Big Lake, Rocky Lake will open for 2022 season after all under state plan

After warning that popular Big Lake and Rocky Lake state campgrounds and recreation areas could remain closed this summer season because there is no contractor on tap to manage them, state officials have instead decided to open them anyway.

The plan, they said, is to move them under direct state operation. But the decision means fewer amenities and lower safety, they warned in a release.

In the past, officials with the state’s Department of Natural Resources, which oversees the state park system, have contracted out daily management of many popular park areas to a concessionaire. Doing so allows near-constant oversight and regular maintenance or bathrooms, trash and other amenities. It also keeps a better handle on safety concerns. Big Lake North and South and Rocky Lake were most recently managed by Great Holiday Campgrounds, which still manages several other areas.

State officials last month announced that if they were not able to secure a new contractor to operate the Big Lake and Rocky Lake areas, they would likely be forced to keep them closed for the 2022 season. The areas, said MatSu region state parks superintendent Stuart Leidner, are far enough away from State Park offices to make thorough management using current state staff difficult. Unlike many other state park lake and recreation areas, including Finger Lake, Big Lake North and South also maintain a “no alcohol” rule.

“We just don’t have the staff nor the funding,” Leidner told the Frontiersman in April. “There’s no supplemental funding for us to manage those this summer.”

Now state officials instead say they plan to open the recreation areas for day and overnight use without that concessionaire, leaning instead on volunteer camp hosts and a paid Alaska Conservation Corps summer-only position.

“We will do our best to open these campgrounds but will need the public to be aware of the changes to the areas, and adjust their plans as needed,” Leidner said in a release.

In the past campers, for example, users were able to reserve campsites in advance through the contractor. For 2022, however, the sites will instead be first come, first serve. And because there may not be staff on site, recreators on land and on the lake will need to lean on calling 911 in case of any emergency.

Officials said in the release they are in the process of making final repairs to the areas, and plan to have them open for use by the end of May.