May 11, 2023 at 12:14 p.m.
Oneida County forestry committee reviews recreation comments
In total, the survey received 1,070 responses.
Approximately 75% of respondents were either residents of the county, or owned a seasonal dwelling in the county.
Fifty-six percent of respondents were male and 42% female, with 2% preferring not to answer. Respondents came from all age groups, with Generation X (born from 1965 - 1980) and Baby Boomers (born 1946 - 1964( comprising the majority of the respondents.
Key Findings
There were several key findings listed in the survey synopsis presented to the committee. The most frequent outdoor recreational activity mentioned by those who responded was walking and hiking, with 79% listing this as one of their most frequent activities. Boating was a favorite activity of 69% of respondents and fishing was held highly by 62%. Respondents also listed swimming as a favorite, with 59% choosing that as one of their favorite activities. Fifty-nine percent of respondents listed canoeing or kayaking as important.
Where the potential lies
The survey also asked respondents for their thoughts on where there is potential for development of recreational opportunities. Nearly 700 people responded to this portion of the survey. Bike trails were listed as a potential opportunity by 152 people. ATV/UTV trails received 126 responses, with 20 people looking for more ATV/UTV routes.
Walking, hiking and nature trails were seen as an opportunity within the county for 96 respondents. Mountain biking improvements were seen as important by 57 respondents.
Swimming areas were another area respondents said could use improvement. Thirty-four people listed a splash pad as a potential opportunity, 18 listed swimming beaches, 10 people were looking for a water park, and seven listed a pool as an additional swimming opportunity.
Camping was indicated as an opportunity for improvement by 53 respondents. Fifteen wanted more camping, 15 wanted more rustic camping and 10 were looking for RV camping or sites with water and electric.
Usage - Perch Lake Park
There were also questions about usage of county parks and satisfaction with those parks. While the majority of respondents said they did not use Perch Lake County Park, many reported using the park occasionally.
Of those who did use the park, overwhelmingly they rated their satisfaction with the park as good or very satisfied. Out of the 275 people who shared their opinion about the Judy Swank Shelter at the park, over 81% rated their satisfaction as good or very satisfied.
Another area with a large majority of respondents offering a rating of good or very satisfied was recreational trails. Almost 83% of the 276 people who answered that question gave those ratings.
In all, the park rated very well with those who used it. The majority of responses in each category was in the good to very satisfied category.
In the category of additional improvements, the item most frequently mentioned was trails. Better parking was also high on the wish list.
Usage - Town Line Lake Park
Overall satisfaction with Town Line Lake County Park was in the fair to good category. As for the beach area, users were evenly split with ratings of poor, fair, good, and did not use. Only 2.28% of people were very satisfied with the beach at Town Line. Parking facilities rated the highest, with 41.28% stating they were good. The picnic area was listed most frequently as fair, at 30.28%. Those with good satisfaction ratings for the picnic area accounted for 26.15% of respondents.
In the way of additional improvements, better swimming, a shelter, swimming beach and playground or playground equipment were among the suggestions offered.
Usage - Gillette-Wickham Lakes Recreation Area
While there were only 50 respondents who dsif they use the Gillette-Wickham Lakes Recreation Area, they overwhelmingly reported their satisfaction with the park as either good or very satisfied.
Fifty percent of respondents rated the parking as good. Boat access was rated as good by 22.92% and fair by 31.25%. Only 10.42% rated the boat access as being very satisfying.
There were a few words that came up often in the written improvement suggestions. All of these were shown as word bubbles in the synopsis. Those words included bathrooms, parking, pier, access, forestry and fishing.
Usage - Enterprise Campground
Ninety-four respondents indicated they had used the Enterprise Campground. Over 25 of those had not spent any nights at the campground, however. More than 15 spent two nights there. Ten had spent three nights, and more than 10 had spent either one or four nights. Several people also indicated they had spent 10 or more nights.
One hundred and twenty-nine people rated their satisfaction with the campground. A large majority of people gave a rating of good or very satisfied.
Over 64% of people listed their satisfaction with the campsite size as either good or very satisfied. The number of campsites was seen as either good or very satisfying in over 54% of cases.
Camping fees, firewood availability, campground rules and regulations, toilets, hand water pumps and picnic tables and fire rings were also found to be satisfying.
Adjoining ATV/UTV trails were favored by over 71% of respondents to the survey.
In the way of additional improvements, there were several suggestions. They included improvements to the trails and campground, campsites and a shower facility.
User Groups
The survey of the county's parks and campgrounds also as looked at different user groups. Of the 976 who answered the question about what type of water enthusiast they were, 98% said they were at least a causal user, with 48% of those being in the "enthusiastic" category. Just over 25% were avid water users.
Seventy percent of users used a canoe, kayak or row boat. Over 65% responded they were boaters or engaged in motorized water sports.
Swimmers accounted for approximately 65% of respondents.
Fifty percent said they used the water in the county for fishing.
Silent Sports Trails
The majority of the 944 who commented on their use of silent sports trails said they did not use those trails in the county.
The Washburn Hiking Trails saw the highest amount of use by those who responded, with over 30% using those trails at least occasionally.
Satisfaction with the silent sports trails was high. Washburn Hiking Trails again saw the highest satisfaction rating with just under 30% listing their satisfaction as good or very satisfied. Single and double track biking trails at Washburn both had high satisfaction ratings from those who use them, as did both the Nose Lake and Cassian biking trails.
Biking
When it came to bicycling, the survey asked a few specific questions about this form of recreation. Forty-three percent of respondents said they were interested but concerned about their safety on the trials. Most respondents indicated their use was mostly on roadways and connecting trails.
Winter sports
The survey also looked at winter sports.
Almost 50% of respondents said they were snowshoe enthusiasts.
The same number also indicated they were into snowmobiling and ATV/UTV riding. Ice fishing came in next at just over 40%, Cross country skiers made up 30% of respondents.
The majority of respondents, from 76% to 89%, did not use any of the county's silent sports trails in winter. However, for those who did, satisfaction ratings with all of the trail systems was high.
In the way of improvements, trails was the big focus. Loops, groomed ski trails, parking, bike trails and skate ski were all words used multiple times as suggested improvements.
In another question, 47% of respondents said they were not interested in snowmobiling. Eighteen percent listed themselves as avid snowmobilers. Most riders listed their satisfaction as good or very satisfied with the trails in the county.
The forestry department will take the comments and suggestions received through the survey into account when creating the goals and objectives for the next five years.
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