By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

Anyone looking for summertime fun in the sun won’t find it at Clough State Park this year.

The park will be closed for the 2006 season due to flooding, the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation announced recently.

“It’s a shame, because it’s a popular spot, but the water levels got really high this year,” said parks spokesperson Amy Bassett.

The park is closed due to flooding following heavy May rains, Bassett said. The park sits on the shores of Everett Lake, a 150-acre body of water formed by a dam on the Piscataquog River. Everett Lake is now 55 feet deeper than its normal levels, Bassett said.

The lake is ordinarily about 340 feet deep, but is now 395 feet deep, she said. The park has been flooded since May 30, Bassett said.

The 50-acre Clough State Park sits on land owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, and is operated by the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation, Bassett said.

Heavy rains initially forced the division to delay the opening of Clough until early July, but continued rainfall has brought the cancellation of the entire 2006 season, she said.

“The Army Corps of Engineers figured it was going to take 20 days to get back to normal level without any significant rains, but then we got more significant rains,” Bassett said.

Before the park opened this year, inspectors would have to check electrical connections and sewer conditions, and other cleanup activities would be required, Bassett said. This would delay the park opening until far into the season, Bassett said.

The park has an annual budget of $40,000, with the average number of visitors totaling 14,650 for the last three years, Bassett said.

Park admission is $3 for adults, $1 for children ages 6 to 11, and children under 5 admitted for free. Popular activities at the park include fishing, boating, picnicking, and swimming.

No other state parks have been closed this year due to flooding, Bassett said, although some parts of the Rockingham Trail were closed because of heavy rains.

Clough State Park is expected to open in June of next year, according to information from the division of parks and recreation.

The park is located about five miles outside of the town of Weare, and is accessible from Route 13.