Dozens of American state parks remain shuttered weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated vast swaths of the United States Southeast.
The closures are in force in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, the states hardest hit by the tropical cyclone. Helene made landfall on Florida’s Gulf of Mexico Coast in late September and moved inland, inundating parts of Georgia and North Carolina with heavy rains and flash flooding.
And even where state parks are being kept open, there are no planned events or activities as authorities continue cleanup efforts in affected areas.
“All North Carolina state parks west of I-77 are closed through at least Oct. 31, 2024,” North Carolina’s Division of Parks and Recreation said in a release. “Most programs at all state parks across North Carolina have been canceled, also through Oct. 31, 2024.”
Helene forced the closure of 13 state parks in western North Carolina. Closed North Carolina parks include Gorges State Park, Mount Mitchell State Park, New River State Park, South Mountains State Park, and Stone Mountain State Park.
The state’s government is advising against all unnecessary travel to that part of the state as the post-hurricane recovery efforts are ongoing.
“We continue to discourage unnecessary travel in and to western North Carolina,” North Carolina’s parks division said. “Limiting travel helps prioritize sending lifesaving resources and making vital infrastructure repairs in the communities hit hardest by Helene.”
It’s the same story in much of Florida and Georgia, although Georgia’s state park system experienced less damage from the storm.
16 Florida state parks are currently closed to the public. Overnight camping is prohibited in two more. Florida State Parks hasn’t given a timeline for when public access will likely be restored.
Florida’s parks authority is making no apologies about shuttering virtually all of the state parks that were in the storm’s path.
Florida State Parks Director Chuck Hatcher released a statement saying the state’s priority lays squarely on helping affected communities recover and rebuild.
The parks will be reopened as soon as possible, Hatcher said. Meanwhile, he’s inviting in-state and out-of-state residents to enjoy the state’s other outdoor recreation areas where access isn’t being restricted.
“The Florida Park Service is hard at work assessing, repairing and safely reopening,” he said.
In Georgia, four state parks and a portion of a state-operated golf course are closed. Only one park, Mistletoe State Park, is scheduled to be reopened relatively soon, on November 1. Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources plans to reopen Elijah Clark State Park on November 15.
The other two shuttered state parks experienced so much damage from flooding that the state will have them closed to the public for several more weeks. George L. Smith State Park near the community of Twin City will remain closed to the public until December 1.
General Coffee State Park outside Douglas, Georgia is set to remain closed until January 1, 2025. The Department of Natural Resources says General Coffee was “heavily affected by Hurricane Helene.”
“We encourage you to make reservations at parks far from the impacted areas to avoid putting extra strain on limited resources in these communities,” Georgia DNR says.
Helene is considered to be the most devastating hurricane to hit the US since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
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