MOSES LAKE — As people have continued to adjust to new and changing ways of life under the pandemic guidelines, outdoor recreation has been a popular activity for people seeking to maintain social distancing.

Alyssa Dawes and her family wrapped up another weekend at the Moses Lake Sand Dunes on Aug. 9, packing up final items for the trip back to Bonney Lake. Dawes said they’ve been coming to the dunes for at least six years.

While they missed the annual Easter weekend event hosted by the Sand Scorpions, Dawes said, they’ve been coming regularly all summer.

“We missed Easter and our kids were kind of bummed,” she said. “That’s usually our first dunes trip of the year. Other than that, we’ve come a few more times this summer because there’s not much else to do.”

Dawes said it’s nice having a chance to get away from the restrictions in place to combat the coronavirus. At the lake over the weekend, she said, people were good about keeping their distance to ensure they didn’t need to worry about face coverings.

“Everyone stayed to themselves for the most part, but everyone is having a good time and it’s nice,” Dawes said.

Washington State Parks and Recreation Communications Director Anna Gill said one of their primary focuses since public parks and lands reopened has been on helping people understand the guidelines to enjoy these outdoor opportunities responsibly.

Gill said they rely on visitors sharing the responsibility of following the guidelines set forth by the governor and health officials. For the most part, she said, they’ve heard from park employees that people are doing a good job of adjusting to the new guidelines.

“There’s always people that may not follow the guidelines to the T, but as long as we don’t see any behavior that’s risky, we’re letting them enjoy the outdoors as long as they’re not putting themselves or others at risk,” Gill said. “Overall, I think people are just really grateful to be back outside and to have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors.”

While it takes some time to generate visitor numbers for their parks, Gill said they’re hearing that parks are seeing high visitation. She said they’re hearing from visitors who’ve told park officials that they haven’t been to these lands in years despite living just up the road.

“Something that’s different from past years is we’re busy all week long,” Gill said. “Historically, midweek has been slow even in the summer because most people are at work. Now, we’re seeing that we’re pretty much busy all week.”

One of the silver linings to the pandemic has been the chance a lot of people have had to rediscover some of the parks and outdoor opportunities they have around them, even in their own backyard.

“For all of us, it’s becoming the new normal,” Gill said. “In the parks, every park is different, but there is quite a bit of space and there is that opportunity to social distance. Having your mask on at all times might not be necessary at all times, and I think that that’s an appealing thing for the public ... we can go outside and not have to wear a mask.”

Gill said she believes people are getting used to a lot of these things becoming routine.

Bonnie Long, caretaker at Cascade Campground in Moses Lake, said they haven’t been as busy this summer as in the past. But, she said, the visitors and families they have seen have been happy just to get out somewhere.

“I think they have a good time; there’s a lot of things to do here,” Long said. “And I’m not seeing a lot of anxiousness about masks being worn because you’re in the outdoors breathing fresh air and you’re not right on top of each other.”

Long said she’s not able to greet visitors with a hug like she’s done for years, many of the campground’s visitors being families that have kept coming back for generations. She said people are adjusting to their “new normal,” whatever that may mean.

“They’re probably getting used to it, but not liking it,” Long said. “This is just strange times out here, but you’ve got to go with the flow, and if that’s what it calls for, that’s what you do.”

A lot of visitors to the campgrounds have come over from the Seattle area to get away, kick back and unwind beside the lake, Long said.

Chris Carrato and his family came over from Everett to visit their vacation home on Blue Lake on the weekend. Out hiking the trails near Lake Lenore Caves on Aug. 9, Carrato said they’re doing anything they can to escape from the west side for a little while.

Carrato said the changes and new guidelines from the pandemic were a challenge to adjust to early on.

“It was kind of a big shocker at first, dealing with everything,” Carrato said. “But, now it’s just you’ve gotta do what you gotta do to stay safe. I don’t know how well I would deal with getting the virus, so I try and be careful.”

Having a chance to enjoy the nice weather and not have to worry about masks or distancing while on the lake, or trails, is a big draw, he added.

Casey McCarthy can be reached at cmcarthy@columbiabasinherald.com.