NC parks officials want residents to get out and enjoy nature — but not all at once
The arrival of the coronavirus pandemic in North Carolina in March eventually revealed a string of shortages: hospital workers, protective gear, pantry staples and, in some places, state park land.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, some units of the N.C. State Parks system have been turning away people to prevent overcrowding, especially during peak weekend hours, when two to three times the normal number of visitors have approached the gates at some parks.
That’s despite the fact that as of July 8, all inland swim beaches at state parks remain closed, including those at Falls Lake, Jordan Lake and Kerr Lake state recreation areas, and Lake Norman State Park.
On July 3, eight state parks had hit capacity by 10:30 a.m., and the N.C. State Parks’ Facebook page was asking people still planning to come to visit on a different day.
‘Never had to do that before’
In his 17-plus years working at Stone Mountain State Park in Wilkes and Alleghany counties, park Superintendent Jeff Jones said that until the pandemic hit, “We’ve never had to do that before.” Now it happens every weekend.
Stone Mountain State Park, a 14,000-acre park about 90 minutes from Charlotte and less than three hours from Raleigh, is built around its namesake 700-foot-high granite dome, a 200-foot waterfall and 14 miles of trout stream. With 20 miles of trails, 90 campsites and proximity to Interstate 77, it draws people from across North Carolina and nearby states.
Normally, rangers and local law enforcement allow park visitors who can’t find space in a parking lot to leave their cars on the shoulder of the road leading into the park while they go for a hike or picnic.
But because of the need for social distancing to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, Stone Mountain, like some other parks, is not allowing visitors to use that “overflow” parking. Once designated parking lots are filled, additional visitors are turned away until space opens up.
At some parks, visitors may wait in their cars on an entrance road for an hour or more for a chance to go into a park.
“They want to get away from their house, is what visitors have told me,” Jones said. “And basically come to the mountains.”
State parks were popular destinations even during the statewide shutdown, when access was more restricted.
For nearly two months starting in mid-March, most of the state’s 41 parks and recreation areas were completely closed to the public, with about a dozen still open to hikers. Even with restrooms and visitor centers closed, some sites, such as Carolina Beach State Park, reported more visitors during that time compared to the same month the year before.
Ready to walk in the woods
Once Gov. Roy Cooper began to lift COVID-19-related restrictions and all the parks reopened, people flooded into them looking for fresh air, exercise and elbow room.
“I was really ready to get out and walk in the woods,” said Eva Reynolds, who traveled from Ithaca, N.Y., recently to visit family in Johnston County. Reynolds’s cousin told her about Raven Rock State Park outside Lillington, in Harnett County, and Reynolds took her son and daughter there for a two-and-a-half-hour visit. They walked the trail to the bluffs along the Cape Fear River, climbed over the rocks on the bank and stared at the muddy stream rushing by.
During their stay, Reynolds said, they saw two snakes, a deer, some rabbits and frogs.
“Not a lot of people,” Reynolds said, because they visited on a weekday, but the ones they met on the trail were cordial and kept their distance.
“For me,” Reynolds said, “hiking, being out in the woods, it’s just coming back to center. There is nothing else around you except nature, and it forces you to just be in the moment and be in awe of the beauty around you.”
Raven Rock, about an hour south-southeast of Raleigh, is a relatively small park and has been hitting capacity on weekends by around 10 a.m. since the pandemic hit.
John Fullwood took over as interim director of state parks in May, when Cooper appointed the former parks director, Dwayne Patterson, deputy director and chief operating officer of the N.C. Pandemic Recovery Office. Fullwood is a 28-year veteran of the state parks system who started out as an attendant at Jockey’s Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks.
Fullwood isn’t surprised by record attendance at some state parks.
“The citizens of North Carolina and its visitors see the value of outdoor recreation during this pandemic,” Fullwood said in a phone interview with The News & Observer. “They’re getting back out and experiencing the parks and the trails.
“We hope there are some people discovering state parks, and some people rediscovering state parks.”
Parks hitting capacity
Certain popular parks are consistently hitting capacity on weekends: Pilot Mountain, Stone Mountain, South Mountains, Raven Rock, Mount Mitchell, Gorges, Chimney Rock and Grandfather Mountain state parks. But Fullwood said most parks in the system are seeing an increase in visitors.
“We want people to have a good, high-quality experience when they get to a park, and if it’s overcrowded and there is no place to park, it can kind of diminish the experience. We certainly don’t want that,” Fullwood said.
Park visitors are encouraged to keep 6 feet from others who aren’t in their group, to wear face coverings, wash hands frequently and resist touching surfaces unnecessarily. Anyone showing symptoms of illness should stay home.
Restrooms are open in most parks, along with most trails and campgrounds. Visitor centers, playgrounds, exhibits, meeting rooms, community buildings and retail areas remain closed. No equipment or picnic shelter rentals are available, and no concessions are operating.
The pandemic forced a weeks-long delay in hiring summer workers for the parks, Fullwood said, but he expects the system to be fully staffed sometime this month.
“It’s really not a time to linger yet, and I say that as respectfully as I can,” Fullwood said.
“Right now we’re hoping that people come in, enjoy the parks, get some fresh air and exercise,” and move along.
But in the long run, Fullwood said, the demand for public park access during the pandemic suggests the state needs to expand its trails and parks, whether by adding land to existing units or developing new ones.
As interim director, Fullwood said, park expansion would be among his priorities, along with handling the challenges of running parks during the pandemic and completing projects funded through Connect NC bonds. Voters approved the bonds in 2016, providing $75 million for 45 state park projects.
This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 1:58 PM with the headline "NC parks officials want residents to get out and enjoy nature — but not all at once."
