A Weekday Afternoon at Central Beach

dear friends--

May 10's forecast is for a summer day--let's seize it with an afternoon at Central Beach.

we will park at the Central Beach lot, and gather at the picnic tables above the western end of the lot. since this is a small group, let's meet at 1:00, and start walking by 1:15. if anyone is late, follow the simple directions below and you can catch up with us.

we will walk down to the scenic viewing area above the Lake at the end of Central ave. after some time for views and photos, we will turn left and descend to the beach. we will walk west till we arrive at the east end of the seawall.

then we will climb up to the abandoned part of Lakefront dr, and walk west on the old roadbed till we come to the east end of Beverly Shores. we will continue on Lakefront dr till we come to the Beverly Shores residents' parking area. we will climb the stairs there going inland over the dune. at that point, we will walk on Palmer ave, take a right on Wilson, a left on Drexwood, a left on Vera, and a left on Drake.

we will take a short side trip to explore the lost road of part of Wilson ave to an overlook high above the Lake, then we will continue down Drake to the lakefront, and back right to the west end of Central Beach.

at that point, we will sit on the relatively comfortable rocks at the seawall, and hang out on the beach for a while. the temperature is supposed to be near 80, and i have hopes of going in the water--at least for a brief plunge and a photo op! there are some convenient rocks that we can sit on if we don't want to bring beach equipment. let's bring some snacks or a lunch along too.

remember, this is now a fee area, so before you come to the lot, make sure you study the rather Byzantine and non-user-friendly fee structure at the National Park website

https://www.nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit/fees.htm

you need to be a trained Marxist to understand the difference between all the various fee classes there!

i'm not sure how much they are enforcing this yet, but you don't want to get a fine that is larger than the entrance fee. as well as the Visitor Center, local businesses (eg the Marathon station at US 12 & Broadway) are selling permits.

if you expect to come to the park more than a few times a year, it pays to buy an annual pass. this pass works for ALL National Parks. remember, it's for a good cause too.

please bring a mask in case there will be times when we might need one. also bring hand sanitizer.

if you have Covid-19 (or any other contagious disease), with or without symptoms, please DO NOT ATTEND.

if you have Covid-19 symptoms, whether you've been tested or not, please DO NOT ATTEND.

hope to see you there,

Rick