New Gravel on Kyle's Landing Road

     First, the good news:  there's fresh gravel on Kyle's Landing road.

     Now for the bad news:  there's fresh gravel on Kyle's Landing road.

     On the positive side, the recent road grading and gravel work has made for a much nicer downhill approach into the campground.  The gentleman who runs the National Park Service's road grader did a good job of smoothing out the rough spots and evenly spreading the gravel around. 

     On the negative side, if you're in a two-wheel drive car and headed out of Kyle's, the new gravel makes for an interesting ride in a few places.  We're already hearing about it from visitors who have fishtailed and spun their way out and didn't particularly enjoy the experience.

     We applaud the National Park Service's effort to improve the road---it had some annoying stretches until the recent grading.  We also appreciate them doing this work now rather than in the middle of canoe season, as has been their historical pattern.  Unfortunately, after a couple of hundred two-wheel drive cars and light trucks spin their way up the hill, flinging new gravel left and right, the washboards will be back.  About the only permanent way to fix the problem is to pave the road, which is a different blog discussion altogether.

    We should also mention that the county's section of the road (the upper half) is quite rutty in a couple of places.  While you don't need 4-WD or high clearance to negotiate these ruts, you do need to watch where you put your wheels.  

A Word About Our "Park Service" Poll

     If you're wondering how we came up with the four "National Park Service projects" in our opinion poll, it was by listening year after year to the park visitors who come through our door.

     Limited campsite availability, poor road conditions, the absence of a visitor's center on the upper river, and inadequate parking and a general lack of guest facilities at the popular Ponca low water bridge (such as picnic tables, improved launch and swimming access, and expanded restroom facilities) tend to be the things that frustrate park visitors the most.

     So, be assured the list wasn't founded on personal opinion alone (although we feel that all of these issues merit NPS attention)---it's primarily based on the feedback we've received from countless paddlers, hikers and backpackers, campers, elk watchers, etc.  Once our poll is complete, we'll share the results with NPS leadership at Buffalo National River headquarters.  The current superintendent seems to be the listening and doing kind, so perhaps this poll input will help make a difference somewhere, somehow on the river we all love.