Elevation 207 m Phone +1 502-429-3280 | Area 223 ha Opened 1974 | |
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Hours Closed now Wednesday7AM–7PMThursday7AM–7PMFriday7AM–7PMSaturday7AM–7PMSunday7AM–7PMMonday7AM–7PMTuesday7AM–7PM Similar Cherokee Park, General Butler State Resort Pa, Seneca Park, Louisville Slugger Museum, Beargrass Creek State Nat | ||
E. P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park is a 550-acre (220 ha) Kentucky state park located in the Freys Hill area of Louisville, Kentucky, on former land of Kentucky's Central State Hospital. When opened in 1974, it was named in honor of Republican Jefferson County Judge/Executive Erbon Powers "Tom" Sawyer who was killed in a car accident on Louisville's Interstate 64 in 1969 while still in office. Sawyer was the father of journalist Diane Sawyer.
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Activities and amenitiesEdit
The park's amenities include an activities center with a gymnasium that has indoor courts for badminton, basketball, and volleyball as well as an Olympic-sized swimming pool and weight room. The park also has 12 tennis courts (which used to be lighted but the lights have been removed), 14 soccer fields, 3 lighted softball fields, a mile-long fitness trail, a 1¼ mile nature trail, a permanent BMX track, a model aircraft airfield, a dog park, playgrounds, and picnic facilities. The park is also the site of the Louisville Astronomical Society's "Urban Astronomy Center."
In the newsEdit
In 2004, Louisville officials suggested that Otter Creek Park, a 2,600-acre (1,100 ha) city-operated park lying outside of Louisville's city limits, become a state park in an exchange for E. P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park becoming a city park. In 2010, the state took over Otter Creek Park in a separate deal and it reopened in 2011 as an outdoor recreation area operated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.