13-020 Rooks Park to open one day early on Sunday

Rooks Park to open one day early on Sunday

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will open Rooks Park to vehicles for the upcoming recreation season one day earlier than originally planned. The park will open to vehicle traffic on Sunday, March 31, instead of its usual annual seasonal opening date of April 1. Rooks Park is located on Mill Creek Road just east of Walla Walla, Wash.

Park restrooms will be open on Sunday. However, on Sunday only, the park’s group picnic shelter will be open only on a first-come, first-served basis. It will not be reservable that day on the online national reservation website at www.Recreation.gov.

“We decided to open Rooks Park one day early in order to open it on a weekend day,” said Mill Creek Dam and Bennington Lake Park Ranger Jeremy Nguyen. “We’re glad to help our visitors in this way, and we invite everyone to enjoy a good time at Rooks Park on Sunday.”

Rooks Park is part of a group of recreation areas associated with Walla Walla District’s Mill Creek Dam and Bennington Lake project. The groups of recreation areas include Bennington Lake and the Mill Creek Recreation Trail. The lake and trail are open year-round. Rooks Park is normally seasonally open to vehicle traffic from April  through mid-October, but accessible year-round to pedestrians.

Corps recreation planners invite the public to "play it safe" while having some warm-weather fun. Although above-water temperatures are becoming warmer, springtime water temperatures can be cold enough to cause hypothermia – a severe lowering of core body temperature. State boating, hunting and fishing regulations apply to visitors at Corps sites. Hunting on Corps property is allowed in designated areas and seasons only.

For more information on Corps parks, visit www.nww.usace.army.mil/corpsoutdoors. Keep up with events at Mill Creek Dam and Bennington Lake on Facebook at www.facebook.com/millcreekdam.

-30-