GARVIN — It was a great day to get outside – and to visit a Lyon County park. On Saturday, area residents really turned out to visit an open house event at Garvin Park. The open house was a chance for people to see improvements like the park’s new main picnic shelter, and to learn about the projects planned next for the park, said parks programming manager Brooke Kor.

“It was a good event,” Kor said. “I saw a lot of new faces.”

While there wasn’t an exact attendance count, Kor said volunteers estimated they served ice cream to 250 to 300 people at the open house.

There’s a lot planned for Garvin Park, to help improve the experiences of park visitors and campers, Kor said. Lyon County has received a total of $2.5 million in grant funds through the Minnesota Parks and Trails Commission, she said.

Grants from the Parks and Trails Commission has also helped fund the development of Twin Lakes Park in Lyon County, Kor said.

The first phase of the grant projects included replacing Garvin Park’s main picnic shelter, as well as updating park restrooms, showers and other park shelters, and making parking lot upgrades, Kor said. The new main picnic shelter was completed last year.

The updates in phases 2 and 3 of the Garvin projects will include updating the electric hookups at the park’s upper and lower campgrounds, and the construction of four new camper cabins that park visitors will be able to reserve.

It was good to see people’s reactions to some of the updates that have already been finished, Kor said.

“The improvements we’re making are drawing more people in,” she said.

“Everyone is amazed by the new picnic area,” Kor said. The new shelter gets used at least one or two times each weekend, Kor said. People have also been happy with the updated restrooms, she said.

Over the past few years, Kor said, “We’ve definitely increased camper attendance” at Garvin Park. Numbers of campers in 2025 were up from the previous year.

While Garvin Park doesn’t have data on daily park attendance, Kor said, “I’ve noticed a lot more people coming during the week,” to enjoy the main playground and picnic area.

Kor said the county is currently working with an engineer on planning for the second and third phases of grant projects at Garvin Park. She said they hoped to be able to go out for bids this winter, and start construction next spring.

Kor said Lyon County staff are also working with the Minnesota Horse Council, which plans to donate funds to help build new paddocks at the Garvin Park horse camp. The Lyon County Board will need to formally accept the donation, she said.

The horse camp and trails have also become popular features at Garvin Park, Kor said. “A lot of people travel here from out of state,” she said.

“It’s cool to see how far the park has come in the 11 years I’ve been here,” Kor said of the different park updates.