Lake Barkley State Resort Park will begin accepting overnight guests on Monday, June 8, state park officials announced.
Barkley, along with Lake Cumberland, Blue Licks Battlefield and Buckhorn Lake state resort parks, had been closed to the general public for several weeks as the state used those facilities to house people who needed a place to self-quarantine because of potential exposure to the coronavirus.
Most of the state’s other resort parks began accepting overnight guests Monday, June 1.
Campgrounds and amenities such as park museums and golf courses will be opening back up over the next two weeks. Dates and safety guidelines are listed here.
Swimming pools and beaches will not open, and picnic shelters will not be available to rent, officials said.
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Several procedures and safety measures will be in place to help curb the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Lodge dining rooms, such as those at Barkley and Pennyrile Forest, will serve carry-out meals only, and employees will be required to wear face masks and gloves at all times. No buffets or salad bars will be offered.
Campgrounds are slated to reopen Thursday, June 11, but campground bathhouses will not open.
“Campers must be self-contained RV units or pop-ups with bathrooms and holding tanks due to bathhouses being closed at this time,” a park advisory states. “Pop-ups without holding tanks and tents will not be allowed due to bathhouse regulations.”
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
