BROWN COUNTY — Brown County State Park and Abe Martin Lodge will be closed through Sunday.
The sediment level from last weekend’s heavy rainfall still remains too high in Ogle Lake to allow the production of potable water, park officials said. State Parks staff members are providing cancellation notices to guests with reservations for the campgrounds and for Abe Martin Lodge through Sunday evening. Closure beyond the weekend will be evaluated as lake conditions and rainfall are monitored.
Park staff continue to work with DNR’s Division of Engineering, consultants and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to ensure that when the park reopens there is safe drinking water and water for all needed uses across the property.
Brown County State Park has 612 campsites between the modern campground and the horsemen’s campground. Scheduled occupancy for the weekend was at about 41 percent.
Campers with reservations are being offered the opportunity to move their reservations to any other DNR campgrounds that have availability, including nearby Monroe Lake and McCormick’s Creek State Park. Refunds are available for those who do not want to relocate to another property.
Abe Martin Lodge has 172 rooms and cabins, and scheduled occupancy was at 100 percent for this weekend. Guests at Abe Martin Lodge are being offered rooms at other state park inns where availability exists; refunds or rescheduling are options as well. Inn staff are also working closely with group functions planned at the lodge, and most have been rescheduled to other state park inns.
Staff continue to handle routine upkeep and maintenance throughout the park and inn in addition to ongoing work on the water system.
The park staff received a supply of drinking water from the Civilian Crisis Response Team today, and said they greatly appreciated the donation.
