ST. LOUIS —
On Monday, the remaining 21 St. Louis County parks will reopen after weeks of being closed. Missouri State Parks will also begin a phased reopening of their campground and facilities.
A Missouri Department of Conservation employee, Terry Bertholomey, said it will be a very gradual process with many indoor facilities and stations remaining closed for the time being at certain locations.
“Each place may be a little different about how it’s set up,” Bertholomey said. “As an example, at some of the fishing areas, the boat ramps are open, but the fish cleaning stations are closed in some cases.”
The majority of playgrounds, pavilions, restrooms, and museums will remain closed for a period of time.
All activities, events, and rentals are canceled at many parks through at least May 31.
The MDC temporarily waived fishing permits in March, but beginning Saturday, tags and permits will be required for trout fishing in trout parks, including the three state parks that residents can trout fish in.
“They actually have started selling tags, and they started stocking trout as of yesterday,” Bertholomey said.
Families looking to camp at state parks over Memorial Day Weekend will have to wait a little while longer if reservations haven’t been made yet.
Some parks are still honoring reservations made prior to the COVID-19 shutdown.
“Really, what they need to do is contact the local facility they’re looking to camp at and make sure they are going to be opening and taking reservations,” Bertholomey said. “Don’t want people showing up at the last minute thinking their reservation was good, or they’re going to be open as usual.”
Each park will be handling the reopening process differently, including the number of people allowed in a park at one time.
For more information on the reopening process of each state park, visit mostateparks.com.
Related Stories
RELATED: Some Missouri parks reopen on Monday