Dale Hollow Lake’s Obey River Camp Reopening Postponed

The reopening of Dale Hollow Lake’s Obey River Camp has been postponed due to last month’s flooding event.

Camping was originally set to start on April 16th. Park Ranger Sondra Carmen said the earliest possible opening date is now April 30th.

“One of the reasons Obey River Campground is so popular is because of all of the water front camping,” Carmen said. “This entire last week ever since the flooding, all of these sites have been sitting under water, so they have been saturated.”

Carmen said a portion of the access road remains under water, and the camp site has suffered facility and utility damage. Carmen said the full extent of work is unknown until water levels decrease.

“We will have the cleanup done by contractor,” Carmen said. “But, we can not get the negotiated price for the work until once the water is off and all of the drift has settled. Sometimes people think we can start immediately and start upland. Well, the drift continues to move around, so if we have negotiated a price and it changes due to more or less drift in the area, we have to start over.”

Carmen said once an exact opening date is determined, customers will receive notification to reschedule reservations or receive a refund. Carmen said repairs can begin when the water recedes, and the land is dry enough to support machinery.

“In the same respect, we have to make sure all of the electric pedestals are dried out,” Carmen said. “They fill with water, and we actually see as the lake runs down, water runs out of them, so we have to make sure they are all dry before we turn power back on.”

Carmen said at its peak, Dale Hollow Lake reached 655 feet, which is four more than the level of the water front area. Carmen said the camp site is expected to resurface later this week with work beginning during the week of April 16th.