SOUTH FORK— South Fork Visitor Center Director Mark Teders has been hard at work over the last several weeks creating some changes within the center for the coming summer season, and some of them will help immensely with marketing the area to outside visitors.

Teders has partnered with town Administrator Dan Hicks and B4 Studio owner Kara Brittain to market the area through innovative and technology-based outlets by targeting some of the most attractive activities that South Fork has to offer.

Teders started to revamp the entire center focusing on the outdoors activities rather than the historical attributes of the town. The inside of the center is undergoing major change as Teders works to recreate the displays inside and has even added some changes to the outside of the center. “We wanted to focus on the outdoor activities rather than the historical part of South Fork, so I am redoing the displays inside. We will focus mainly on fishing in the area and I have created a displayed geared towards fly and Tenkara fishing. It includes a map of some of the best areas to fish in South Fork and a list of the species of fish people will encounter, as well as the best type of bait to use while in our Gold Medal Waters,” said Teders.

In addition to the the fishing display, Teders has used his experience in the high country to create a hiking display that focuses on the Continental Divide Trail and the dangers of hiking in high elevations. “People come here from low elevations and think that they can adjust easily. It took me years to acclimate to the area and I know that a lot of visitors end up suffering from high altitude sickness, especially those who want to venture to areas like the Continental Divide. There are points along the trail here in South Fork that reach above 12,000 feet and people need to be prepared for that,”said Teders.

Another display that will be added will focus on ATV trails around the area. Teders is working on a map that will showcase the hundreds of miles of trails that can be accessed from the South Fork area and beyond. “We have such a huge number of trails in the area and as we get closer to finalizing the ATV trails in town, people will want to know where they can go in the backcountry,” said Teders.

Teders is also starting his very own YouTube channel where he will highlight areas like rope tying, compass and map orientation, discuss topics like local wildlife and plant species as well as tips and tricks to use in a survival situation. “What I would really like to do is get a green screen, they are not very expensive and use it to place me in different environments while I talk about different subjects. It really is going to be fun, once we get it up and running,” stated Teders.

He has also worked over the last month to install a live webcam at the front of the visitor center that people can access on their website. “We got over 7,000 views the first week it was up. I had a guy from Texas call me and say that he saw me put a flag up outside. It was weird to know people could watch me from all the way down in Texas, but kind of cool too,” said Teders.

More changes are on the way for the visitor center this year, so be sure to stop in and see Teders while traveling through the area! To visit the webcam, go to www.southfork.org and scroll down to the bottom of the home page.