LAS VEGAS - The National Park Service is expecting over 100,000 visitors to Lake Mead National Recreation Area over the Labor Day weekend. Park rangers want to remind visitors that a fun time at the lake begins with being safe and responsible.
"We're gearing up for a busy weekend. We've brought in additional park rangers from around the west to assist." said Andrew Muñoz, Lake Mead National Recreation Area spokesman.
Lake attractions are looking forward to welcoming holiday visitors. They offer plenty of ways of having fun on the lake offering lodging, boat rentals, lake tours, and raft tours.
All summer the National Park Service has been encouraging both boaters and beach swimmers to wear life jackets. For children 12 and under, they are required to be worn while on a boat.
"We don't have lifeguards on duty. So visitors have to take responsibility for themselves and their children when in the water," said Muñoz
Children caught wearing their life jacket will be rewarded by park rangers with a free t-shirt.
Visitors will see more rangers patrolling in areas such as Placer Cove on Lake Mohave, near Nelson, Nev. That area was recently closed to alcoholic beverages.
“We typically see more cases of driving and boating under the influence on holiday weekends. We want visitors to know that if they do it in recreation area, they will go to jail. It’s easier to be responsible and have a
designated driver," says Muñoz.
All rangers will continue their education efforts about new rules prohibiting glass and Styrofoam containers in the entire park. That ban went into effect in March but penalties won't be enforced until January
2010.
Park maintenance crews are asking visitors to help keep the lake clean by making sure they throw away their trash. Receptacles are located throughout the park in picnic areas, near beaches, along roadsides and launch ramps.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area encompasses 1.5 million acres in Nevada
and Arizona along the Colorado River. It includes both Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. The park is the fifth most visited unit of the National Park Service.
To plan your visit to Lake Mead National Recreation Area visit https://www.nps.gov/lame.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
