Bell County lakes reopen just in time for final weeks of summer break

Earlier this summer, 25 News showed how even the roads leading up to lakes in Bell County were closed due to flooding.

Fast forward to now, and those roads and nearly all the parks at Belton and Stillhouse Hollow Lake are open and ready for family fun.

This is a turn park rangers say took a community effort to make happen.

”We had a lot of flood damage that destroyed a bunch of the camp sites,” said Ryley Rosenbusch, Park Ranger with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“Our volunteers are slowly working every day, trying to fix that stuff up — you know, we wouldn’t have a lot of these parks open if it wasn’t for our volunteers our here.”

There are a couple areas and parks like Dana Peak that remain closed while they work to repair the camp sites and other damage caused by flooding.

Double check that your favorite park is open before heading out.

It’s also important to remember that there may be obstacles in the water that weren’t there before.

That also means to be careful when boating or swimming, and remember to wear a life jacket.