Last week work began on the Gentilly Bridge River Access east of Crookston. Once complete, the access will include parking and a launch point for users to access the Red Lake River.
Parks and Recreation Director Scott Riopelle said the access should be complete by mid-June. “Wilkins Construction is working on the access on the east side of the river,” said Riopelle. “It will be accessible from both the north and south side. People will be able to drive beneath (the bridge). There will be a river access that has to be cut out because of the drop to make it more usable for users. Hopefully, it will be done within the next month. So, we’re hoping to have it finished pretty quickly, and people can start using it.”
The new access will tie into current accesses closer to or within city limits. “You’ll be able to go to Highway 9/102 out there has a site, Central Park, or we will also have an area to get off above the dam,” said Riopelle. “We have a canoe/kayak launch there. Then we hope to put another fishing pier beneath the dam, so people could tie off to that if they need to and re-enter the water. We also have another canoe/kayak launch below the dam by Kreitzburg. And I think there is another one actually around Castle Park as well.”
Riopelle was uncertain how long of a trip it would be from the new access to town. “I’m not sure if it’s about 7 or 14 miles or something like that,” said Riopelle. “I’m not positive. The river does wind, but it’s probably a couple of hours canoe trip – 2-3 hours – depending on how fast you go if you’re going to float or move. It’s not too far but a fairly scenic little deal for most people making a quick day trip.”
SKATE PARK
The City of Crookston also announced last week they had scrapped plans to remove the skate park in Central Park as part of the campground project. Community members had raised concerns with the city about the removal of the popular skate park.
Riopelle said while they won’t have campsites near the skate park, the city will likely add some vegetation as a buffer between Central Park’s two attractions. “They’ve made some decisions; we’ve made them down at the city,” said Riopelle. “I think they’re going to try to utilize that skate park for the time being, and hopefully, for the long run for them. We think that it will not affect the campground because we won’t have campsites over that far. We’ll do some stuff to cordon that area off a little bit probably, maybe with plantings and things like that to shelter that a little bit. It’s a nice deal that the people have put in there, but we also have our other skate park up at Highland or Ray Ecklund Complex.”
