phenomenal. So many great people came from places like Williston, Epping, Ray and they keep on coming back."

Lewis and Clark State Park is located 19 miles southeast of Williston just off of Highway 1804. The summer season has ended, but the park can be contacted by calling 701-859-3071.