NGPC Continuing to Make Improvements at Swanson
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Outdoor enthusiasts can feel the change in the air. The summer camping and lake-going season is fast approaching, and Nebraska Game and Parks personnel at Swanson Resolver are busy preparing for it.
Ben Terrell is in his second season as the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Park Superintendent at Swanson Lake.
Under Terrell, the lake’s camping and recreation areas have significantly improved.
Some of the most noticeable improvements this season will be along the Trail 7 area on the north side of the lake, where they have cleared out nearly two and a half miles of cottonwood trees along the shoreline. “It’s actually beach again,” said Terrell. You can drive from the start of Trail 7 to the end of Trail 7 and just see the beach. It’s night and day difference.”
On the other side of the lake, at the Spring Canyon State Recreation Area, they have added a 1.5-mile nature walking trail. It’s a six-foot-wide, maintained trail that starts with a tunnel through an arch of cedar trees, into woods and trees, and then into a big field of native grass. “There plenty of room for you and your family and your spouse; it should be very popular,” said Terrell.
A big change at the lake this season is that the NGPC is moving to an online reservation/booking system for 75% of the camping sites. Terrell said that 25% of the campsites at the lake will remain onsite, and they will remain on first come, first served.
For this season at least, all of the primitive camping areas on the north side of the lake, along Trail 7 and Trail 3, will still be first come, first serve onsite booking, $10 a night.
The only areas that are reservable online are the Macklin Bay campsite area along 34, the Spring Canyon Campgrounds area, and what they are calling the Lakeview Camping Area on the southeast corner of the reservoir. There are some first-on-site, first-come, first-served campsite locations in those campgrounds. Terrell said new campsite maps will be available for viewing online.
Swanson Resevoir is not yet running on the Nebraska Game and Park’s online camping reservation system. Terrell said he will be going to training regarding the lake’s online system in the next few weeks, and more information will be available from the NGPC in the near future. The online reservation camping sites for Swanson will run from May 1 to October 15.
Finally, the NGPC and the Bureau of Reclamation will start a $1.8 million renovation of the Trail 3 boat ramp and parking area this fall. Terrell said they will renovate the parking area, put in a 15 percent grade on the ramp, install a second courtesy boat dock, and install a boat dock on rails. He also had some positive news for the lake’s fishery.
He said they hope the lake water levels continue to rise above the new rock pile fish structures that were built around the lake, which will help fish spawning habitat and population growth going into the next few years. Terrell said that in his first year, they were able to complete a lot of the maintenance projects, but they have not been able to complete some improvement projects to enhance the park.
NGPC Swanson Lake Assistant Tanner McLain works on a new Lakeview Campground sign for the lake on Tuesday morning.
People have a new walking trail to hike at the Spring Canyon State Recreation Area at Swanson Lake.
He said that everyone uses and enjoys the lake in a different way, and they are trying to meet those expectations. “It’s mainly trying to get more positive outdoor recreations to the Park,” said Terrell. “We are trying to open it up and get more people to come here and enjoy it because we don’t have a lot of lakes in Nebraska that are 5,000 bodies acres of water. So we are doing everything we can to beautify the park.”
