Cool spots stay busy with heat across Lane County
EUGENE / VENETA, Ore. (KMTR) –- With the hottest weekend of the year in the air, local reservoirs, rivers and pools stayed packed across Lane County, sending many of them to capacity.
Richardson County Park on the north end of the Fern Ridge Reservoir is one of the places that hit top numbers on Saturday. With the 100-degree day, the reservoir park’s parking lot reached capacity.
Park goers say for the most part, beyond some underage drinking many say they spotted, people stayed safe.
As to why the park remains a popular spot, park goers say it’s because there’s something for everyone including boating, floating, swimming or whatever.
“You know, [a} 20-minute drive and it's just so close and so clean and nice and the people are nice,” said Paul Boehringer, a former Eugene resident who traveled to Fern Ridge Reservoir from Gresham.
“We have a boat that we bring in so we can easily get them in and out of the boat,” says Linda Royer, a Eugene resident.
Over at Amazon Pool on Hilyard Street in Eugene, the outdoor cool spot reached capacity Saturday. Crowds like that only happen about a dozen times each summer.
“I know we heard the airport hit 102, but we're about 5 to 6 degrees hotter here on deck, so we hit capacity, which is 1000 people, about 45 minutes into our rec swim,” said Seth Hodsdon, an Amazon Pool lifeguard.
Pool guards say everything is going smoothly though.
“Absolutely, it's been a great summer. We want people to have fun while they're here, but also to remain safe,” said David Moreno, a lifeguard at Amazon Pool.
Amazon Pool’s rec swim is open Monday through Sunday from 2 to 5 PM and Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.
Prices are $4.25 for kids, $4.75 for adults and $10 for families.
As for Richardson Park and all Lane County Parks, they costs $3 per day and are open from dawn to dusk.
For more info on Amazon Pool, click the following link: http://www.eugene-or.gov/Facilities.aspx?Page=detail&RID=12.
For more info on Richardson Park, click the following link: http://ecomm.lanecounty.org/Parks/ViewPark.aspx?p=1.
