State Parks Department Expecting Crowds For Thanksgiving

The Kentucky Department of Parks is anticipating strong interest in state park attractions this holiday season, and the department will again offer slightly expanded lodging options, in anticipation of holiday visitors.Spokesperson Gil Lawson says while tourism has declined across all areas, parks are holding their own. Last year, they decided for the first time to rent cottages to tourists for the last week of the year."Between Christmas and New Years, we typically are closed," he says. "Last year, though, we decided to open our cottages up and we did a pretty good business. People were either visiting for the holidays or they decided to take a break and rent a cottage for the holiday."Lodges and restaurants in state parks, however, will be closed from Sunday evenings through Wednesday afternoons all winter. All parks restaurants will  serve the traditional Thanksgiving buffet. Lawson says about ten thousand people visit state parks for the buffet each year.