From Staff Reports

LAKE LURE, N.C. — Lake Lure was just 4 inches below its full level in mid-April, with the town in the midst of its limited “soft opening” running April 20 through the start of Memorial Day Weekend (May 24), when a grand opening of the lake will be celebrated.

As of April 20, swimming, fishing and some boating in Lake Lure were allowed once again, the town announced in an April 15 news release titled “Together We Rise.”

The “soft opening” marks the first time public recreation has been allowed on the lake since it was swamped with silt and debris from Tropical Storm Helene on Sept., 27, 2024.

The “soft opening” followed the return — in March – of out-of-state college rowing teams returning to the lake for spring practice.

Also, on March 28, local and state leaders heralded the official reopening of U.S. 64 (Chimney Rock Road) after 18 months of extensive rebuilding and repairs. U.S. 64 is the most direct route between Lake Lure and Hendersonville to outside traffic.

“(People are) over the moon with excitement, absolutely just ecstatic,” Town of Lake Lure spokeswoman Laura Krejci told the Hendersonville TImes-News on April 16.

“Lake level was at 990.2 feet above sea level as of April 16, just 4 inches below the full level of 990.5 feet, Krejci said,” the HT-N reported later on April 16.

After Helene struck, the lake was lowered by “up to 20 feet for debris removal and repairs to the dam, the lowest the water had ever been in its roughly 100-year history,” the HT-N noted.

In its April 15 release, the town noted that, during the soft opening, public boat launches remain closed to anyone, but authorized contractors, though boats can be launched from private property, and the lake’s fuel pump is also out of service.

Non-motorized boats, such as canoes, kayaks and paddle boards, can be put in the water at Pool Creek Picnic Park, the release stated.

To that end, the HTN reported the following:

“Boats are not allowed to make wake anywhere on the lake because the Washburn Marina is still under construction and crews from the state SMART program are removing shoreline debris with barges, Krejci said.

“The wake rule is meant to keep those barges from being rocked and also to keep waves from washing debris on beaches back into the lake, she said.

“While the town is regularly testing the water, and it remains clean of harmful contamination, there is still some driftwood and other debris in the lake....”

Also, Krejci told the HT-N that debris was a consideration behind the town’s ban — for now — on tubing, waterskiing and wakeboarding.

“We’re doing everything we can to remove any kind of floating debris … it’s just another safety measure to ensure that people are safe as possible when they begin getting back on the lake,” she told the HT-N.

The newspaper then stated, “The refilling of the lake has been slowed and even reversed at times by warm, dry weather,” noting that “the full flow of the Rocky Broad River needs to pass through the dam to keep the river from drying up downstream.

“That means the lake’s rise comes only from rainwater, and evaporation from an ongoing drought actually lowered the lake’s level by a fraction of a foot in past weeks, according to Krejci and previous town announcements of the lake’s status.

“The town has yet to decide what restrictions will remain in place by the full reopening, planned for Memorial Day, Krejci said.

“‘We hope to learn something from the phase one, the soft opening, and we’ll continue to monitor and assess,’ Krejci said.”

The Parrots and Pirates Music Festival is scheduled in Lake Lure on May 1 and 2, before a May 8 fundraiser, where endurance swimmer Patricia Temple will swim the lake’s entire shoreline to benefit local first responders and the Helene recovery effort.

The town added in its release, “All users participate at their own risk due to potential debris and changing conditions … Boaters should use extreme caution.”