10/10/08

It was a big year for Shoshone Falls Park, according to the Twin Falls Parks and Recreation Department.

The park brought in over $179,000 in revenue, which according to park officials, is its second best year ever.

Dennis Bowyer, Twin Falls Parks and Recreation Director, says, “Part of the improvements that we've done down there is helping out with the people, tourists going down there.”

Bowyer says that the improvements made to the park over the past seven years, especially the ones this past summer, have made a world of difference.

“We did the parking lot by the main ticket booth there, beautiful fencing along the edge there, and also the kiosks down below by the main overlook.”

This past November, Idaho Power shut off the power plant for several months for maintenance. Bowyer says, this resulted in extra flows off the falls.

“While, sometimes, a lot of the times this summer, before they got the power plant back on again, we were having flows of over one-thousand.”

Bowyer believes that the banning of alcohol at Dierkes Lake Park also played a role by making the area more appealing to families.

In the next year, he says the department plans to replace sets of wooden steps along the trails surrounding Dierkes Lake.

“Those wooden steps have probably been in there for close to twenty years, and we've done some repairs every year on those. It's just about time to start replacing them.”