News
On May 19, 2011, First Lady Jane Beshear officially unveiled the new equine campsites at a grand opening ceremony at the Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park today.The eight wooded sites will allow campers with horses to spend the night and enjoy the more than 40 miles of horse trails in the adjacent Pennyrile State Forest.
“This addition to Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park will make the grounds and surrounding area more attractive to horse owners,” Mrs. Beshear said. “The park will be a welcome addition to our list of adventure tourism opportunities in this part of Kentucky.”
The eight sites have electric, water and sewer hookups as well as hitching posts. The project also added an energy saving bathhouse and upgrades to four existing sites used by RV campers.
Joining Mrs. Beshear for the opening ceremony was Parks Commissioner Gerry van der Meer, Executive Director for Kentucky’s Office for Adventure Tourism Elaine H. Wilson, and Jenny Sewell, Kentucky Recreational Trails Authority Board Member and president of the Friends of Pennyrile Forest.
The Kentucky State Parks now have four campgrounds with equestrian campsites: Pennyrile Forest, Carter Caves, Dale Hollow Lake and Taylorsville Lake. The Kentucky State Parks operate 31 campgrounds across the state. For information and reservations, visit parks.ky.gov
In May 2011, KRTA leadership and user group representatives had an opportunity to meet with the acting Director of the US Fish & Wildlife Services to address issues and challenges related to the Great American Outdoor initiative and focusing on recreational access on lands Fish & Wildlife manage. The 6 person entourage from Washington was meeting with every state to gather information on what states were doing and what challenges were they facing in meeting the Presidents Great American Outdoors initiative.Kentucky officials informed them about successes such as the Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area and Fish & Wildlife’s efforts to expand adventure opportunities there. Steve Barbour with the Sheltowee Trace Association informed the group his relationship with Daniel Boone National Forest Service has been a great working partnership.
State Officials noted the full funding the president is pursuing with the Land and Water grants is wonderful but will have minimal effect in Kentucky as we only receive .5 million of the 990 million funds planned to allocate and requested higher level funding. Secretary Sparrow noted a need for the federal agencies who manage our recreation lands to meet and work together to address the barrier requirements that thwart efforts when studies out cost the project development and or to revisit policies and laws that impose barriers to achieve real Great American Outdoor access.
