Beshear order limits crowds at hiking trails, but some local officials wish he’d go further
Against the wishes of some local officials who are concerned about the spread of novel coronavirus in their counties, Gov. Andy Beshear has allowed hiking trails in some of Kentucky’s most popular state parks to remain open.
Those include Pine Mountain State Resort Park in Bell County and Natural Bridge State Resort Park in Powell County.
The crowd at the Natural Bridge was lighter than normal for a sunny Saturday afternoon in April, but dozens of cars, several with out-of-state license plates, were parked at the trailhead as groups of hikers donned their backpacks and started up the trail to the popular overlook.
While Beshear’s order on Thursday to shut down all campgrounds and lodges on state park lands seems to have limited crowds, some local officials, including Powell County Judge-Executive James Anderson, said a closure of hiking trails would serve as a welcome next step.
“The trailhead and trails were actually the biggest area of concern, and probably the biggest draw,” Anderson said.
Natural Bridge, one of the most popular outdoor destinations in the state, sits just minutes from the Red River Gorge, which the Daniel Boone National Forest shut down for the same reasons that local officials wanted to shut down state parks: crowded parking lots and narrow trails that make proper social distancing impractical.
Anderson issued an emergency declaration last week ordering the shutdown of the park, but Beshear did not recognize the authority of that order.
During a press conference Wednesday, Beshear said he has heard from the local officials who are concerned about state parks and how those hiking trails could draw crowds from other states.
Beshear did not say exactly why he chose to keep popular hiking trails open, but said he will work with officials to shut down any area where people are congregating in large groups.
On out-of-state visitors, Beshear said people should be just as concerned about large groups of Kentuckians and the threat that those groups present for spreading novel coronavirus.
Anderson said he thinks Beshear has done a wonderful job managing the outbreak of COVID-19, but said he wished the state government would put more trust in local officials who “have a little bit better idea of what’s going on in our home county and where the biggest threats still are.”
“I hope they’ll take our concerns and what we’ve tried to do and be receptive of those recommendations,” Anderson said.
Some of the nation’s most-popular national parks and monuments, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, closed virtually all hiking within the parks. Other, smaller Kentucky parks, including Shaker Village and Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, have also closed hiking trails.
Bell County Judge-Executive Albey Brock said he was glad Beshear barred overnight stays, but would have preferred closing the park at Pine Mountain altogether.
That’s because he believes the virus will be brought to his county from elsewhere.
“My concern about the parks is that they are a magnet to bring people from other states to my community, go in a store or grab a gas pump, and infect someone in my community.”
On Thursday and Friday, Brock said he went to Pine Mountain State Park to see how many people were using the trails. Fewer people visited the park on Friday than on Thursday, and Brock said Beshear’s order barring overnight stays likely contributed to that decline.
On Saturday, there were relatively few visitors at midday. Most of the cars were at the trail leading to Chained Rock, one of the park’s main attractions.
The scene was far different than the weekend before, when the park was busy, Brock said.
“I know it’s working” at the Pine Mountain park, he said of Beshear’s order aimed at keeping down crowds. “I’m pleasantly surprised.”
Still, Brock said he was concerned that narrow trails, sometimes only 4 feet across, don’t give visitors enough distance to hike safely, and he would still prefer closing the park’s hiking trails.
At Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, which is in Whitley and McCreary counties, visitation was not significantly lower than last weekend, and was about average for this time of year, said Dave Lassiter, a park ranger who was tracking the number of vehicles to report to superiors.
The park is easily reached from Interstate 75, so while most of the cars in the parking lot were from Kentucky, there were plates from several other states as well, including Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Georgia and Alabama.
Leeanna Blair, who drove from Louisville to Cumberland Falls early Saturday, said it seemed people were trying to be careful as they passed each other, but there were spots where there wasn’t enough room to create six feet of distance.
“You’ll see people that just get off the side to let you pass,” she said
Karen Coots, of Laurel County, had come with several family members to hike one of the park’s trails overlooking the Cumberland River.
She said she was glad Beshear had left the trails open so people could get out of their houses.
“Give’s us something to do,” she said. “The way I see it, Walmart’s more dangerous.”
This story was originally published April 4, 2020 at 3:31 PM.
