Lake Marinas Getting Ready For Holiday Weekend

Thousand of Oklahomans will head out of town for the Labor Day holiday. AAA Oklahoma predicts more than 377,000 Oklahomans will travel this weekend. Many of those residents will be heading to an area

Thursday, August 31st 2006, 10:04 am

By: News On 6

Thousand of Oklahomans will head out of town for the Labor Day holiday. AAA Oklahoma predicts more than 377,000 Oklahomans will travel this weekend. Many of those residents will be heading to an area lake.

News on 6 anchor Craig Day says that means, lake marinas in eastern Oklahoma are getting ready for the rush during the last major summer holiday.

Things are quiet, for now, at Taylor's Ferry Marina at Fort Gibson Lake. But before long, it will get packed with folks enjoying the last big holiday weekend of the summer. Kurtis Rowan with Taylorâ€™s Ferry Marina: "We'll get the rental boats all ready, make sure everything is running smooth. And so we'll have no problems there. We'll check the Sea Doos and make sure they're ready to rent to everybody."

Despite a stretch of brutally hot days and the record cost of gas in Oklahoma this season, business has been good. Gas now dropping from around $3 a gallon, can only help. "Those that maybe have put off the trip because of gas prices and stayed close to home, maybe they'll get out for this last holiday weekend and come out and enjoy the lake a little bit."

Fortunately for people coming to Fort Gibson Lake, the lake level is just fine for the big holiday weekend. But that isn't the case everywhere, so the Oklahoma Lake Patrol urges boaters to be cautious.

A majority of Oklahoma lakes are below normal levels. Lake Skiatook is about 8 1/2 feet below normal, Lake Tenkiller is 6 feet below normal and Lake Eufaula, 4 feet below normal.

The Oklahoma Lake Patrol also recommends boaters watch out for increased traffic at the lake. As for the folks at Taylor's Ferry, they hope to see one more big crowd before saying goodbye to summer. "I anticipate all those who are the lake goers, they're all going to be out here this weekend, so it should be a good crowd."

A lot of factors play in to the success of the Labor Day holiday weekend. Weather is the most obvious one. But this year, many folks may decide instead of hitting area lakes, they'll go to home football games at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater or OU in Norman.