LaVern M. Johnson Park — Attraction in Lyons

Gorgeous park named after the Matriarch of Lyons!

LaVern Maxine Johnson passed away on May 14, 2022.  She was 94 years old.

LaVern was born on July 23, 1927 in Denver, CO to Bernie LaVern and Irene Marie (Emmerling) McConnell.  The family has had a presence in Lyons since 1862 when John Reese homesteaded 80 acres just east of town.  LaVern graduated from Lyons High School in 1945 as Valedictorian from a class of five.  After graduation she attended Barnes Business College.

On April 23, 1950 she married Floyd LaVerne Johnson and they were together until his passing in 1997.  LaVern was a tax practitioner for 40 years and a landlord which she continued into her retirement.

LaVern was very involved in the Lyons community where she attended the Lyons Methodist Church (Lyons Community Church) where she taught Sunday School for 35 years; belonged to the PTO and Oddfellows and Rebekahs for years;  served on the Lyons Town Board for 13 years; was a Founder and then Director of the Lyons Redstone Museum for over 40 years; was on the Lyons Parks and Recreation Committee for 56 years, was a key figure in the fight to stop Coffintop Dam from being built above Lyons; fought against housing being built on a hazardous waste dump at Dowe Flats;  has been a leader in the fight to keep the schools in Lyons since 1948; helped save Meadow Park from a developer who wanted to build 75 townhomes on it; and was a key figure in forming the Lyons Historical Society in 1973 that later saved the old Depot and the 1881 Schoolhouse from the “wrecker’s ball”.  The depot is now town offices and the school house is now the Lyons Redstone Museum. Finally, she wrote her weekly “About Town” column in the Lyons Recorder for 38 years.  She wrote her last column on April 7th. She received many accolades over her lifetime and led one crusade after another for her beloved town of Lyons.

In their free time, Mr. and Mrs. LaVerne enjoyed square dancing.  They started the Red Rock Ramblers square dance club in 1958. The Red Rock Ramblers, the Square Dusters and the Foot & Fiddle square dance clubs will partner together to have 3 more dances this summer to honor Mrs. LaVern and all she has meant to the square-dancing community in Colorado.

Mrs. LaVern was preceded in death by her husband Floyd LaVern; her parents; her brother Herbert Reese McConnell; her sisters Berene Rose Sullivan and Violet Ann Betz.

She is survived by her sons Gerald LaVerne Johnson and Ronald Wayne Johnson (wife Cindy Weinel); her grandchildren Trevor, Audrey and Randall Johnson; her siblings Sharon Dee McConnell and Byron Ray (Sharon) McConnell; her nieces Rosamond Sullivan, Terri Weir, Laura Jueschke, Kelly Duff, Jackie Guntle, Barbara Gill, Deb Waggoner, and LeAnn Salazar; and her nephews Floyd Sullivan, Tracy McConnell and...

Even though the website says "Picnic Tables are also able to be reserved online for weekends and holidays," the park hosts interpret that to mean that you cannot use any picnic table in the park on the weekend without a reservation, and they'll strictly enforce it that way. But 'able to be reserved' is not the same as 'available by reservation only.' I'm not mad that we were asked to leave a reserved spot (that's fair), I am mad that we were told we couldn't use any of the other spots without a reservation, and I am mad that I drove home only to find that the park website doesn't list that rule (and that most of the tables weren't reserved for that day, so there's no reason I couldn't have used one of those). The park hosts, the visitors, and the information potential visitors can access both online and at the park itself should all be on the same page about what the rules are and how they'll be applied.

The park itself is nice, shady with lots of things to do for kids, an easy walking path, and really easy access to the water. I've enjoyed it in the past when we've gone on weekdays and not had interactions with the staff, but after this interaction with the park host, I'm not returning. If you're going to go, brush up on the rules as stated online and be prepared to stand up for yourself, reserve a spot so you don't have to deal with this, or only go...

This campground was a wonderful location to use as a base for our visits to Rocky Mountain National Park and Boulder, CO.

There are restaurants, and a small market, within walking distance of the campground.

Site 5, Back-in, FHU, 50/30/20, water, sewer. Gravel, not level. Close, angled parallel, but enough room for the slides and the awning.

There is a nice little stream behind the campers on the other side of the lane. You can swim or fish in it.

The park is lovely, with one of the nicest playgrounds I've ever seen at a campground.

Site was long enough for the motorhome and the car parked in front of the coach sideways.

In addition to RV sites, there are also very nice tent sites available.

We felt it was a little pricey given the site and the lack of amenities, but, I guess there is a premium because of the location.

The campground is a cooperative project among the Colorado Division of Parks, the National Park Service, and the Town of Lyons. Reservations must be made through recreation.gov, but recreation.gov cannot modify or cancel once the reservation is made. They say you need to contact the campground directly, but, if you call the number of the campground website, it just directs you to...