HARTFORD -- When the weather cooperates on a major holiday, you can guarantee you’ll see and hear a few things at state parks like hot food on the grills and full parking lots.
You will also hear kids playing and grownups not happy that the parks are turning people away.
According to Cecilio Chapelaine of Meriden “we got here around 8:30 – 8:40. It was packed .”
If you got to the state parks early, you got to play. But by 9 a.m., most parks were shut down due to capacity. Cars getting turned away, like at Millers Pond State Park in Durham where there parking was unavailable. At Wadsworth Falls State Park in Middletown, same deal as police officers were directing traffic.
The problems aren’t in the parking lots, and that’s not why they’re shutting down the parks. The staff is getting stretched thin, cleaning up, and keeping the guests safe, especially the extra ones in the water. At Wadsworth Falls, there’s no lifeguard on duty
“Everyone wants to get here early because it’s the 4th of July”, said Chapelaine.
And for those who did, had a crowded park for the day, but at least got to enjoy their holiday traditions.