Hot Holiday Weather Packs Crystal Lake Beaches

Temperatures scorching past 90 degrees on Sunday provided good business for Crystal Lake's beaches.

By 1 p.m., the parking lot at Three Oaks Recreation Center, 5517 Northwest Hwy., was already full. Visitors parked nearby at the vacant lot of the former Wal-Mart building and walked into the park.

Eric Helm, deputy city manager for Crystal Lake and site manager of Three Oaks Recreation Center, said late Sunday it's possible the facility will surpass attendance records for last year's Memorial Day weekend.

"Last year, the only good weather day we had was Monday," Helm said.

"I haven't seen the (attendance) numbers for today, yet, but judging by the crowd I think we were busier than last year's Sunday (on Memorial Day weekend). I think it shows there continues to be a great demand for this center."

Three Oaks has been open since mid-April, but the Lake House Beach only opened for swimming on Saturday.

Both Main Beach, 300 Lake Shore Dr., and West Beach, 2330 Lake Ave., opened Saturday as well. The beaches are owned and operated by the Crystal Lake Park District.

The sultry temperatures had people flip-flopping over to Main Beach on Sunday, as well. Parking there spread into the grass area near the baseball fields, used for overflow parking.

Beach visitors packed shady spots of the park, where they set up barbecue grills and expansive picnic spreads. A patient line of guests waited for boats at the beach rental hut.

"This is great business for us," one beach attendant said.

Beach managers expect similar attendance on Monday when the Crystal Lake weather forecast predicts more 90-degree temperatures and a chance for isolated thunderstorms, according to www.weather.com.