Courtesy photo

It’s been a busy summer at Raystown Lake despite the coronavirus pandemic.

“The lake has seen increased use this summer from what we relate directly to the COVID pandemic. More visitors are walking, using the trails, biking, kayaking, boating and just generally being outdoors as they try to find ways to stay active without many of the regular businesses or experiences available to them,” said Ranger Allen Gwinn of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, supervisory ranger for Raystown Lake.

Gwinn said non-boating visits are significantly higher.

“We are still full nearly every weekend at the boat ramps, but we have noticed that ‘full’ is happening earlier in the day than in past years. On a normal past sunny weekend, we are full by noon, but this year on that same sunny weekend, we are full by 9 or 10 a.m. Same with camping, sort of. In the past we were full on weekends all summer, but this year in addition to being full on weekends, we have noticed more people camping during the week,” Gwinn said.

Matt Price, executive director of the Huntingdon County Visitors Bureau, said his office has fielded more calls from people looking for lodging than he can remember in his 13 years there.

COVID-19 had an impact on the early part of the tourist season.

“We lost pretty much all of April and May. That is usually the early start of our travel season. Our bread and butter is early June through mid-September. We need to make hay while the sun is shining. We didn’t lose hardly any of that season,” Price said.

The bureau changed the focus of its advertising as a result of COVID-19.

“Our motto is ‘There is space for you here.’ We are focusing on a one- to three- hour drive time,” Price said.

Closures caused issues

The delayed openings of public beaches at Seven Points and Tatman Run and campgrounds at Seven Points and Susquehannock had a negative effect.

Because Raystown Lake is a federal project, it was not bound by the state delays.

“But we did, however, remain closed longer than past years. It was critical for us because we had many visitors still trying to use the lake so boat ramps became full earlier, lake front areas that were not designed for crowds were seeing overuse and visitors were parking in places not intended for that purpose because normal facilities remained closed.

“Once we opened areas to ‘normal’ use, we saw that the crowded areas were less crowded and that visitors were acting responsible, which also helped protect our staff from unnecessary interactions and potential exposure,” Gwinn said.

“Once they did reopen people came and continue to come,” Price said.

The lake has been as busy as ever, Gwinn said.

“In 2018, there was a boating capacity study completed for Raystown Lake, and it found that the lake has ‘reached or exceeded’ capacity. That means that every weekend we fill all of the boat trailer spaces and many of the marina boats are also out on the water,” Gwinn added. “So we are not more full this year on the lake than other years because full is full. We fill all of those spaces earlier in the day this summer, but once they are all full, then there is nowhere else to park and there is no more room to access the lake.”

“In short, the lake isn’t really any busier than in past years, just busy longer each day than in past years,” Gwinn said.

Biking more popular

There has been an increase in biking in the area this summer.

“We have seen steady increases in use of the Allegrippis Trails since they first opened in 2009, but this year, it seems to have exploded. Same with the skills park in Seven Points, which opened in 2016. This summer it has seen heavy use from folks learning to use their bikes on some features that test ability and skill, but in a much safer and accessible location. I would say partly because of the weather, partly because of COVID, and partly because of the continuing trend to use public land; all of those have led to significant popularity with the trails and with the skills park,” Gwinn said.

The pandemic did have a negative impact on the hotel and restaurant businesses, Price said.

“From our second quarter room tax data — for April, May and June — we were down about 10 percent for the same quarter compared to last year. That includes hotel rooms and bed and breakfasts,” Price said.

The restaurant segment has been hit hard because of government restrictions.

“People are spending money on lodging but are not able to participate in our restaurants the way they normally would. Some were able to adapt with outdoor seating,” Price said.

Some see increases

Some businesses have done well despite the pandemic.

“To be honest, it has brought in a lot of new buyers and first-time buyers into the boating industry. It has been a great summer up until now. We are having a major issue; there is a lot of demand out there but not much inventory. We have a lot of deposits on boats that we are waiting to come in. We have already pre-sold 40 percent of our 2021 model year boats,” said Matt Finklestine, general manager at Full Performance Marine, James Creek.

Pam Prosser, director of marketing for Seven Points Marina, said, “We’ve had one of the best seasons we have ever had as far as rentals. We are finding that people are finding Raystown and country living to be a safe place to be. We had to make some changes with our opening. We were not open to the public so we would not have masses of crowds. We restricted access to the marina; we had to protect our crews and our customers. We were open to people who rented boat slips and boats. They were able to drive to the marina,” After a slow start, it has been very busy, she said.

Gwinn and Price are looking forward to fall.

“I would suspect the fall will see the continuing trend of outdoor recreation. Many students are staying home to do online school so families will be more available to use the lake. Camping and boating, biking and walking will remain popular as we try to stay fit and stay outdoors. Boating will tail off after Labor Day but will continue in lesser numbers as long as the lake stays warm through September. Biking will get even more popular as the weather cools and leaves start to turn colors in the fall. October is probably our busiest month for mountain biking,” Gwinn said. “Our campground is scheduled to close Oct. 26, so I suspect we will see significant use right up to the end of the season.”

Price said it has been very busy summer in Huntingdon County, and he is hoping the momentum will carry into the fall. “A lot of fall travel was event centered … like Hartslog Days and other events and Penn State football were canceled. We get an overflow from the State College area. That will hurt us this fall,” Price said.