The Labor Day weekend has come and gone, but the Guthrie County Conservation Department is gearing up for a great finish to the year. While visitors along the Raccoon River Trail have been steady, County Conservation Director Joe Hanner has seen park and camping numbers on the rise.

Hanner and his team worked tirelessly to recover from flooding at Nations Bridge and other parks in 2015. By 2016 the parks were manageable, but still not ideal for good visitor numbers. This year Hanner has seen a lot of new names on the visitor’s log and credits social media for the increase. “I think with social media, and everything that goes on with that, information is dispersed so quickly. If people come out and see the improvements and have an enjoyable experience, it’s pretty easy to post that on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or any of those sights.”

Hanner predicts that if the river stays in its banks, camping numbers will increase this year. While Hanner doesn’t have any official numbers yet, he’s confident his prediction will be accurate. Hanner believes the best camping of the year is mid September to mid October.