party in the park
A Saturday event at Garvin Park was more than just a public gathering, it was an introduction — and celebration — of major improvements that have transformed the Lyon County park
Fifty-eight years ago, Lyon County used both a state and federal grant to acquire 400 acres of hilly land about 8 miles west of Tracy.
Four years later, picnic facilities were developed and another 80 acres of land was purchased. That, along with generations of land, started the development of Garvin Park. And nestled in what is known as the lower campground is the latest sign of improvements that have taken place over the last 50 years.
“Park managers throughout the years — Herman Hatton, Wayne Budde and Rick Anderson — they built a firm foundation for us to stand on,” said Lyon County Environmental Administrator Roger Schroeder. “And now with the Legacy dollars coming, we’re able to do these creative things, too. That has been a real game-changer.”
Park administration, together with county commissioners, on Saturday hosted an open house at the new picnic shelter, one of the park’s newest, and certainly its most majestic, features.
Roger Schroeder calls the park a community asset, one that over the last couple of years has become even more of a destination point with everything that has been added.
“We wanted to showcase it, so people can find out about it and be able to reserve it, come have their family gatherings or community gatherings here,” Schroeder said. “It’s a great public asset, and it’s fun to see people come out and celebrate it.”
While the word “community” most often refers to a city, Schroeder said parks like Garvin Park have been looked at communities themselves.
“It’s a Lyon County benefit for all the communities,” he said. “Now that it’s designated as a regional park, our community expansion is just getting bigger. And it’s a resource. We’ve seen many groups come in here — church groups, Scouts, graduation parties. It’s nice to be able to give people a place to host their event.”
The new-look lower campground at Garvin Park recently was home to a wedding reception. Currently, the County does not charge rent for the facility, but that might change in the future.
“We’re going to talk about that over the winter,” said Schroeder. “We need to find an easy way for people to know when it’s available. We’ll have to work through specific rules that apply to this space — we have campers out here, so no loud parties. As far as the cost, that’s going to be a commissioners’ decision, whether it’s rented for a fee or not.”
The picnic shelter and five smaller shelters are available first come-first serve for now. Reservations are not required, but Schroeder said anyone wishing to use the main structure can post a sign to “reserve” the space for a certain amount of time.
“Just letting other people who might want the space that day to know there is something going on,” Schroeder said.
Garvin Park Program Director Brooke Kor, who has been with the park for just over 11 years, said Saturday was indeed a special day, as it was the park’s chance to showcase the new grounds and its features.
“We got to show all the work we put into this, all the grant writing, planning on what we want to grow this park into,” she said.
The day included a number of various stations related to nature; attendees could learn about bees, different animal pelts and animal footprints.
But the big picture itself is the park and its present and future, which looks bright because of the outreach that park staff has done. Kor said camping at the park is growing every year, with more and more visitors choosing the park as the place to spend time.
“We have people coming from South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska — it’s really expanding,” said Kor. “We are getting a lot of people that come back every summer as well. It’s cool to see how many people we draw every year. It’s been fun coming up with new ways to bring people in and to grow the park.”
A total of $2,553,326 in grant funding has been received since 2021 for the three-phase infrastructure improvement plan, with the County making a 10% match toward each grant: Phase I, $1,109,350 in 2021; Phase II, $926,809 in 2023; and Phase III, $517,167 in 2024.
