Carlson Park now has a parking lot

Crews have finished building a parking lot for the Carlson Park on Pleasant Avenue just south of the Highway 9 overpass.

The Decorah Parks & Recreation Department is working on a plan for the the 110-acre property donated by the Carlson family.

Initial work has begun on opening up a "core loop" trail that would provide access to the rest of the property.  Park-Rec Director Andy Nimrod says the Park Board could officially name the park it at its July meeting.  The next steps then would be to install signage, including park information and boundaries for people wanting to start exploring the park, and mowing of some of the trails to make getting around the property easier.

Nimrod says the Park Board also would like to do some planning that would involve gathering some more public input and implementing a long term plan.