ELYSBURG, Pa. — When Governor Wolf announced that golf courses and campgrounds could open May 1, Knoebels Amusement Resort near Elysburg was bombarded with phone calls.
"We immediately knew that we would be able to open the golf course. We had a lot of immediate interest from golfers excited to get back out onto the course," Knoebels' spokesperson Stacy Ososkie said.
Knoebels employees spent the day getting things ready at its Three Ponds Golf Course. Ososkie says starting Friday, there will be new safety measures, including one person per golf cart.
"All social distancing guidelines will be followed. All golfers will have to wear a mask in the clubhouse. They'll be using a dedicated entrance and exit," Ososkie said.
Even though there will be golfers here on Friday, there won't be campers. When the order was given last month to close non-essential businesses, all maintenance projects were put on hold. These projects need to be done before the campgrounds can open.
"Our maintenance team is at home. Once we get them back, we can assess how long it's going to take to finish the projects that were put on hold," Ososkie said.
One of the big questions people have is when the amusement park is going to open. Ososkie says at this point that is not clear.
Ososkie says the amusement park will not open in May, but they hope to reopen as soon as safely possible.
"We do have a team that's working right now that's dedicated to figuring out best practices for how to make sure that our team and our guests can be safe at an amusement park," Ososkie said.
Ososkie tells Newswatch 16 hand sanitizer stations will be installed throughout the park, and there will be special training for employees. For now, if people are hungry for park food, Knoebels' restaurant Nickle Plate Bar and Grill is featuring food from a different park food stand each week, available for take-out only.
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