In an effort to help reduce spending, eight state park campgrounds will close one month early.
That leaves campers like Wolcott’s Tracy Comeau wondering how it affects fall reservations. She booked her campsite at American Legion State Park last November, only to realize in June the site she paid for is no longer valid.
"When you do something year in and year out, you really look forward to that," said Comeu. "And to know it wasn’t happening we had to make other decisions."
Comeau wanted to transfer to another park, but representatives from the popular reservation website, Reserve America, told her that wasn’t an option. A Reserve America agent said she could only cancel her site, paying an 18 dollar forfeiture fee. She would then have to separately reserve a site at her new desired campground with a nine dollar processing fee.
"I did not feel that that was fair," said Comeau. "I was on the phone (for) an hour—half of an hour with the representative, then another half hour with the supervisor."
The supervisor told her they needed permission from the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in order to waive the fees.
Comeau then reached out to NBC Connecticut Responds, who contacted DEEP. Tom Tyler, Director of State Parks, said the decision to close certain campsites came early, causing a glitch in the Reserve America system.
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"That was a miscommunication on our part," said Tyler. "Information got out and people began making their calls to Reserve America before all those changes got embedded into Reserve America’s system. And we do apologize for that—that inconvenience to her."
Tyler said the system should now work properly, and anyone who booked a site months in advance, including Comeau, will receive a full refund.
Campgrounds closing early:
• Black Rock State Park – Thomaston – Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of the end of September.
• Hopeville Pond State Park – Jewett City - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of the end of September.
• Kettletown State Park – Southbury - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of the end of September.
• Mashamoquet Brook State Park – Pomfret - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of the end of September.
• Macedonia Brook State Park – Kent - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of the end of September.
• Lake Waramaug State Park – New Preston - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of the end of September.
• Housatonic Meadows State Park – Sharon - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of Columbus Day
• American Legion State Forest – Barkhamsted - Closing after Labor Day weekend instead of Columbus Day
