Date: 09-15-2016
Jenny Wiley State Park welcomes elk enthusiasts
Jenny Wiley State Report Park welcomed elk enthusiasts and hunters to its annual Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Eastern Kentucky Elk and Hunting Expo last weekend. This weekend, the park is hosting its annual Elk Night buffet and starting its elk tour season.
The Eastern Kentucky Elk and Hunting Expo was held Friday and Saturday and featured demonstrations, vendors and guides for bow and rifle hunters, information on taxidermy, a Kentucky Speedway ticket giveaway and concessions that included elk chili.
Elk Night will feature elk roast carved on the line, Hunter’s Chili, elk meat loaf, pulled elk, catfish, chicken and other items from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Wilkinson-Stumbo Convention Center. The meal is $18.95 per person, $8.95 per child age six to 12 years old and free to children age five and under.
Park staff will host the first elk tour of the season the following day.
The park sponsors elk tours throughout the winter months, when elk are more easily located in Eastern Kentucky areas.
Elk were introduced to Kentucky in 1997 via a restoration project that brought more than 1,500 elk to the state between 1997 and 2003. Now, the state’s elk herd tops 10,000 elk, and most of them are located on reclaimed surface mines in Eastern Kentucky.
The tours, which cost $30 for adults and $15 per child age 12 and under, include transportation to elk viewing sites and a continental breakfast. Tour packages at the park include lodging, dinner and the tour.
The first elk tour will begin at 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 17, and another tour will leave the park at 4 p.m. that day.
Other morning tour dates include Sept. 18, Sept. 24, Sept. 25, Oct. 15, Oct. 16, Oct. 30, Nov. 5, Nov. 26, Dec. 3, Jan. 21, Feb. 4, Feb. 18, Feb. 25, March 4 and March 11.
Evening tours include Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 15, Oct. 29, Nov. 5, Nov. 26, Dec. 3, Feb. 4, Feb. 18, Feb. 25, March 4 and March 11.
For more information, call, (606) 889-1790. Early registration is recommended, as tours fill up quickly.
Floyd County Chronicle
