The Chelatchie Prairie Neighborhood Association (CPNA) is declaring a “staycation” summer due to economical and political uncertainties.
With that, the association would like to improve the efforts of taking care of the Clark County Scenic Loop for Clark County tourism.
“People are so bombshelled by the political environment this year that we don’t intend for them to travel off to Mexico or Europe or something like that,” said Brian Rolshoven, CPNA president. “I think they’re all going to just stay at home and see what’s going to happen with the political environment, and so they’re probably going to travel up to the lakes this summer and around the scenic loop, and so we want to make that loop a little bit nicer than it is.”
The Northern Clark County Scenic Tour is a 70-mile loop that directs drivers to parks, historic sites and other attractions, Clark County’s website states. The drive goes through Battle Ground, Yacolt, Amboy, La Center and Ridgefield.
If one started in Battle Ground and went clockwise around the driving loop, travelers would first come across Battle Ground Lake State Park, the Heisson Bridge, Lucia Falls and Moulton Falls regional parks before hitting the town of Yacolt. From Yacolt, the drive heads through Amboy and then to the Cedar Creek Grist Mill, down to La Center and into Ridgefield where both units of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge that are accessible to the public can be reached. The drive then heads into the Whipple Creek area before eventually traveling by Daybreak Regional Park and Lewisville Regional Park before making it back into Battle Ground.
“And so we want to make that loop a little bit nicer than it is,” Rolshoven said. “It really got a beating this winter.”
Along with branch cleanup, Rolshoven pointed out the need for roadside garbage pickup, but the twists and turns of north Clark County roadways makes that rather difficult to maintain proper safety without proper signage and safety, Rolshoven said, adding that he would like to see Clark County Public Works assist in roadside garbage cleaning.
Rolshoven said a local citizen, Bernie Straub, has made tremendous strides in cleaning up the roadside garbage since the loss of the Larch Mountain Corrections Center crews, but Clark County Public Works refuses to pick up the trash bags Straub leaves behind along the road.
Rolshoven also said the derelict properties and eyesore conditions that are not up to county code need to be reported to Clark County Code Enforcement to improve the visual conditions of the drive between scenic spots.
“We want people to call in for eyesore properties, anything that bugs them along the route,” he said. “We’re going to try to preserve this route because we feel that the people are going to staycation this year.”
The reason for the staycation this year, Rolshoven said, is because a lot of people are not committing to buying plane tickets and booking hotels as uncertainty is rising.
“I think the importance of the loop will be this year because everybody is sitting on their hands,” he said, adding that economic conditions and overall uncertainties about a number of current events might lead to more people staying in their hometowns this travel season.
For more information on the scenic loop and other leisure activities in Clark County, visit clark.wa.gov/county-manager/enjoying-leisure-time.
