Cache County residents enjoying Hyrum State Park during pandemic

Cherish Miller and Theona Ford make sandcastles at Hyrum State Park Thursday. Hyrum State Park is open to only residents of Cache County.

HYRUM – By order of Governor Gary Herbert, all Utah State Parks are closed except for residents of the county in which they live during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cherish Miller smooths the sand while making a sandcastle at Hyrum State Park Thursday.

A notice from the Utah State Parks Department was attached to the window of the entry station at Hyrum State Park.

“Hyrum State Park is currently open only to Cache County per Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert’s ‘Stay Safe, Stay Home Directive,” the notice said. “Please practice Responsible Recreation-including social distancing and recreating close to home. We appreciate your patience and understanding.”

They have signs posted at both entrances.

Mary Jane Miller, of Hyrum, spent Thursday at the park with her daughter, Cherish, and her friend, Theona Ford. The girls played in the sand on the beach near the dock, enjoying the warm spring weather. The beach was empty except for the girls building sandcastles in the wet sand.

It’s nice that this is open to locals,” she said. “I keep wipes around to keep things clean. We are creating our own isolation,” she said. “We have a small farm right up there,” she said as she pointed north. ”We work seven days a week and needed to take a break and have a little fun.”

A sign on the front door of the entry station at Hyrum State Park lets visitors know the park is closed to anyone outside the county.

A couple of fishing boats were on the water with families on board and a few campers in the campgrounds. A mother and two kids rode past on their bikes.

“This a blessing,” she said talking about the virus. “How else are we going to get closer to each other?”

Nature gets a chance to heal, and we get to spend more time with our families,” Miller said. “We have a chance to slow down.”

Miller said people have to work at home and learn to cook dinner again.

Hyrum State Park Ranger, Chris Bradshaw, said they don’t have a full staff yet; it is too early in the season.

“We try to check at the entrance station and during peak times, especially on the weekends,” Bradshaw said. “We have a lot of work to do right now, so we will go around and talk to people when we can.”

Park hours this time of year are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fees for day-use is $8 per vehicle and $3 for individual walk-ins. There are campgrounds and cabins available by reservation.

A boat carrying a family takes of from the dock at Hyrum Reservoir on Thursday.

Hardware Ranch, also in Cache County, is under the Division of Wildlife Resources. Although they are a state entity, they are open year round to any and all visitors, said Mark Hadley, DWR media liaison.

“The situation is different on our Wildlife Management Areas. Hardware Ranch is open all year long,” he said. “There are some areas that are closed to protect wildlife.”

Some of the Wildlife Management Areas have been closed to protect big game coming off of winter.

Tomorrow, all of the WMA’s will be open to the public. As of Saturday, April 11, all the restrictions will be lifted.

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