With the arrival of Memorial Day weekend, some local parks opened up their swimming pools for the season, drawing large crowds.

On Friday, Beechnut Family Campground in Mount Airy and Homeplace Recreational Park in Ararat opened their swimming pools. Park employees say the weekend was a busy one.

“We opened this weekend, and it’s been good,” said Todd Tolbert, owner of Beechnut.

Wes Key with Homeplace said there was a good crowd at the park in Ararat throughout the weekend. He said that on the weekend the park averages 800 people per day that come for swimming and camping.

Avolene Badgett travels from King to take her granddaughter Haley Hayes, 6, to Homeplace. She said yesterday that the crowd was a little larger than it is on a normal day, which she attributed to the Memorial Day holiday.

Badgett said her granddaughter loves going to swim. She said, “I love it, too. I get to relax, which is a rare thing.”

She has been coming to Surry County to swim for five years, and she said, “I love it.”

Haley said, “It’s a cool place. I love to come here every summer.”

The 6-year-old brought her friend Kendall Sharp, 7, with her. Haley said she likes to bring friends along, and she loves the slide at Homeplace.

“My favorite part’s the slide, because it goes very fast,” she said with a smile.

Badgett said they go swimming a lot during the summer.

Karla Palmer and her family also spend a lot of time swimming in the summer. Palmer drove from Walkertown yesterday to swim.

“We came out just to have a family day,” she said.

Palmer said her family already had a cookout for Memorial Day weekend, then they decided to go swimming together.

Key with Homeplace said July 4 will be the next big weekend for local pools. He pointed out that many families combine swimming outings with other activities such as camping, miniature golf, and more.

Tolbert with Beechnut said swimming is a good activity for the whole family because it gives people a chance to “exercise, cool off, have a place to relax.”

Beechnut Family Campground is located at 315 Beechnut Lane, Mount Airy. Its pool is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The cost is $7 for adults, $5 for kids ages 3-5, and free for those age 2 and under. For more information, call 320-3802.

Homeplace Recreational park is located at 258 Homeplace Park Road, Ararat. The pool is open Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. The cost is $7 per person and $3 for kids age 5 and under. For more information, call 374-5173.

The pools at both parks will stay open throughout the summer until Labor Day weekend.

The outdoor pool at Reeves Community Center opens today. It traditionally opens the day after Memorial Day and closes right before Labor Day. The pool will be open this summer from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. People do not have to be members of Reeves to swim in the pool. They just need to purchase a day pass, which will also give them access to the gym and other facilities at the center. The cost for a day pass for an adult living in the city is $5 and $7 for a non-resident. The cost for a child living in Mount Airy is $3 and $4 for a non-resident of the city. Call Reeves at 786-8313 for more information.

Contact Meghann Evans at mevans@mtairynews.com or 719-1952.