Hi folks,
I write this while listening to the Mono County Board of Supervisors Meeting. Four hours of discussion has surrounded opening federal and state parks, allowing fishing for Memorial Day weekend, and what hotel and campground restrictions will look like in Stage 2 and Stage 3 of reopening our county and state.
At this time, Bodie State Historic Park remains closed. Highway 270 is now OPEN, however, the park itself is still under a hard closure. I have heard many rumors that the park is open, and had even more questions regarding when the park will open. At this time, I do not know, and it is up to Mono County Health Department to allow parks in the county to reopen. So, for now, we prepare and wait.
There are still soft openings for Mono Lake and Grover. This means that trails and bathrooms are open, but all other services and areas are closed. Again, we are waiting on the county to determine it is safe to reopen completely.
What we do know is that once Bodie can reopen, there will be many restrictions in place, and things will look a little different. Bathrooms will have running water to wash hands, but you will need to provide your own soap/hand sanitizer. All water fountains will be turned off, so please plan accordingly with your own water. The Bodie Foundation will be selling boxed water (yes, you heard me right) but please come prepared!
The Bodie Museum will not be open until phase 3 or 4, public tours will not occur until phase 4, and we are still working with the state to decide where our Ghost Walks, photo workshops and private tours fall within these parameters. We are trying to communicate with you as we know more, but word has been slow to trickle our way as things seem to continuously change.
We ask that you respect the park closures, as it just puts stress on the already limited state park employees that are at Bodie, Mono and Grover. We are so excited to see each and every one of you when our parks reopen. We look forward to the day that we can all enjoy a Stamp Mill tour together again.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Cheers,
Jessica Schneider
Bodie Foundation Executive Director