Despite prolonged renovation-related closures to a popular Kentucky State Park, business owners and tourism officials are hopeful investment into Jenny Wiley State Resort Park boosts the area’s growing tourism economy.
The campground, lodge and cottages are closed at Jenny Wiley this summer while a $7 million renovation is underway. The lodge closed in the fall and was originally expected to reopen this summer, but construction estimates now put reopening closer to May 2027. The campground is anticipated to be back online by April.
While many of the facilities at Jenny Wiley are closed, the park remains open and programming continues.
Jennifer Horsley, president of the nonprofit Friends of Jenny Wiley and Prestonsburg Tourism, said the area is feeling some effects of the closures during the busy summer season.
“Jenny Wiley has historically been one of the most visited state parks in Kentucky, and so the closures are affecting hotels, restaurants, attractions, outfitters and even local businesses because visitors are spending money throughout Floyd County, not just inside the park,” Horsley said. “The park has been an economic driver basically for our entire area.”
The nonprofit fundraises for the park, and Horsley described the renovations as “temporary inconvenience for permanent improvement.”
Jenny Wiley is one of the handful of Kentucky State Parks undergoing renovations. Both Cumberland Falls and Lake Cumberland in Southeastern Kentucky have facilities closed for improvements.
Don Fields’ ProFitness Multisports has rented bikes and kayaks to adventurers in the Prestonsburg area for 30 years.
Fields said the closures have limited where people can stay, but he hasn’t seen a drop in business so far. He’s monitoring a fall bike race that relies on the park for accommodations, however.
“We're expecting about 200 racers from all over the region, and most of them would have enjoyed staying at the lodge or the campground,” Fields said. “I don't think it'll have a huge impact on the number of people that come to the race. We also have a mountain bike race every year, and same thing there. The mountain bikers do tend to camp out more than they stay in hotels, so it'll affect that event somewhat.”
Overall, he sees the state park as a destination that brings people to the area, and hopes the renovations will make it even better.
“We're looking forward to it being open next year and better than ever,” Fields said.
Seth Wheat, director of interpretation and engagement for Kentucky State Parks, said the goal is to bring the commonwealth’s recreational offerings up to date and enhance safety.
Many upgrades are things guests will notice when they return, Wheat said, like a new archery center at Jenny Wiley and improvements to the marina.
“These systems are aging,” Wheat said. “We have so many utilities and different components that we manage at some of our state parks, I think folks would be surprised. It's not just the lodge building and the hotel room or the cottage they're staying in; there's a whole host of activities that are going on at the park that the guests don't normally see.”
Wheat said he believes the state parks, which celebrated 100 years as a system in 2024, are part of what has been driving increased tourism to Kentucky, and state parks and surrounding communities in Eastern Kentucky are seeing more visitors.
“We have several properties that are under a variety of different renovation projects, so our overall visitation numbers this year, as compared to last, are slightly down,” Wheat said. “But when we adjust for the number of lodge rooms or cottages or campgrounds that we currently have online for renovation, we're actually tracking ahead of what we were even a year ago.”
