Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Reservation System Canned At Parks

Campers at lakes Ouachita, Greeson and DeGray will be glad to learn that the future is rapidly changing back to the past.

The new campsite reservation system instituted this year by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency responsible for management of the lakes, has met with strong objection among long-time campers.

Col. Robert Crear, district engineer for the Corps' Vicksburg District, ordered modifications of the system to provide better service to campers.

The system, originally set to require reservations at least three days in advance of arrival at a campsite, is being changed to accommodate spur of the moment campers and those who prefer a local reservations system to get a local campsite.

Lake personnel are installing computers at the campground entrance stations, so that campers can immediately find out about campsite availability, choose a site from among those that are not reserved or occupied, and make reservations for future stays.

About half the campsites in each campground have been designated as non-reservable, making them available to campers arriving without reservations.

The remaining campsites will continue to be available for reservations that can be made by calling ReserveAmerica toll free at 1-800-280-2267 or 1-877-444-6777. The quickest way to make a reservation is through the Internet at

http://www.reserveusa.com

You can click through the site by selecting the state, then the campground and then the campsite number.

Although the new half-and-half designation of reservable and non-reservable sites has been implemented, Crear emphasized that existing reservations on all sites will be honored until those sites are free of reservations at which time some will become non-reservable.

You can obtain more information about the campsite reservation system and Lakes Ouachita, Greeson and DeGray by calling the Corps of Engineers Ouachita Project office at 501- 767-4844.