On a Saturday back in August, Paul Grist State Park had a great turnout for a Family Fun Day.

Children, parents and grandparents came out to the park for a great day of fun. It included summertime staples like hiking and fishing to more modern hobbies like paddleboarding and geocaching.

Everyone who came out spoke glowingly about the park and what a special place it was. Some first time visitors even spoke about being surprised how beautiful the park is.

And now it’s closed.

The Alabama State Parks System announced Wednesday that it would close Paul Grist as well as four other parks across the state.

Well, we said across the state, but four of the five parks were actually in the Black Belt.

Nearby parks in Wilcox, Marengo and Choctaw counties also will close as well as another near the Alabama-Florida line.

It’s sad to see parks close. They provide a great place to getaway and enjoy the great outdoors on land meant for all citizens to enjoy.

Our hope is that the Legislature will find a way to reopen the park come next year, if not earlier.

The turnout on the Family Fun Day alone shows that Dallas County wants and needs this park to remain open.

If the state will not step up and find a way to keep the park open, we need to locally examine ways to keep the park open, even if that’s only on weekends or at certain times of the year.

Surely, there is a solution that will keep a park that has been around for decades open for years to come. We just need to work to find it.