Park Manager Kyle Broockerd reports that a number of camping
sites have been upgraded and enlarged in the parks at Perry Lake
to better accommodate the newer and larger recreational vehicles
that visit. Playground equipment for children is also available.
by Clarke Davis
If there is such a thing as a normal year, Perry Lake Project Manager R.J. Harms believes this might be one as the Corps of Engineers prepares for 840,000 visitors at the lake this summer.
“We had the high water in 2019 and that caused so much destruction. . . We are just now getting that behind us,” he said.
“We had an extra 30 feet of water that year and it stayed with us a long time,” he said.
The high-water year was followed by the pandemic and a whole lot of damage to repair and structures to replace. Needless to say, the manager is hoping for something near normalcy.
Both of the marinas are under new ownership and there is a privately-operated restaurant on the lake, Harms said.
“A lot of cleanup work has been done around the lake over the winter,” he said.
That work includes clearing dead trees, eliminating burn piles, repair of interior roads, and so forth.
“We are nearing the end of the recovery,” he said, announcing that the Old Town Park will be getting a new shower building this fall.
“It’s the last of the original ones dating back 50 years,” he said.
Kyle Broockerd is the lake’s park manager, overseeing land use, various leases and easements, and the three main gated parks—Old Town, Rock Creek, and Slough Creek. There is also a group camping area in the Long View Park for scouts, family reunions, and other large gatherings.
While there is a volunteer at the park gates, all reservations are handled online and with the use of one’s phone. For security reasons and safety, the parks are closed from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
“You can get out but you can’t get in,” Harms said. “This is done to keep out any loud partying after hours and to make the parks family friendly.”
Daily rates run from about $14 to $26 for a camping site.
“It’s not a money maker for the Corps by the time we provide trash service, pay for law enforcement, and deliver power to the site,” Broockerd said.
Along with Broockerd there are two other park rangers at Perry and they have three seasonal employees join them. In addition, there are two maintenance staff personnel.
Some of the recent work they did in the Rock Creek Park was expand the size of the rental sites.
“The RVs keep getting bigger,” he said.
Broockerd explained that one of their seasonal employees was a retired heavy equipment operator, which was a real benefit to the local crew to be able to accomplish more and do bigger projects.
“I also search for grants within the government—look under every rock—to try to provide the best we can for the public,” he said.
Harms has managed Perry Lake for seven years and is also the project manager for Clinton Lake and Hillsdale. He worked in the maintenance department at Perry Lake for 17 years before transferring to Milford for 10 years, and then returned as project manager. He said he is looking at retirement at year’s end.
Broockerd, who resides at Springhill, got his start with the Corps in the summer of 2006 at Perry Lake and got ranger status in 2008. He has been serving at Clinton Lake near Lawrence since 2013 and returned to Perry last fall.