The Friends of El Dorado Lake said thank you to their camp hosts and kicked off a new season of camping during their annual Camp Hosts Dinner Tuesday evening.

“To me, this is a really exciting time,” said Darrell Whitney, president of Friends of El Dorado Lake.

He said the meeting tells him that summer is here.

Whitney talked a little about the Friends.

“Primarily we are a support group that is strictly volunteers to promote the state park,” he said.

The group started in 1993.

“It has continued to grow and seems to get better every year,” he said.

They also wanted to recognize all of the camp hosts.

This year there are only three new camp hosts.

“You don’t know how much that means to us,” said Doug Lauxman, park manager.
He said in past years they have had to replace a number of hosts and would be searching for them.

He also talked a little about the recent improvements at the lake.

“In the last recreation season we were contacted by the Kansas Workforce that they received a grant to bring in a crew because of the flood levels,” Lauxman said.

Through this work, every picnic table was rebuilt, they put in a lot of new railroad ties and brought in a lot of gravel, with more still to come.

“We’ve been asking for 15 years to get the water tower repainted,” he said.
That was completed.

Walnut River areas 2 and 3 also got 50-amp service, which is needed for most campers. In addition every sewer lift station was rebuilt and new campsites were put in.

“The Walnut River Shop was just completed after it burned down several years ago,” he added.

They also enlarged the living space for cabin #6, which is ADA accessible. Because of the larger bathroom required, there wasn’t much space left in the cabin. They remodeled the front porch, turning it into a living room.

Other improvements include four new swingsets in Bluestem 5 and 7 and Walnut River 2 and 3.

More plans remain.

They plan to put in a half-mile exercise trail in Walnut River by the playground and they have already started paving the current ADA trail.

They also are in the process of remodeling the Shady Creek gatehouse and Boulder Bluff is getting utilities. In addition, they are trying to get wireless Internet throughout the campgrounds.

“It is just amazing when we look back since last summer, the things that have happened at the state park,” Whitney said.

Lauxman recognized how everything they do is possible.

“We couldn’t run this place without all these volunteers,” he said.

He also recognized one other partner who helped make the 50-amp service available in Walnut River.

“This year with Jim’s help and Frontier’s, they came through with some money for us,” Lauxman said.

Jim Stump said Rep.John Grange had contacted him and said they have a lot of people willing to donate their time, but no money for the project. So Stump decided to donate.

To show their thanks, the Lake presented Stump with a framed print and the Friends presented him with a certificate of appreciation.

“Frontier has been a tremendous partner to this community for a long time,” Whitney said.