Lake Meredith—a recreation area that was once one of the most popular in West Texas but has fallen on hard times in recent years—may be on the rebound.
As The Amarillo Globe News reports, the lake near Fritch in the northern Panhandle had its highest number of visitors in over a decade and a half last year. In 2017, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area received 1.3 million visits-the most since the dawn of the 21st century.
Tim Cruze, the public information officer at Lake Meredith, attributed the rise in visits to the fact that the lake has risen back up over 75 feet after years of dwindling water levels.
At one point, the lake’s level fell to just 22 feet. The 2017 visitation level marked a 30 percent increase over the previous year’s number of visits—and a 60 percent rise over two years previous.
Another important draw for new visitors: Meredith’s popular summertime “Movies at the Lake” events.
