Memorial Day weekend, eased rules and pent-up demand mean busy NC parks and beaches
Outdoor enthusiasts who have longed to go climbing, camping, hiking or to hang out on a beach this spring began pouring out of their homes Friday as the state entered Phase Two of recovery.
“Our campgrounds opened up this morning, and we have people coming in and occupying sites right now,” said David Mumford, superintendent of Falls Lake State Recreation Area, on Friday. “We may have a few sites left, but we’re pretty much booked up for Memorial Day weekend.
“There’s been quite a lot of interest in people getting back outside and getting back to the parks, and that’s understandable.”
Falls Lake, a half-hour north of Raleigh, offered some hiking and boating access during the shutdown that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper ordered in March. But throughout the state parks system, which includes 34 parks, three recreation areas and four staffed natural areas, most facilities remained closed. After the governor lifted portions of his stay-home order May 8, Umstead State Park, Raven Rock and others where hiking was allowed reported capacity crowds by midmorning the past two weekends. They had to turn hundreds of cars away.
As of Friday, a cheerful blue banner appeared on the parks’ website proclaiming the “Parks are OPEN,” though some elements within each park may remain closed until Phase Three. Those are visitor centers, group campsites and public beaches, all of which are places guests might congregate and pose a risk for the spread of COVID-19. Ranger-led programming, which attracts crowds, will not resume yet.
But at Falls Lake and all other state parks, campgrounds are open to family camping, restrooms and bathhouses are available for use and most hiking trails and boat accesses are open. Falls Lake has four campgrounds with a total of more than 300 sites.
Ready for visitors to return
Mumford said the parks had a temporary hiring freeze during the shutdown, but has resumed hiring and is now interviewing people for seasonal positions.
They’re all glad to welcome visitors back to the park, he said.
“Most of us get into this job because we want to be able to provide recreation and beautiful spaces for people,” he said. “It’s tough when we’re not able to do that.’
Carolina Beach State Park, on the Cape Fear River side of Pleasure Island, near Wilmington, also allowed visitors in for hiking and some boating when nearly everything else was closed.
As of Friday, campers were arriving to set up tents and RVs or to occupy one of the park’s camper cabins. Park Superintendent Chris Helms said he expected every site to be filled for the holiday weekend.
Only one loop of the campground’s two loops is open, because of previously scheduled bathhouse renovations. When those updates are complete, Helms said, work will begin on the other bathhouse and that loop will be closed. All the work should be finished by fall, Helms said.
During the shutdown, Helms said, the trails at Carolina Beach State Park were busier than normal, possibly because nearby beaches were closed and people were looking for places to get outside. At times, he said, all the park’s parking lots were full and people left their cars along the road outside the gate.
“I like to think we provided a little mental health relief,” Helms said.
Crowds at the beach
Beaches reopened in Phase One, which began May 8.
By last weekend, when temperatures pushed 80 degrees on the beach just before a tropical storm rolled in, thousands of people flocked to coastal communities and spread out on the sand for the first time in months.
“Everybody’s been shut up and they’re ready to get out,” said Jared Best, a commercial fisherman from Harkers Island who also runs Tombstone Charters out of Atlantic Beach.
Best has had to make some adjustments, cutting in half the number of recreational fishermen he takes out on his 36-foot boat at a time, and adding protection such as face masks, gloves and hand sanitizer for crew members and clients. He’ll be out on the water this weekend with a charter trip, he said.
The weather is nice and the fishing forecast is calling for mahi mahi, wahoo and king mackerel in offshore waters, with mackerel, blue fish and cobia closer in.
Best is glad for the business, he said; he had a dozen or more charter trip cancellations during the shutdown.
National Parks in North Carolina also have begun a phased reopening. At the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the N.C-Tennessee border, an update Friday showed some restrooms had opened along with some popular picnic areas, including Cades Cove and Deep Creek. Some roads are still closed to vehicles but are open to pedestrians and cyclists, including Clingmans Dome Road, Elkmont Road and Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, the park website says.
All campgrounds at the Smokies park remain closed.
The Blue Ridge Parkway, a unit of the National Parks system, is open through North Carolina, but campgrounds, picnic areas and other facilities are still closed, according to the parkway’s website.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore, a national park that stretches from Bodie Island and South Nags Head to the southern tip of Ocracoke Island, opened its restrooms Friday at the Fort Raleigh Visitor Center, Wright Brothers pavilion, and at beach and soundside parking areas and visitors centers. The visitor centers themselves will not be open, according to the seashore’s website
Camping will be available at Cape Hatteras campgrounds, the park said, but reservations and payments must be made online through www.recreation.gov.
The Lost Colony at Fort Raleigh and Avon Pier remain closed, and Bodie Island Lighthouse and Cape Hatteras Lighthouse will not open yet for climbing.
‘People just want to get out’
As of Friday, Cape Point Campground within the seashore was closed as a result of flooding from the recent storm.
Lifeguards were on duty at four Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches starting Saturday, according to updates on the seashore’s website.
Towns along North Carolina’s coast that rely on tourism expected big crowds for the weekend. Mayor Doug Medlin of Surf City said he heard from vacation-house rental companies and hotel operators that they expect a strong kickoff for the summer season, based on the past two weekends and upcoming reservations.
Most restaurants in Surf City have stayed open for takeout and delivery during the shutdown, Medlin said, and to get ready to reopen, most have expanded their outdoor dining space.
“I tell you, people just want to get out. They’ve been in for so long now,” Medline said. “The only thing I can encourage them to do is to try to stay away from each other.
“Respect other people’s space, I guess is what you would say.”
This story was originally published May 23, 2020 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Memorial Day weekend, eased rules and pent-up demand mean busy NC parks and beaches."
