Mauch Chunk Lake Park is gearing up for the summer season, with the beach area opening this weekend, and camping already taking place.

On May 15, Commissioners’ Chairman Mike Sofranko said park staff is ready and they have lifeguards to man the beach.

“Dave (Horvath, park director) is ready for everybody,” Sofranko said. “We’re ready to go.”

He said that at the last recreation commission meeting it was reported that the lake is “doing fine” in hiring lifeguards.

During the meeting, the county approved hiring three individuals to add to the lifeguard complement already in place.

“We should be fine with the lifeguards through the summer,” Sofranko said, but added that once students go back to college in August, that is when they may have some issues. “We’re working on making sure that we get the proper coverage we need for August but right now, we’re OK. We can always use more though.”

In previous years, the county was forced to close the beach to swimming because of a lack of lifeguard coverage.

Sofranko also thanked Chris Barrett and Marlyn Kissner of Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, who were in attendance, for the bureau’s support of the park.

PMVB has given Carbon County $50,000 a year for the last three years to help with Mauch Chunk Lake Park operations.

“The investment of that money is they’re giving back to the visitors that are coming here and those who are using the lake,” he said.

Some of that money has been used for movie nights on the beach, as well as purchasing new campfire grills, fire rings, picnic tables, signage, bathroom improvements and more.

“I thank them for that,” he said. “... They gave us a shot in the arm that we needed to do some different things out there. Get out and enjoy the lake.”

In addition, the park will also host movie nights again this year, Sofranko said, adding that people should watch the county Facebook pages for dates for the events.

For more information on swimming or camping at the lake, including fees for day passes, visit www.carboncountypa.gov and find Mauch Chunk Lake Park under the services tab.