Repair work at Galien River County Park will begin on Monday.

The park suffered extensive damage in late August storms. Berrien County Parks Director Jill Adams tells us the damage was throughout all areas of the park.

“The structures there were damaged due to large limbs or actual full trees falling on them,” Adams said. “So, the tree canopy walkway and the lower boardwalk had some extensive damage done. It was unsafe for the public to be there, so we had to close the park down at that time.”

Adams says it took parks staff some time to clear the wooded trails of fallen limbs, but now the big repair work will begin. That’s fixing up the walkway structures. The county is working with its insurance company.

“The repairs will come out of the county parks budget, and we’ll continue to work with our risk management association to see what kid of reimbursements we might be able to get to help with those costs.”

Adams says with the repairs starting Monday, she’s hoping to get Galien River County Park back open to the public in time for peak fall colors. She says that particular park is an excellent place to see the colors from multiple elevations, and she doesn’t want county residents to miss the opportunity this year.