Two new additions planned for Mormon Trail park

Two new amenities set to be ready for Mormon Trail County Park near Bridgewater later this spring look to make the popular park even more popular among those who love the outdoors.

Adair County Conservation Director Dominic Johnson told the newspaper last week that a new picnic shelter and latrine will be ready sometime between now and peak outdoors season. Money is in place and bids have gone out on the projects.

“In total, we used to have four picnic shelters: two at Mormon Trail and two at Orient. All of them were built in the late 60s or early 70s, I believe. They’ve all served their purpose, the concrete is busted up or broken and not the best for accessibility,” Johnson said. “The one on the north side of Mormon Trail was demoed when we put in that new showerhouse facility. We’ve been wanting to replace that one and wanted it more by the beach, so that’s where that one is going to go.”

The new shelter will go near the top of the staircase that leads down to the beach. It will be 24-by-32 feet in size.

Each picnic table in the shelter will have memorial or business-sponsored picnic tables. Each table will have a plaque that is customizable as a memorial for a loved one or to promote a business. The price for one table is $600, or a custom image, like a business logo, can be engraved for a total cost of $650. Those interested in sponsoring a picnic table may call 641-743-6450.

The new latrine will be located down at the beach and will replace a latrine that is already there.

The conservation department has $70,000 in American Rescue Plan Act money and $10,000 in Empowering Adair County Foundation grant money to use on the two projects.

“We get a lot of people who come to our beach. Even on weekdays there are a lot of people who use it, but especially on the weekends, it’s pretty popular,” Johnson said.

While the county’s campgrounds are available for use all year long without water, conservation employees will soon start the process of turning on electrical and opening showerhouses for the camping season. Johnson said the goal is to have that completed by April 15 each year.

“It’s hard to believe this time of year is here already. We’ve had people calling about camping already,” Johnson said. “People are welcome to camp already if there’s a nice weekend they’d like to.”