State Parks Serve Up Thanksgiving Dinner

by Hanna Raskin, Posted Nov 25th 2009 @ 11:00AM

Burgess Falls State Park, Tennessee. Photo: Brent and MariLynn, Flickr.

Hold the jokes about foil-wrapped potatoes and GORP-topped pie: Kentucky's state parks last year hosted more than 11,000 celebrants for Thanksgiving dinner.

"It's a longtime tradition, and a very convenient option," parks spokesman Gil Lawson says.

Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas will all keep at least one of their state park restaurants open this Thanksgiving for a holiday buffet. Insiders say the low price of in-park dining will likely enhance the appeal of an already popular program this year.

Kentucky, which operates all 17 of its park restaurants on Thanksgiving Day, charges $16.95 for a meal including turkey and dressing, baked ham, candied yams, green beans, mashed potatoes with giblet gravy and pumpkin pie.

"Not everyone wants to cook," explains Tennessee State Parks' Meg Lockhart. "This is a really simple thing to do in a beautiful setting."

While Lockhart says the parks annually host a diverse group of families on the road, camping couples and individuals with nowhere else to go, the majority of buffet-goers are "people from the area."

Lockhart added that she's still contemplating whether to take her guests to one of the state's eight parks serving Thanksgiving dinner.

"Frankly, I volunteered to host Thanksgiving for the first time, and I wish I'd suggested going to a Tennessee state park," she said. "I should call my mother and tell her there's a change of plans. I know the food would be better."

Filed Under: Holidays
Tags: fall, good old raisins and peanuts, GoodOldRaisinsAndPeanuts, gorp, southern states, state parks, StateParks, thanksgiving, thanksgiving dinner, thanksgiving in state parks, ThanksgivingDinner, ThanksgivingInStateParks