MISSISSIPPI, USA — Labor Day is viewed by most of the United States as the unofficial end of summer. A lot of places were busy as people spent time with family and friends.
Arkabutla Lake, which is about an hour south of Memphis was, one of those areas that is a traditional favorite and has been making a comeback since the pandemic.
Chris Gurner with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District told ABC24 that Labor Day weekend is not the busiest holiday they've seen. However, he said compared to recent years, he believes this year was successful.
"We'll see between 60 to 70 percent capacity at all of our class A campgrounds," Gurner said.
At one of the campsites on Labor Day at Arkabutla Lake, there were more than enough empty spaces. Gurner said visitation trends at their Mississippi's four busiest lakes have been unpredictable since the pandemic. Gurner said this was the first time since 2020 that the Labor Day crowd felt normal.
"We can see upwards of a million visitors between the four lakes, a million and a half some years on visitation," he said.
Despite the crowds, there were families that had a good time at Arkabutla Lake on Labor Day.
Brian McAvoy was one of the lake goers who does not live too far away. He said his preference was coming to the lake on a weekday than having to deal with a full house of visitors during holiday weekends.
"It's a quick trip," McAvoy said. "When I'm at home, people are always stopping by, bothering me and needing something, this is far enough way, but still close to come."
W.L. Hibbler was another person who came to Arkabutla Lake. He told ABC24 he drove from Atlanta but has family who lives in Mississippi. He said coming to Arkabutla Lake was a reminder of his childhood.
"This was part of my history. We used to come out as kids when we were in high school on field trips and stuff like that," Hibbler said.
Gurner said attendance at campgrounds such as Arkabutla Lake will continue to stay busy during the fall season and hunting season kicked off the same weekend as Labor Day.