A Greater Applegate draws attention to accessibility-issues at Applegate Lake.
by Christina Ammon
With a shoreline surrounded by wilderness, hiking trails and wildlife, Applegate Lake is the cherished summertime idyll of Southern Oregon residents. The most centrally-located of the region’s three reservoirs (Lost Lake and Emigrant), it draws visitors from all nearby towns– Grants Pass, Medford, Jacksonville and Ashland (and beyond!).
A Greater Applegate (AGA) recently applied for a “Recreation Ready” grant from Travel Oregon to support repairs and improvements along the lake’s difficult-to-access 18-mile shoreline. The two-phase program brings in experts to do a feasibility study for the first year, and then provides $100,000 toward implementing the project in phase two.
AGA did not receive the Recreation Ready grant, but it garnered a high score in the very competitive grant program and highlighted the need and community enthusiasm for a more accessible shoreline.
Repairs to Infrastructure-long overdue
In recent years, the Forest Service has not had the extra resources to improve the lake’s infrastructure. As a result, the few existing paths to the shoreline are eroding and facilities are falling out-of-date. Much of the lake edges are steep and rocky and prove difficult for even the most able-bodied people. Often, the boat ramps double dangerously as beaches.
Forest Service employee John McKelligott, who has been involved with the lake for decades, pointed out that Hart-Tish Park and other lake access sites were constructed around 1980. “At that time ADA knowledge and focus was not too well understood or wisely funded and implemented,” he said in a letter.
This grant effort isn’t the first time the community has voiced concerns about the lake. In 2019, a group called Friends of Applegate banded together to advocate for infrastructure improvements. The group was comprised of local residents, two Forest Service employees, Bert Etling (former editor of The Applegater), and the commissary at the lake’s campground/store, Hart-Tish Park.
The pandemic interrupted that effort, there was no funding identified, and the group’s leader moved across the country. The effort lost momentum.
The desire “to expand and to expand and improve access to the Applegate Valley’s outdoor recreational opportunities” was expressed at the 2020/2021 resident listening sessions held throughout the Applegate. This is described in the “Steward & Sustain” section of the Applegate Valley Vision, available online at www.agreaterapplegate.org.
Recent Problems
This latest effort was sparked after AGA sponsored In a Landscape: Classical Music in the Wild to perform last May at the day-use beach area near Hart-Tish. This popular touring series showcases musician Hunter Noack performing on his Steinway in outdoor settings.
Days before the sold-out concert, the organization received an email from a ticket-holder seeking assurance that her disabled companions would be able to reach the concert site; one used a cane and the other a walker.
A scouting trip revealed only two handicap parking spots and a crumbling and potholed ADA path that didn’t reach the lake’s steep edge.
She gifted her tickets to able-bodied friends and made a fair point: “It may be too late for this event, but I would suggest that ADA accessibility, or the lack thereof, be addressed in any future (especially ticketed) outdoor events.”
Strong Community Support
The Recreation Ready grant process required A Greater Applegate to show support from the community and to assemble a steering committee. Enthusiasm was easy to come by. Letters of support and willingness to join the project steering committee came in from Travel Southern Oregon, Travel Medford, Hart-Tish Park, In a Landscape, the Jacksonville Chamber, Applegate Partnership, AGA’s Outdoor Working Group, Provolt Recreation Area and several Forest Service employees.
Although A Greater Applegate did not receive that grant, it was encouraging that the proposal reached the final stages of the review process. Travel Oregon encouraged the effort to continue and suggested alternative routes for the project.
Interested in advocating for repairs and improvements to Applegate Lake? Contact [email protected]