Battle of the beaches?

CRYSTAL LAKE – Local officials say it’s not a battle of the beaches, but some residents are drawing a line in the sand.

Some prefer Crystal Lake Park District’s Main Beach, while others are decamping for the city of Crystal Lake’s newer Three Oaks Recreation Area. Both the park district and the city plan to enhance their facilities this summer, but leaders insist there won’t be a recreational war fought with taxpayer dollars.

“I don’t see it as a competition,” Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley said.

Neither facility is dependent on admission revenue, so there is little incentive to compete, he said.

He also dismissed the notion that the two governmental entities duplicate services.

“Both Three Oaks and Main Beach add to the character of this community,” Shepley said. “And there are enough people here to support them.”

Main Beach has been at the city’s namesake lake since 1923.

For decades, it was the only beach in Crystal Lake.

But summertime crowds have decreased at Main Beach since the city of Crystal Lake opened Three Oaks Recreation Area for its first full summer season in 2011. The city spent $14.37 million to convert the former Vulcan Materials gravel pits into a park with a beach, marina, hiking trails and other features.

Both the city of Crystal Lake and the Crystal Lake Park District are working to upgrade their facilities.

At Three Oaks Recreation Area, city crews put down finer-grade sand at the beach and volleyball courts. Visitors will be able to rent beach chairs and buy towels and gift cards to be used at Three Oaks, Deputy City Manager Eric Helm said.

At the marina, new batteries for trolling motors should power fishing boats longer. The city is working to make sure there will be enough boats even at peak times. The marina also will offer a limited selection of fishing merchandise, mostly convenience items ranging from reel and rod sets to hooks.

“We are always looking for ways to improve the customer experience,” Helm said.

City officials don’t have attendance projections for this summer. However, more people passed through the gates at Three Oaks Recreation Area during the Memorial Day weekend in 2012 than the previous year, which was hampered by poor weather. Helm said attendance over the holiday weekend was a “good sign” that Three Oaks could exceed last year’s numbers.

More than 129,000 people visited Three Oaks in fiscal 2012.

Since opening in late 2010, Three Oaks has earned high marks from residents, local organizations, and area businesses. An article in the May/June issue of “Midwest Living” magazine compared Crystal Lake and its new recreation area to “Lake Geneva, Wisconsin – before it became an uberpopular spot.”

Admission to Three Oaks Recreation Area remains free for city residents with a vehicle sticker. Nonresidents must pay for daily parking and beach admission or buy a season pass.

The Crystal Lake Park District Board is reviewing plans for the future of Main Beach and may consider building new water features at the park, such as a splash pad. Both Three Oaks Recreation Area and Veterans Acres have splash pads. They also will consider renovations to Main Beach’s playground, boat rental area and the building’s ventilation system.

Last summer, the number of visitors to Crystal Lake Park District’s Main and West beaches fell by about 19,000, according to reports. Park officials have said the decline was a result of several factors, including competition from Three Oaks and a $1 admission fee for residents implemented in 2010. The fee was implemented to help offset the cost of beach operations.

The park district wants to reverse that trend this summer with new amenities such as an inflatable jungle gym raft, an inflatable slide raft, a floating splash raft, and a water volleyball court. The features will be free, but a rental fee may be charged to use the water volleyball court during peak times.

Main Beach will rent out kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, family water loungers, and beach chairs and umbrellas.

“We hope more people will come to the beach,” Crystal Lake Park District Executive Director Jason Herbster said.

Herbster was quick to downplay any notion of competition between park district and city facilities. Herbster said Main Beach and Three Oaks Recreation Area are “two very different beaches.”

“People can weigh their options and pick which one best fits their needs,” he said.

That’s what Crystal Lake resident Donna Clasen and her family plan to do this summer.

“Our family will probably split our time between the beaches,” she said. “While we like [Three Oaks], it really is geared toward younger children. The swimming area is small and the water isn’t deep. We prefer Main Beach ... it is a bigger beach and has more to do for older kids and teens.”

Other families also use both facilities. Diane Kelly, a Crystal Lake mother of three girls, likes having two beaches. Deciding which facility to go to is really a matter of who they plan to meet that day.

“It depends on who the kids are playing with,” she said.

William Standley, a 9-year-old from Crystal Lake, has been to Three Oaks Recreation Area, but he usually goes to Main Beach.

“This is where all my friends are,” he said.

The new water volleyball court and other features make it that much better, Standley said.

Other people said they largely have stopped going to Main Beach since Three Oaks Recreation Area opened. Three Oaks is bigger, has Culver’s food, and is cleaner, said Janelle Baer, a lifelong Crystal Lake resident.

“I like Three Oaks better because the water is cleaner,” she said. “I probably won’t go back to Main Beach.”

In 2011, the park district’s two beaches – West Beach and Main Beach – were closed once because of high levels of E. coli. There were at least 17 E.coli closures in 2010. The E.coli problems in 2010 were caused by waterfowl, and the park district took steps to keep the birds away from the beaches.

The swimming area at Three Oaks Recreation Area has not been closed due to high levels of E.coli, according to the McHenry County Health Department, which regularly tests beaches throughout the county.

For all the praise heaped on Three Oaks Recreation Area, there is one group of people who have either gone once or who haven’t gone at all because of the prices charged to nonresidents. Many of these people are residents of the Crystal Lake Park District, but not residents of Crystal Lake. That means they have to pay nonresidents prices to get into Three Oaks Recreation Area.

“We went to Three Oaks last summer, and it was $50 to get in,” said Rene Gaunaurd of Lakewood. “[Main Beach] is a much better value for our family of 5.”

About 30 percent of visitors to Three Oaks Recreation Area last year were nonresidents. Several other nonresidents interviewed for this article said the same thing: They liked Three Oaks Recreation, but it was too expensive.

Crystal Lake does offer a season pass for nonresidents. It costs $290 for a family of three and $370 for a family of four. Each additional family member costs $30.

Three Oaks Recreation Area and Main Beach at a glance

Main Beach: The Crystal Lake Park District acquired Main Beach, through eminent domain, for $19,250 in 1923. That bought 1,500 feet of lake frontage and 27.78 acres. The brick recreation building was built three years later. Admission is $1 for Crystal Lake Park District residents.

Three Oaks Recreation Area: In 1991, the City of Crystal Lake gave Vulcan Materials Co. permission to mine under Three Oaks Road in exchange for the deed to the site once the mining was completed. The city took possession of the former gravel pits in 2006 and, several years later, spent $14.37 million to build what would become Three Oaks Recreation Area. The park opened in 2010. Admission is free to residents.

Sources: Crystal Lake Park District, Sandy Price of the Crystal Lake Historical Society, and the city of Crystal Lake, the Northwest Herald.