Photo by Jerry Sowden - Oil City YMCA lifeguard Brittan Wolbert of Franklin keeps her eyes on the swimmers as well as on the weather at Crosby Beach in Two Mile Run County Park as passing thunderstorms threatened to dampen a perfect day at the beach. Thursday's temperatures topped off at more than 90 degrees as people packed Crosby Beach looking to cool off in Justus Lake.

After languishing in procedural limbo last summer, Two Mile Run County Park is once again a gateway to the great outdoors.

Driving through the park, roadsides and fields are neatly cropped, there is no garbage in sight and Justus Lake sparkles with cool promise for both swimmers and fishermen.

Nearly 3,000 people have visited the beach since the start of the season, even though thunderstorms have forced the beach to close for at least some time on 15 of the 39 days since the beach opened.

But when the sun is out, so are the people.

Various youth groups from both near and far (New York) have used the beach, which had its biggest crowd of the season last Saturday with 336 in attendance, park director Rich Mihalic said.

In addition to swimming, the beach area includes the snack shack, a sand volleyball court, playground equipment, the floating iceberg (for climbing) and boat rentals (including canoes, row boats and peddle boats).

Beach hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Admission is $4 per person, with children under 2 admitted free.

The Oil City YMCA, which operates the beach under a contract with the county, also offers special group rates, and season passes for both individuals and families.

A Family Fun Day will be held at the beach Monday, and families (of up to six people) will be admitted for $5 (with $1 charged for each additional person).

Rentals - of the park's 11 picnic pavilions, 70 campsites and the cottage and farmhouse - also are picking up as the summer moves along.

Halfway through the summer, there have been 42 pavilion rentals and 232 campsite rentals, Mihalic said. The park's two houses have been rented on eight occasions for various lengths of time.

The park's staff, comprised of Mihalic, Luke Kauffman (maintenance), Dan Norris (grounds and facilities) and two part-time clerks in the office, is never idle.

"Keeping busy is an understatement," Kauffman said.

Workers mow 344 of the park's 2,700 acres, and that task alone takes up at least 40 hours a week, Mihalic said.

Other routine chores include making repairs to park facilities (such as pavilions and picnic tables), cleaning (around campsites, the restroom facilities, the cottage and the farmhouse after guests depart), daily garbage pickups (before the bears or raccoons find it), raking the beach, mowing the dam, replacing light fixtures, trail maintenance and more.

Mihalic said he keeps a running list of things to do and is "sidetracked constantly" by other unexpected tasks that pop up -- such as removing ant nests from outdoor electric boxes and repairing the air conditioners. Mihalic said he has lost 20 pounds since he started as park director.

The park's new skid loader for trail maintenance, purchased with a grant and $8,000 in matching funds from the county, has been an immense help, Kauffman said.

He used the equipment to add 500 feet of new trail in a problem area, he said.

Mihalic is working out an agreement with the county's RSVP Senior Corps with an eye to getting some extra help in both the office and with the pavilions (through an Adopt a Pavilion program).

A brochure highlighting the park's offerings is on the way and a web site, at www.twomilerun.org, should be up soon, he said.

The park features new green and white signs at park entrances, but efforts are still under way to place signs on Routes 428 and 417 and Two Mile Run Road and Cherrytree Road pointing the way to the park, he said.

Pavilions include those right near the beach and Nature Lodge, one of them right at the lake's edge, and others in more out-of-the-way places including Pioneer Flats, the Big Rock pavilion near the campground, the Top of the Flats pavilion on a hill overlooking the valley, and the Big Pine picnic area, close to the lake for fishing.

The campsites, supervised by a camp host who lives in his recreational vehicle at the campground, include 12 for RVs with full hook-ups, 26 sites with electricity only, 17 primitive sites, seven walk-in sites that are close to the lake and three with their own docks on the water's edge. Campers to the three sites on the water's edge must either pack in their gear or transport it by boat, Mihalic said.

The sites at the campground are spread out and surrounded by trees, affording some privacy, and include picnic tables and fire rings.

There are also five group campsites for larger groups, such as Scout troops.

The campground restroom facilities include showers.

Camping fees range from $15 to $21 per day.

The cottage and the farmhouse are both air conditioned and include laundry facilities, full kitchens (including stove, refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker) and a television and DVD player for watching movies. The houses do not have television or Internet service, and while the park does have telephone service, cell phone service is spotty.

The houses include gas fireplaces and both are fully reserved for the coming hunting season, Mihalic said.

The cottage sleeps five and the farmhouse sleeps 10. Daily rentals are $105 for the cottage and $110 for the farmhouse, and weekly rates are $470 for the cottage and $594 for the farmhouse.

Reservations may be made and additional information on park offerings is available by calling the park office at 676-6116.