Take A Hike And Beat The COVID-19 Blues
Reenactors Debbie Jenkins, Devola Collier and Jim Moore take part in the 2018 Settlement And Raid. While park events in April have been cancelled, the park remains open.
Coronavirus Update For Friday, March 20
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
rmoore@harrodsburgherald.com
Social distancing doesn’t mean staying home and watching Netflix all day. While most activities have been cancelled, most local parks—including Old Fort Harrod State Park, Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill and Anderson-Dean Community Park—remain open to the public for hiking and exploring.
Kentucky State Parks have taken precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus, including closing Hidden Rivers Restaurant at Blue Licks Battlefield State Park, limiting food services at other parks to carry out only and cancelling or postponing all scheduled park events through April 30, including the annual Easter egg hunt and clean up day at Old Fort Harrod.
However Old Fort Harrod and other state parks remain open. The park grounds, including the George Rogers Clark Federal Monument and the Pioneer Cemetery, the oldest west of the Alleghenies, are open to the public 8 a.m. until dusk, seven days a week.
The fort, the Lincoln Marriage Temple and the gift shop are open Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
The Mansion Museum is still scheduled to open April 1. Hours are10 a.m to 5 p.m. Wednesday though Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. It’s free to explore the park grounds. To visit the attractions, the rates are $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and veterans and $4 for children age 6 through 12.
For more information, visit the state website.
Shakertown
Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill has cancelled all daily tours and historic exhibits are closed until at least the end of the month. However, the hiking trails are still open. Over 3,000 acres of rolling prairies, woodlands, watersheds, fields and canebrakes are still waiting to be explored, so long as you practice safe social distancing techniques. The hiking trails are free and open to the public every day from sunrise to sunset. For more information, visit shakervillageky.org or call 734.5411.
Anderson-Dean Community Park
The park has suspended all athletic activities—practice and games—until further notice, including Mercer Little League, Mercer Youth Soccer, Mercer Middle and high school teams, Burgin Soccer and all travel and select teams. In addition, all shelters are closed and the park office is closed to the public. However the walking trails are still open and free to the public, according to Park Director Mark Bryant. The park is open from sunrise to sunset. For more information, call 734-9167.
Current cases
There are currently 250,856 confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide, with 14,250 in the U.S. and 50 here in Kentucky, according to Johns Hopkins University. So far there have been 205 deaths in the U.S. from coronavirus and two here in Kentucky, although Gov. Andy Beshear has said that in both deaths in Kentucky, coronavirus was only a contributing factor—not the sole cause—of death.
For more information about COVID-19, visit kycovid19.ky.gov and cdc.gov/coronavirus for up-to-date information. The state has also set up a free COVID-19 Hotline at 1-800-722-5725.
Gov. Andy Beshear holds regular briefings every night at 5 p.m. Subscribe to governor’s daily coronavirus briefings on Youtube here.
