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Get some fresh air at Brooke Hills Park

By WARREN SCOTT 4 min read

WELLSBURG -- Area residents feeling a bit cooped up while complying with orders to avoid contact during the pandemic can get some fresh air and activity at Brooke Hills Park.

Located on 750 acres off state Route 27 near Wellsburg, the park offers lots of space for visitors to walk, jog or take in its scenic beauty while still observing social distancing, said its manager, Janice McFadden.

McFadden added the park's golf course has reopened with some conditions established to deter spread of the coronavirus.

Currently the course's front nine holes are open only from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. To prevent too many people from being on the course at a time, golfers must call the park at (304) 737-1236 to schedule tee times and groups of no more than two will be booked.

With a few exceptions, carts will be limited to one person, said McFadden, who noted each is disinfected by staff following each use. The course's driving range has been closed to eliminate the need for balls used there to be sanitized, she noted.

McFadden added the park isn't renting clubs at this time, and patrons will pay at a window of the clubhouse, which isn't open to visitors.

Despite the special circumstances, recent spates of warm weather have brought a number of golfers to the park and they have been happy to comply, she said.

"Everybody has been very congenial," she said.

McFadden said she hopes the park's swimming pool can be opened on Memorial Day weekend but that won't happen "until we get an all-clear from health officials."

She noted this season was to be the first for the park's new splash pad. The pad was built with a $50,000 grant from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund matched with $50,000 in local contributions raised by volunteers in the Friends of Brooke Hills Park group.

McFadden said the reopening of other park facilities, such as the miniature golf course and paddle boats, also are on hold for now.

But she said fishing enthusiasts are welcome to use the park's catch-and-release pond.

McFadden said the park includes many scenic areas for visitors to enjoy.

Among them is the Brooke County Veterans Memorial Park, which overlooks the pond.

More recent additions have included the Brooke County Veterans Memorial Park, a monument site overlooking the paddle boat pond and paying tribute to about 180 Brooke County servicemen who died while serving their country and 27 who were prisoners of war.

Established in 2012, the memorial park was inspired by the death of 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Michael J. Smith, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2004.

It includes a polished granite wall bearing the names of 186 Brooke County veterans who died while serving their country and 27 who were prisoners of war. Separated from the wall by a walkway of granite pavers is a symbolic cast bronze statue created by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz.

The site includes ledgers representing Flanders Field and Arlington Cemetery, representing those buried abroad and at home, as well as a monument to Smith.

Volunteers in the Brooke County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation raised $171,180 in donations from individuals, groups and businesses for the site.

McFadden said whatever issues arise from the pandemic or the season, she and her staff will adapt.

While the difficult decision was made to cancel the park's day camp program for youth, Joelle Devore, the park's office manager, has devised a virtual scavenger hunt challenging youth to find various aspects of the park.

Information about the game and updates on the park's offerings can be found at its Facebook page or website at brookehillspark.com.

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