No Camping At Quarry Days

Hundreds of people are expected to flock to Dell Rapids this weekend for the annual Quarry Days festivities. But some people may have a hard time finding a place to stay.

People are practicing that perfect hit and stocking up. Preparing for quarry days seems to be a family event.

And that's the way the city wants it, which is why they've shut down the Dell Rapids campsite for the weekend.

"It had surpassed where we would like to see a family friendly campground in our city," City Administrator Justin Weiland said.

Over past Quarry Days, authorities have dealt with problems at the campground such as vandalism, broken glass, attempts to tip over campers, underage drinking and DWIs.

"They had expressed even calling it a riot mentality that had occurred on a few occasions, where they had questioned their ability to control the situations," Weiland said.

On April 16, the Dell Rapids City Council decided there would be no camping on Quarry Days.  But you will find the campground occupied, this time by stage to host Kory and the Fireflies.

"There's gonna be a lot of people who enjoy it. There's gonna be those who miss the camping," Charlie Pleskac with the Chamber of Commerce said.

While prior users of the campground caused problems, many are having some of their own when it comes to the change.

"The campground served a purpose for the out-of-towners to have a place to stay and now they don't have a place to stay and enjoy Quarry Days," resident Julie Sehr said.

But there's nothing they can do about it, so residents plan to enjoy the weekend for what it is.

"Oh yeah, oh yeah, it's a fun weekend here in Dell Rapids," Sehr said.

Closing the campsites during the weekend's events is a temporary solution. The City of Dell Rapids plans to upgrade current sites and purchase more to accommodate campers in hopes of keeping them under control.