BRANDON, S.D. (KELO) – For a lot of campers, Memorial Day weekend is when they dust off the tents and RVs to enjoy the unofficial start of summer.
“Just getting out of the house, relaxing. Come out here, we got the pool, enough activities for the kids, it’s just a great weekend to relax,” Tony Konshak from Harrisburg said.
“Swim. I like to swim,” camper T.J. said.
“Just got to relax once in a while,” Calvin Buddensiek from Minnesota said.
“You get to explore nature and tons of other stuff,” camper Jackson said.
Jellystone Park is almost completely full for the weekend.
“Everybody is just really ready to see all of the campers come back in. We have a lot of campers that, whether they stay with us multiple times a year or this is their thing to do for Memorial Day weekend, it’s their family tradition. So for us, it can really be like welcoming some of our family members back to the park,” park manager Christina Lien said.
With severe weather in the forecast, though, park managers are reminding campers to keep their eyes on the sky.
“Today with technology, getting those weather alerts are easier because they come through on our phone. But keeping an eye on the sky and looking at those notifications that come out from the meteorologists in the area is important,” Lien said.
Lien says if it gets really bad, the campground bathhouses are the designated storm shelter.
“They always say be weather aware, you know, watch the weather. Just enjoy it, relax, don’t over plan and just make the most of it,” Konshak said.
A good way to stay up to date on the changing weather is with the KELOLAND StormTracker App.
It’s free to download on apple and android devices. You can watch the radar and receive weather alerts for your area.