LEXINGTON, S.C. — As we head into the summer months, pools, water parks, lakes and all the fun places are starting to open back up and families are beginning their summer vacation outdoors.
“Come to the beach, hangout, have cookouts, go out on the town,” Kerisha Vaternpool said.
Whether its a day at the lake or paddling down your favorite stream, families in the Midlands are getting ready for summer in the Palmetto State.
Vaternpool was one of many who got a kick start of summer at Lake Murray Park Monday.
“This summer I'm looking forward to just hanging out a lot," she said. "We finally are coming back to some type of normalcy so just being out with a family with friends enjoying, because summer is my favorite time of year."
While a day on the lake is fun, Vaternpool says she enjoys other areas in the Midlands as well.
“Going downtown, even just Lake Murray walking the dam, Riverside dam down there," she added. "Sesqui (Sesquicentenniral) State Park, I love Sesqui.”
Kids are splashing, grills are burning, and families like the Wahls are looking forward to a summer full of trips.
Lake Murray has two public park areas -- one on the Lexington side for swimming and the other on the Irmo side for boats and picnics. As of June 8, Dominion Energy will no longer permit pedestrian access to the Lexington side of the dam. Visitors will need to use their vehicles to enter the park during operating hours of 11 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on weekends. When the parking lot is full, no additional visitors will be permitted into the public beach/swimming area and vehicles will not be allowed to wait for an open parking spot outside of the gate or on North Lake Drive, due to the traffic congestion this creates.
“We are actually going to the beach here in about four weeks, we're going to Ocean Lakes Campground so we're gonna go there for this July 4th,” Jessica Wahl said.
Other places you can visit around the Midlands include the City of the Columbia pools and splash pads, Richland County pools, the Fort Jackson water park, and Saluda Shoals Park in Irmo.
“We just love going and hanging out and going to the beach and we just do more fun trips maybe a weekend trip things like that,” Wahl said.
Lake Murray public parks are five dollars a day to park or you can buy a season pass for $50.
City of Columbia and Richland County pools and splashpads opened this weekend as well.