Last week, crews removed several hundred cubic yards of debris from park grounds and trails. More debris removal is needed along Carl Sandburg Lane (the multi-use gravel road through the park) and in the hikers’ lot.
Staff are also going thru the funding, compliance, and contracting processes to install a temporary bridge on the Front Lake Trail. Since the 2022 failure of Front Lake dam, Front Lake Trail has been main pedestrian detour to enter the park. Loss of two small bridges on this trail makes it unusable. This repair is the park’s top priority, so the Front Lake trail and parking lot can reopen. Without this trail there is no way to access the park from Front Lake parking lot. This lot is the main parking area for most of the site’s 150,000 annual visitors.
Front Lake dam and bridge suffered further destruction by Hurricane Helene. The new damage is substantial, and repairs will take a long time.
The park also continues to work on funding, contracting, and compliance processes for repairing the undercut culvert where the park shuttle exits the park and for repairing the sewer pipe that supports most of the park. Park staff continue to fill in washouts along trails and place barriers around severely eroded areas as these areas are unstable.
While the park remains closed during clean-up efforts, park staff and the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara are offering free programs in the local community. On Saturday, December 7, from 10am-2pm, they will co-host a holiday program featuring holiday music, crafts, and Sandburg family traditions. The program will take place at Honeysuckle Holler Social Club, 101 E. Allen St. For more information on this program visit https://www.facebook.com/share/14aCShNFed/
“We appreciate our community ‘s continued patience during ongoing clean-up efforts. I am also grateful for park staff’s commitment to these efforts, since many are still dealing with the aftermath of Helene in their own homes,” said Superintendent Polly Angelakis. “We are all anxious to reopen as soon as safely possible.”
For updates, please check the park’s Facebook page or www.nps.gov/carl.
Written by the NPS.