State Parks Free Again
From the Tennessean: Finally, no more access fees at our wonderful state parks — good news for outdoorsy cheapos! Yep, after a push from Gov. Phil Bredesen, the state legislature voted to remove the $3 per car fee, and starting Saturday everybody can get in free to all 54 of the parks in our state. Hoorah! Tennessee’s state park system was recently ranked by the National Recreation and Parks Association as one of the top four state park systems in the country. Florida was No. 1, and Tennessee was tied with North Carolina and Missouri for second place.
Former Metro Parks director Jim Fyke, who’s now in charge of state parks, is clearly proud of his department’s progress.
When Fyke took the job last year, his goal was to have all parks open — 14 were closed at the time — and to have them free. Mission accomplished. So the next challenge is to make people aware of all that the parks have to offer.
Fyke says he was a typical park user when his daughter was growing up, taking her to Fall Creek Falls, Montgomery Bell and Paris Landing but missing out on a lot of others.
‘’What I didn’t know until I got this job was that we have such diversity of natural areas and programs — everything from Reelfoot Lake in the west where it is flat (and super interesting with its earthquake history) to Roane Mountain in the east,'’ which some people swear is just as beautiful and a lot less crowded than the Smokies.
In between you have gorgeous places like Burgess Falls, Standing Stone, Long Hunter and Tims Ford.
And the programs — free junior golf opportunities, free ranger-led nature classes, miles of trails for hiking and biking, swimming, fishing, cave tours and more.
And you don’t have to be a hard-core camper — many of the parks have comfortable, affordable lodges, cabins and cottages as well as camp sites. A day trip is a good option for some of the parks; amazingly enough, everyone in the state is within one hour of a state park.
I hate to admit it, but when I first heard the happy news that the $3 access fees were history, I wondered if I could ask for half of the money back that I paid in January for my Radnor Lake annual pass. I mean, the $30 annual fee was sort of a splurge for me.
Well, I had to ask, and you’ll love Commissioner Fyke’s response:
‘’You are just like my wife. I told her that if you dare to request a $15 refund, we’ll give it to you — I’ll call it a Ms. Cheap Refund! But we’re hoping that since the money stays with Parks, we won’t have to do that.'’
Think again, Commissioner — I’m gonna put my $15 refund in my gas tank and see how many great parks I can enjoy this summer. Woo-hoo!
For info on state parks, see www.tnstateparks.com or call 1-888-867-2757 (tnparks).
Stay cheap!
By Ms. Cheap
Thursday, 06/29/06
