State parks ready for holiday weekend crowds

All 1,400 campsites reserved; good weather, large turnout expected

East Lyme — All 1,400 state park campsites are reserved for Memorial Day Weekend, and the state’s 139 parks and forest recreation areas are open and ready to go for the summer season, state officials announced Thursday from Rocky Neck State Park.

Any damage the state parks sustained from either Tropical Storm Irene or the October snowstorm has been repaired, including the boardwalk at Rocky Neck, which was wiped out during Irene, said Susan Frechette, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Thursday, Frechette recognized 20 members of the New Haven Job Corps who volunteered more than 1,100 hours of work to replace 1,000 feet of the boardwalk. The group, which attended Thursday’s event and each of whom received a certificate of appreciation from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, recently completed the project, which began in September.

The job corps is a no-cost education and career technical training program for disadvantaged young people.

“I’m so proud of the effort of our staff and volunteers to work tirelessly to make our parks safer,” Frechette said.

With a warm weekend weather forecast, Director of State Parks Tom Tyler said he expected large numbers of people to be out enjoying the hiking, swimming and fishing opportunities the parks provide.

All 23 of the state’s designated swimming areas will be open this weekend, Tyler said, after test confirmed no problems with water quality at any of the areas. Eleven of those areas are staffed with lifeguards, he said.

New this year are free lifetime park passes for military veterans who have a service-related disability, and a permanent boat launch on Bantam Lake in Morris. Parking fees are the same as last year, Tyler said, and a season pass for state residents is still $67.

Fees can now be paid with credit cards at some state parks, he said, including at Gillette Castle in East Haddam. Credit card payments will be accepted at Rocky Neck later this summer.

Also at Rocky Neck and other parks, efforts are under way to become more energy-efficient. Tyler pointed to a nearby array of solar panels that provide power for lights. Two bathroom buildings have also been retrofitted with solar hot water collectors.

At Kettletown in Southbury and Housatonic Meadows in Sharon, construction has begun on 10 rustic cabins for overnight camping. The project is part of a multi- year effort to ultimately build 100 cabins at parks around the state, Tyler said.

Frechette said state parks generate $1 billion for the state economy each year and provide about 900 jobs.

For more information on state parks, visit www.ct.gov/deep. s.goldstein@theday.com