Memorial Day weekend starts off a long, fun summer at the beaches in Port Huron.
The Lakeside Beach splash pad is running, and Dan Gerstenberger said he wouldn’t be surprised to see kids running through it.
“They will be here, ” said Gerstenberger, who works for Port Huron Parks and Recreation. “People test it every day and ask if it’s on.
“Last week we had two showers on to wash off, and they were playing in that.”
The summer season starts with Memorial Day weekend, and city workers are prepping the city’s beaches for sun and sand fans.
Those fans might not have a lot to be excited about: The best chance for sunshine is Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, with rain possible on Sunday and Monday and high temperatures only in the 70s.
The Lake Huron water temperature was 51 on Thursday — not much of an improvement from the 42 degrees in December during the annual Polar Bear Plunge .
Last year, Memorial Day brought an estimated 7,000 people to Lakeside Beach. Officials are preparing for a large crowd, even if cool rainy weather promises to keep attendance down.
Ben Pionk, parks and forestry director, said there are extra portable latrines at the beaches to handle overflow and a second large trash bin at Lakeside.
“We have a second shift for trash if the crowds are big, ” he said. “To try to alleviate the trash laying around and blowing, we will have a second crew coming through.”
He said the weather likely will determine the size of the crowds, and the size of the crowds will determine if a second shift is necessary.
“We’ll see what we get, ” he said. “Really, honestly, we don’t know what to expect.”
The Port Huron Police Department will have a presence on weekends and holidays at Lakeside as it did in 2016.
“We had great success at the end of the season, and we’ re going to make sure those things are in place for the beginning of this season, ” said Nancy Winzer, Port Huron Parks and Recreation director.
The city will continue partnering with Blue Water Area Transit to run a shuttle bus from off-site parking at Holland Woods Middle School — but not this Memorial Day.
“That is going to be for the holiday weekends only, ” Winzer said. “This weekend we’ re not going to be doing that because the forecast seems to be a little colder.
“… We will be doing them again Fourth of July weekend.”
Last year, the city completed a project at Lakeside that included building a splash pad and renovating the restrooms and concession areas. The city also has a boardwalk that allows access at Lakeside.
“It went really well, ” Winzer said. “We were busy all summer, and I think the residents really enjoyed the splash pad; we got a lot of good comments about the new boardwalk.
“There are always a few bugs, ” she said. “Not that we will be perfect yet, but we are working on fixing that stuff. We have made a lot of necessary adjustments, and things are going well.”
