SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia state park personnel are working to prepare for a return of guests.Gov. Jim Justice cleared state parks to partially reopen this week to in-state guests only.
The first phase of reopening the parks will be Thursday when campgrounds reopen. Lodges and cabins will reopen on May 26, the day after Memorial Day, but those too will only be for West Virginia residents.
“We have had to cancel reservations for non-residents and we’ve tried to encourage them to book with us at a later date and many of them have,” said acting West Virginia State Parks Director Brad Reed.
Typically, finding a place to camp in a state park on Memorial Day is nearly impossible especially only days before the holiday. But the situation has presented a unique opportunity for West Virginia residents. Reed added, you need to act fast.
“Now is the time to call if you’re a resident and want to stay in a West Virginia State Park campground over Memorial Day weekend, you best be calling us and getting that reservation in,” he said.
State parks were never fully closed down, they remained open for hiking and fishing. All buildings an amenities were closed during the Gov. Justice’s stay-at-home order. Reed said it’s given many West Virginians an opportunity to return to those parks where they may not normally have visited.
“I believe many West Virginians rediscovered their State Parks during this crises. We provided an opportunity for folks to get outside and hike,” he said.
Some amenities within the parks will restart on Thursday along with the campgrounds for in-state residents. Those include:
–Overlooks at Blackwater Falls and Coopers Rock State Forest
–Golf courses, (subject to the Governor’s previous executive order to reopen all golf courses)
–Beartown State Park will reopen after it was fully closed during the crises
–Park Offices
–Park Gift Shops
–Clay Shotgun courses at Canaan and Cacapon State Parks
–All boat, bicycle, and all day use equipment rentals
All amenities will reopen under strict guidelines from the CDC and West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources along with the Gov. Justice’s Covid-19 response team, according to Reed.
Although all off the park facilities have been idle for two months, the staff has not been. Reed explained state park employees have been working non-stop in preparation for the restart of operations.
“We’ve been putting this down time to good use. We have our construction bond renovation projects going on and we’ve been doing a lot of maintenance projects and things we sometimes don’t have as much time to do because we’re servicing the guests,” he said.
Each room in the lodges and cabins has been deep cleaned from top to bottom at ever state park. Grass is cut, trees trimmed, and debris removed from camping facilities. Reed and the staff are eager to welcome West Virginians back into the parks.