State touts changes at Wilson Campground
Improvements at the site include a new trail, fishing area and kayak launch, as well as rest room upgrades.
WOODSTOCK, N.Y. » A ceremony Friday heralded a new trail and other improvements at the state-run Kenneth L. Wilson Campground.
The $400,000 project, touted by state Department of Environmental Conservation officials, includes a new fishing area, kayak launch and playground, as well as rest room upgrades.
“These improvements have really done a lot for Kenneth Wilson Campground,” said Kelly Turturro, regional director for the department.
“Under the ‘Adventure New York’ initiative, we’ve been able to add features to connect Wilson Campground,” Turturro said. “Many of them are ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)-accessible. We have a nature trail with a wildlife viewing platform that overlooks the Little Beaverkill [creek], we have a new fishing pier, a new floating canoe and kayak launch ... improved comfort stations, and a new rustic adventure playground.”
The property has 76 campsites, and “we fill up on the [summer] weekends,” said Dale O’Bryon, the environmental department’s Region 3 campgrounds manager. “Friday and Saturday nights, we’re generally full here.”
O’Bryon said the lake and picnic area at Wilson are used by about 30 people during the week and about 100 people per day on weekends.
And “that’s not counting large groups,” he said. “We rent the pavilion out on a pretty regular basis.”
State officials did not add swimming to the improvement project after floating the idea last year. A draft plan estimated it would have cost about $50,000 to restore the site’s swimming area, which has been closed since 2004 because of vegetation overgrowth and bacteria from bird waste.
“From 1979 to 2003, the department maintained a beach and swimming area on Wilson Lake,” the plan stated. “Over that time, silt accumulated and aquatic vegetation colonized the swimming area, resulting in poor water visibility and unpleasant conditions for swimming. In addition, Canada geese took up residence, which resulted in unsanitary conditions and poor water quality.”’
The state temporarily lowered the lake’s water level in the winter of 2002-03 in an effort to kill the aquatic vegetation by freezing it, but the process didn’t work.