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Only $2 a day per car and this state needs to make money any way it can...but for me personally, Cooper's Rock aint special enough to pay to get into no matter what, so we'll probably head up there one last time between now and Memorial Day...
Only $2 a day per car and this state needs to make money any way it can...but for me personally, Cooper's Rock aint special enough to pay to get into no matter what, so we'll probably head up there one last time between now and Memorial Day...
It's worth buying the $12 yearly pass, that is what I'll end up doing.
What are they going to do, build a toll gate? The only days of the week they will be able to afford to pay the attendant will be Saturdays and Sundays. Lol.
The problem is not a few bucks to help maintain parks. The problem is the idea that parks must become self sustainable but Tomblin still get's his $15 million dollars because dog racing is not.
12 dollars or 2 for one visit isn't bad and I don't mind paying for this. I do mind paying for the dog racing. its a lie about how many jobs it would effect and with our states money problems it shows the lack of ethics of the people that represent us on both sides of the isle. term limits have to be implemented. I prefer to go to coppers rock during the week its to crowded on weekends. investing in our state park system or state forests I will always support.
12 dollars or 2 for one visit isn't bad and I don't mind paying for this. I do mind paying for the dog racing. its a lie about how many jobs it would effect and with our states money problems it shows the lack of ethics of the people that represent us on both sides of the isle. term limits have to be implemented. I prefer to go to coppers rock during the week its to crowded on weekends. investing in our state park system or state forests I will always support.
2 problems with this... first of all, it is not being evenly mandated. Where is the logic, for example, in charging for Coopers Rock and Blackwater Falls and not for Kanawha State Forest and Hawks Nest? If they are going to impose charges for one area's state parks, it should be for all of them. Anybody watching our state government operate for any length of time would realize this is just another way to divert money from one region to another. Also, it is beyond insane to be reducing funding for education, punishing people who use some state parks and not others, and at the same time spending $15 million so a former governor's family can continue to sell dogs that nobody wants.
2 problems with this... first of all, it is not being evenly mandated. Where is the logic, for example, in charging for Coopers Rock and Blackwater Falls and not for Kanawha State Forest and Hawks Nest? If they are going to impose charges for one area's state parks, it should be for all of them. Anybody watching our state government operate for any length of time would realize this is just another way to divert money from one region to another. Also, it is beyond insane to be reducing funding for education, punishing people who use some state parks and not others, and at the same time spending $15 million so a former governor's family can continue to sell dogs that nobody wants.
I am not a fan of the added fees/tolls into the parks. IMO all of our parks should have no entry fee. However, it isn't unfair that Coopers Rock has an entry fee and Hawks Nest doesn't. Hawks Nest has a national highway (US 60) going through the middle of it, and its splendor is an overlook that is less than 100 yards off of the road. Nobody is going to suggest putting a toll in the middle of the road, only to be able to hike a couple hundred feet. Coopers Rock has its own road and entry, and has far greater recreational opportunities than Hawks Nest. You could make the argument that Hawks Nest has a lodge/conference center/restaurant etc..., but the park is still ridiculously too small for an entry fee. At least the parks that were chosen have other offerings and have larger draws. Kanawha State Forrest is a great park, but I promise that nobody would ever visit it if it cost money to stop in. People will undoubtedly pay a fee to see Blackwater Falls and the like.
Also, Babcock State Park is right up the road from Hawks Nest and an entry fee will be required there. Other "southern WV" park that will require a fee is Little Beaver and Pipestem. The chosen parks seem pretty balanced around the state.
I am not a fan of the added fees/tolls into the parks. IMO all of our parks should have no entry fee. However, it isn't unfair that Coopers Rock has an entry fee and Hawks Nest doesn't. Hawks Nest has a national highway (US 60) going through the middle of it, and its splendor is an overlook that is less than 100 yards off of the road. Nobody is going to suggest putting a toll in the middle of the road, only to be able to hike a couple hundred feet. Coopers Rock has its own road and entry, and has far greater recreational opportunities than Hawks Nest. You could make the argument that Hawks Nest has a lodge/conference center/restaurant etc..., but the park is still ridiculously too small for an entry fee. At least the parks that were chosen have other offerings and have larger draws. Kanawha State Forrest is a great park, but I promise that nobody would ever visit it if it cost money to stop in. People will undoubtedly pay a fee to see Blackwater Falls and the like.
Also, Babcock State Park is right up the road from Hawks Nest and an entry fee will be required there. Other "southern WV" park that will require a fee is Little Beaver and Pipestem. The chosen parks seem pretty balanced around the state.
As for dog racing, I couldn't agree more!
I hadn't realized that Kanawha State Forest lacks the amenities found at Coopers Rock State Forest. That's news to me. What do they have at the Kanawha Forest... just trees? I know they raped our state forest by clear cutting hundreds of acres for profit, but somehow exempted the Kanawha forest from being harvested.
Also, I have a hunch there is a lot more to Hawks Nest than just the overlook. By the Way, Coopers Rock has an Interstate Highway that separates it from the WVU Research Forest.
My point is, if they allow camping at the Kanawha forest, and have a picnic table set up there, there is no logic in not applying the same standards for fees because essentially that, and a small playground for children is what is at Coopers Rock.
I hadn't realized that Kanawha State Forest lacks the amenities found at Coopers Rock State Forest. That's news to me. What do they have at the Kanawha Forest... just trees? I know they raped our state forest by clear cutting hundreds of acres for profit, but somehow exempted the Kanawha forest from being harvested.
Also, I have a hunch there is a lot more to Hawks Nest than just the overlook. By the Way, Coopers Rock has an Interstate Highway that separates it from the WVU Research Forest.
My point is, if they allow camping at the Kanawha forest, and have a picnic table set up there, there is no logic in not applying the same standards for fees because essentially that, and a small playground for children is what is at Coopers Rock.
Hawks Nest does have a lodge facility, restaurant, and even a lift system that takes guests down to the river. All of course generate revenue in their own right. My point was that all of that is off the main road and not in a forrest area like Coopers Rock. Again, I am against the fees and the idea of charging people to use of wonderful outdoor amenities we have. But it isn't like they are only targeting a certain region of the state like you want to make it seem half of the time. Hawks Nest is a very small park along a stretch of parks that make up the New/Gualey Recreational Region. Babcock is a park also in that region which will be subject to the fees. Kanawha State Forrest isn't a major tourism spot like Coopers Rock, Babcock, or Pipestem. KSF is a nice place, but the only traffic it usually sees is Charleston locals. I can see why a place like Coopers Rock with a great view and right off the interstate, would be a better candidate for revenue.
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