The Lula Lake Land Trust says it's making significant changes to improve the park experience and protect the land.
"We are putting the land, the protection and preservation of the core preserve above all else," Mike Pollock, executive director of Lula Lake Land Trust, said in a news release Monday.
The trust, which is managed by a staff of four, has been seeing record numbers to its Open Gate Days, during which the public can hike and swim in the waters of Rock Creek, according to a news release. The trust began allowing visitors to Rock Creek about five years ago, and since then its popularity has grown.
The increased number of visitors means parking has become scarce. But a plan announced Monday calls for a new designated parking area adjacent to the entrance gate and a hiking path to Good Shephard Meadow (the current parking area).
Visitors will enter the core preserve at the same entrance gate to a new parking/visitor facility that has been recently constructed. Handicap parking also will continue to be available on a very limited basis.
In addition to parking changes, the trust now will charge a $10 conservation fee per car in place of its previous $2-per-person donation. The new fee will go toward replenishing the health of the property from visitor overuse, the release states.
The ultimate goal of the new system is not to reduce the volume of visitors overall but increase the user experience, the release states.
If the parking lot has reached full capacity, visitors seeking to escape into nature will be provided alternate destinations, such as Cloudland Canyon State Park, Reflection Riding, Rock City, Ruby Falls or one of the many local trail heads/waterfalls in the nearby area, the release states.
As visitors leave the parking lot, new visitors will be allowed to enter. Because of longer hiking times, the gates will close at 3:30 p.m. in order for visitors to leave by 5 p.m. Additional staff and rangers will be on hand to patrol the roadside for illegally parked cars causing safety concerns, gate-crashers and to manage unforeseen issues.
Open Gate Days will remain the first and last weekends of the month unless otherwise posted. Hours from May through November are Saturdays 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and Sundays noon-3:30 p.m. All visitors must leave the property by 5 p.m. December through April hours are limited to the first and last Saturdays only.