Calumet County Parks Department Adam Backus Parks Director N6150 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Calumet County Parks Department

Adam Backus

Parks Director N6150 CTH EE Hilbert, WI 5429 (920) 439-1008 backus.adam@co.calumet.iw.us www.travelcalumet.com

The mission of the Parks Department is to provide active and passive recreational opportunities for county residents and visitors.

How do we do that?

• Continue to develop, manage and maintain our current properties.
• Continue providing fresh and exciting nature based educational opportunities.
• Keep an up to date Outdoor Recreation Plan that takes into account the public‘s needs and wants
• Work with surrounding communities to identity recreational needs and assist when possible
• Assist communities and non-profits to obtain grant funding for park/recreation projects

(i.e. Friendship Trail Extension)

What properties do we manage and what are some of the services we provide?

Calumet County Park

• Purchased in 1938
• Roughly 200 acres in

size

• Located in the Town of

Stockbridge on Lake Winnebago

Calumet County Park

• Features at the park:

– Park office/Concession store – Campground – Enclosed shelter (rental) – Lodge (rental) – Tube rental building – Rental/Park caretaker residence – Bathhouse with showers – 11 Pit toilets – Dump station – Park maintenance buildings – Playground equipment – Volleyball court – Trails – Boat harbor

Calumet County Park

Year-round Campground

• 71 Total Sites

– 59 Electric – 12 Non-electric – Water is turned on from April to November – Provide 24hr security from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend

2015 CAMPING STATS

TOTAL SITES WEEKEND WEEKDAY MONTH RENTED SITES SITES JANUARY FEBRUARY 2 2 MARCH 1 1 APRIL 59 34 25 MEMORIAL 218 218 MAY 303 207 96 JUNE 998 561 437 JULY 1159 709 450 AUGUST 1017 597 420 LABOR DAY 222 222 SEPTEMBER 672 389 283 OCTOBER 669 501 168 NOVEMBER 29 19 10 DECEMBER 2 2 2015 TOTALS 5351 3462 1889

In-State Returning -- 1165 New In-State --- 79 Total In-State -- 1244 Out of State Returning -- 25 New Out-of-State --- 70 Total Out of State ---- 95 Out of Country ---- 1 Total Campers In 2015 --- 1340

Camping Statistics for 2015

Calumet County Park

Tubing Hill

• 2 groomed hills
• Tube rentals
• 1 tow rope (with the ability to run up to two)
• Warming shelter with concessions

*

Last tubing season we had 2,254 people visit the hill. Average per day attendance was 204 people.

Calumet County Park

Trails

• 5 miles of biking/walking trails

– Trails are groomed in the winter for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing

Calumet County Park

Boat Harbor

– 77 parking spaces – 6 boat launch lanes – Small picnic area – 2 pit toilet

Brothertown Harbor

– Currently 1.5 acres in size with an additional 8 acres to be added in 2016 – Located in the Town of Brothertown on Lake Winnebago – 35 parking spaces – 3-4 boat launch lanes – Small picnic area – 1 pit toilet

Stockbridge Harbor

– 15 acres in size – 77 parking spaces – 6 launch lanes – Small picnic areas – Flushable toilets – 15 overnight boat slips

2015 Seasonal Boating Permits

832 County Launch Permits: 678 - Existing Customers 154 - New Customers 291 Three County Launch Permits: 212 – Existing Customers 79 - New Customers *4,351 daily passes were sold

Ledge View Nature Center

• 105 Acres
• Purchased in 1978
• Nature Center is

staffed 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (except holidays)

Ledge View Nature Center

• Features at the park:

– Nature center with classrooms – 2 ½ miles of walking trails – 60’ Observation tower – Maple syrup shack – Outdoor restrooms – Pavilion – Butterfly gardens – Arboretum – Quarry – Prairies – Caves – Educational exhibits – Hawk enclosure – Maintenance garage

Ledge View Nature Center

• Services that are provided:

– Nature based educational programs – Snowshoe and cross-country ski rentals – Groomed Cross-Country Ski Trails – Animal and educational displays

Ledge View Nature Center

• List of Programs

– Caving – Maple Syrup – Snowshoeing – Adult Lunch and Learn Program – Wildflowers – Signs of Spring – Seeds – Spiders – Animal Survival – What Doesn’t Belong in Nature – Insects – Learn and Discover Animals – Geology – Nature Hikes – Various Weekend Workshops

Ledge View Nature Center

2015 Program Attendance Numbers

January 273 February 544 March 1657 April 1205 May 1752 June 1067 July 1172 August 1072 September 1602 October 3203 November 353 December 124

TOTALS 14024

Ledge View Nature Center

– The nature center is supported by the Friends of Ledge View Nature Center and the Wisconsin Speleological Society

• The friends group holds 4 major

events at the park to help fund the Intern Naturalist Assistant and development projects.

– Discovery a la Carte – Escarpment Bike Tour – Halloween Candlelight Cave Tour – Maple Syrup Sunday (Held this Sunday March 20th)

• The Wisconsin Speleological

Society helps with the development of our cave system

Becker Lake County Park

• 75 acres in size
• Parking lot
• Walking trails
• Lake access to

Becker Lake

Friendship State Recreation Trail

• A 4 mile multi-use, limestone trail

that runs from City of Brillion to Forest Junction along an abandoned railroad corridor.

• Permitted uses on the trail are:
• Walking
• Running
• Bicycling
• Horseback riding (mid-April to Nov.1st)
• Snowmobiles

Fox River State Recreation Trail

• A 25 mile multi-use trail that runs

from City of Green Bay to Ott Road along an abandoned railroad

• corridor. The Calumet County

portion of the trail has a limestone base and is 5.25 miles long. A parking lot is available on Holmes Road.

• Permitted uses on the trail are:
• Walking
• Running
• Bicycling
• Horseback riding (mid-April to Nov.1st)
• Snowmobiles

County Snowmobile Program

• Administer the county’s snowmobile

program.

– Apply for and administer grant funding:

• 133 funded miles
• New/Replacement bridges requests
• New mileage requests
• Trail development requests
• Reroute requests

– Prepare and apply for the appropriate permits when necessary. i.e. WI DNR chapter 30 permits – Work collectively with 4 snowmobile clubs – Open/close trails – Promote the trail system – Address problems or concerns

Questions