Four KY state parks that were coronavirus quarantine sites can reopen, Beshear says
Four Kentucky state parks that had been slated to remain closed as quarantine sites for people exposed to the novel coronavirus can instead reopen to visitors, Gov. Andy Beshear said.
Beshear’s office issued a release Friday saying the four parks will reopen June 8. The opening date was first given as June 1, but the state updated that Friday.
The four parks are at Lake Cumberland, Buckhorn Lake, Lake Barkley and Blue Licks Battlefield.
Other state parks will reopen June 1. Camping at all the parks will open to self-contained campers and recreational vehicles on June 11, according to the Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet
Two weeks ago when Beshear first announced most state parks could reopen, he held four off the list to be used as quarantine sites for people exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19.
However, Beshear said Thursday the state had made enough progress limiting the spread of the virus to allow reopening those parks.
Playgrounds and pools at all the parks will still be closed, however.
Sen. Max Wise, of Campbellsville, said he and Rep. Jeff Hoover of Jamestown sent a letter this week urging state officials to reopen Lake Cumberland State Resort Park.
Keeping the park near Jamestown, in Russell County, closed during the summer tourism season would hurt the local economy, the lawmakers told Beshear and Mike Berry, secretary of the Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet.
The park is a key tourism driver in the area, helping draw people to other businesses, the lawmakers said.
The two noted the economic loss from shutdowns mandated because of COVID-19 is only the latest shock to the area economy.
They pointed to an earlier drop in tourism after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers quickly lowered the lake level in early 2007 to take pressure off Wolf Creek Dam during repairs, and the loss of clothing factories in Russell and other counties.
The region “has suffered unimaginable losses and simply cannot sustain this impact,” Hoover and Wise said of keeping the Lake Cumberland park closed.
There is construction work going on at the lodge, some of it to repair damage from a fire. That work would not prevent the park from reopening, said Janet Marson, tourism director for Russell County.
A big chunk of the budget to promote tourism comes from a tax on lodging at the park, so that revenue has been down, and the tourism industry is a significant employer, Marson said.
“There are a whole lot of people that depend on the park for their jobs,” Marson said.
This story was originally published May 28, 2020 at 3:37 PM.
