CARBON COUNTY, Pa. — Due to high water levels from Hurricane Ida, the swimming beach and boat launches at Beltzville State Park will be closed for Labor Day weekend.
Officials with the park in Carbon County posted the announcement on Facebook Friday morning.
The gates are closed at the boat ramps at Beltzville State Park, and no swimming signs are up along the beach area—bad news for people who come to the state park, especially for the Labor Day Weekend.
Heavy rains from tropical storm Ida raised the levels of the lake several feet, making the areas unsafe for use.
"With the hurricane, it brought a lot of water, and the dam at Beltzville is a flood-control dam. That's its first mission, to protect everything downstream from us," explained Park Manager Ben Monk.
Monk says the water is receding, but not fast enough, so they had to make the call on closing these areas.
Julia Mertz and her family came to Beltzville for the day and were surprised to see the closed signs when they arrived.
"We drove an hour and 20 minutes to get here, not knowing that it was closed, but we're having a lot of fun anyway. Nobody has given us a hard time. they're allowing us to enjoy what's left of the sand."
People can still come and picnic for the day or hike the trails.
"We ask that everybody stays out of the water. There's water in places that it isn't usually, so we don't know what's under that water and what you're stepping in," Mond added.
Park officials hope to have the boat launch open again soon, but there will be no more swimming for the rest of the season.
The state park has been a very popular place for outdoor recreation, especially on holiday weekends. Park managers have had to implement several crowd control measures after severe overcrowding on holidays over the past two seasons.