USACE Vicksburg District announces reservation changes for day use picnic shelters at north Mississippi lakes

VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District will add group picnic shelters at Arkabutla, Sardis, Enid, and Grenada lakes as reservable facilities starting in January. 

All group picnic shelters will be reservable on the www.recreation.gov website, and facilities will still be available for walk-up use on days that they are not already reserved. Picnic shelters at Sardis, Enid and Grenada lakes will be available for reservations on Jan. 1, while Arkabutla facilities will be available later in the month. Visitors will no longer be able to make reservations by calling field offices. 

All Class A campsites at the USACE Vicksburg District’s Mississippi lakes transitioned to reservation-only status earlier this year. 

For more information or questions about recreation opportunities at the Mississippi lakes, contact the Arkabutla Lake Field Office at 662-562-6261, the Sardis Lake Field Office at 662-563-4531, the Enid Lake Field Office at 662-563-4571 or the Grenada Lake Field Office at 662-226-5911.

Arkabutla, Sardis, Enid and Grenada lakes, the four Mississippi flood control reservoirs in the Vicksburg District’s area of responsibility, were authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1936, which provided a plan designed to address flooding that originated in the Yazoo Basin. The four reservoirs are used to hold runoff, or excess rainwater, as a flood-prevention measure. With approximately 3.2 million visitors each year, the north Mississippi lakes also contribute approximately $82 million into the local economy.

The USACE Vicksburg District is engineering solutions to the nation’s toughest challenges. The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana that holds seven major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline Mississippi River levees. The Vicksburg District is engaged in hundreds of projects and employs approximately 1,100 personnel.