City of Grapevine urging people to avoid the lake on the 4th, Fireworks Extravaganza relocated
GRAPEVINE — North Texans still looking to make plans for the Fourth of July should avoid Grapevine Lake. That's the message city officials are spreading ahead of the holiday.
"This is just a dangerous place," said Mona Quintanilla with the City of Grapevine. "We don't advise people to come out and swim or do anything as such."
The water is more than 15 feet above normal right now, after heavy rains in May and early June. Multiple lakefront parks and boat ramps remain closed.
"We passed by some light posts and some gazebos, you could just see the roofs of them," said Dan Ylinen, who went out on his canoe Monday with his two sons. "It was pretty wild. Kinda being a little cautious, not sure what my motor was going to encounter under there."
They found the only public boat ramp in Grapevine that's still open.
"Little hard to find a good access point but this worked out for us today," he said.
Grapevine Lake was built for flood control, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can't release more water right now because of downstream effects.
"We're in a holding pattern," Quintanilla said. "In a few weeks, we might look a little different."
The extremely high lake level has even forced the City of Grapevine to move its annual July 4th Fireworks Extravaganza from the lake to Great Wolf Lodge.
Several businesses are opening up their parking lots for people to come and watch since Grapevine Lake and the city's lake parks will have zero visibility.
"The mayor and council certainly wanted to make that happen for our citizens and those who join us for our fireworks display, and the show will go on," said Quintanilla.
The Fireworks Extravaganza will begin at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 4.
The Great Wolf Lodge and the Gaylord Texan owned lot (at 950 Turner Road) will offer parking for a fee. All city-managed parking lots, the Great Wolf Lodge parking area, and the Gaylord Texan lot (address listed above) will open at 6pm. Carpooling is encouraged, if possible.
Viewing Locations
- Great Wolf Lodge, 100 Great Wolf Lodge Drive | 549 parking spaces | .25 miles from the launch site | $30 per vehicle
- Turner Lot (Gaylord Texan owned property), 950 Turner Road | 1,052 parking spaces | .20 miles from the launch site | $30 per vehicle (card only)
- TEXRail DFW North parking lot, 1867 East Dallas Road | 359 parking spaces | .55 miles from the launch site
- GRACE Donation Station, 1060 Texan Trail | 80 parking spaces | .38 miles from the launch site
- East of Mad Duck, 751 East Northwest Highway | 270 parking spaces | .45 miles from the launch site
- East of Chicken Express (lot), 834 East Northwest Highway | 96 parking spaces | .30 miles from the launch site
- East of EZ Pawn, 736 East Northwest Highway | 112 parking spaces | Viewing may require exiting your vehicle | .39 miles from the launch site
- Faith Christian High School, 729 East Dallas Road | 482 parking spaces (overflow parking available across Dallas Road) | Fireworks will not be viewable from the parking lot. Viewing will require walking from the parking lot to the area of the football field. | .60 miles from the launch site
- THE REC, 1175 Municipal Way | 692 parking spaces | The REC, the Grapevine Public Library, and the Convention Center parking lots will be available for parking only. The viewing area for fireworks in this area will be the Convention Center (overflow) lot which will be open for spectators only. We encourage chairs and no blankets. This area will also have a lower noise level due to the distance from the launch site. | .99 miles from the launch site
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