April 18, 2024

Green Valley Lake featured in family fishing/boating contest

By JAKE WADDINGHAM

Green Valley Park Ranger Alan Carr said approximately 3,000 of the 18,000 feet of concrete has been poured for the trail extension and construction is expected to start again this spring. The trail will connect McKinley Park to the Green Valley Lake campgrounds when it is complete.

Green Valley Lake is in the running to be part of the top 100 family fishing and boating spots across the nation according to a contest by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF).

“Several of the lakes in the sweepstakes have undergone extensive renovations lately,” Green Valley Park Ranger Alan Carr said. “There has been a lot of investment to bring the fishing back to where it should be. We have a good population of several species and they are good size.”

Iowa locations include Lake Macbride (Solon), Lake Pahoja (west of Larchwood), Little River Watershed Lake (west of Leon) and Green Valley Lake.

“All the lakes they picked have similar qualities,” Carr said. “Because of past projects, we already had good accessibility with four boat ramps, handicap fishing piers and shoreline access.”

Voting for the nation's top 100 family fishing and boating parks continues through April 12. To enter the sweepstakes and vote, visit www.takemefishing.org. Voters can select their top three picks, plus be automatically enrolled for a chance to win a trip to Disney World.

“The fact –that we have three lakes in close proximity (Three Mile, Twelve Mile and Green Valley) makes us one of the go-to places to fish in the state of Iowa,” Carr said. “We attract a lot of people for quite a ways away who will come here to boat and fish.”

Trail extension

Construction is scheduled to pick back up this spring for the Green Valley Lake trail extension. Carr said about 3,000 feet of concrete was poured last fall.

“They are doing the hardest section to access first because it is the farthest away from the road,” Carr said. “Once they finish there, they will have more options to go off of the park roads for hauling rock and concrete.”

The trail extension will be about 18,000 feet total — close to three and a-half miles — and connect McKinley Park to the campgrounds at Green Valley Lake.

Carr is hopeful the project will be completed this construction season.

“It is all weather dependent,” Carr said. “We had anticipated to be done last fall, but we had a very wet August.”