Record-setters: temps, beach crowds

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) - The record-setting high temperatures are drawing record-setting crowds to the beach at Grand Haven State Park.

On Friday afternoon -- with the temp hovering around 100 -- park supervisor Joyce Rhodes was directing traffic away from the park.

She suggested drivers park on Lake Street and then walk to the city beach.

"I would suggest," she said, "waiting for an hour and then coming back, maybe go out for lunch or ice cream or something. Come back toward evening."

On the 4th of July, nearly 15,000 visitors jammed the Grand Haven State Park at one time -- far more than the entire population of the city.

So far, this summer, 680,000 visitors have enjoyed the park -- that's nearly the population of Detroit. The all-time attendance record for the season, 1.5 million, was set in 2010.

"July and August are our two big months," Rhodes told 24 Hour News 8. "If this weather holds, we'll definitely break our totals for the year. We've been filling during the week and that's not really usual."

The beach-goers noticed the extra people, too.

Andrea Smith said she's never seen it like this, "especially not this early in the summer."

Dave Grimm spoke for many. "The crowd is crazy today," he said. "Lots of kids. But what better place in the world to come on a hot summer day than the beach in Grand Haven."

Attendance totals for the Fourth of July week:
 
2008: 73,351
2009: 78,316
2010: 78,373
2011: 78,668
2012: 88,642
 
Yearly totals
 
2008: 1,365,576
2009: 1,374,182
2010: 1,508,510
2011: 1,465,626
2012: 680,355 *
 
*So far.