By Joe Asher

Harlan Enterprise

Spring is rapidly approaching, and with it, a lot of folks are beginning to look forward to getting out of the house and taking in the sights of spring outdoors. Kingdom Come State Park in Harlan County, Kentucky, is expecting to have a new feature soon, with the park’s first rental cabin nearing completion and more on the way.

Kingdom Come Park Manager Sherry Cornett provided some details on the park’s rental cabin status during a recent interview.

“We’re renovating the park residence into a cottage rental property,” Cornett said. “It’s at the very top of the park.”

Cornett pointed out Kingdom Come State Park has the highest elevation of any state park in Kentucky.

“You will have a great view from your living room window or porch,” Cornett said. “You will be able to sit on that porch and watch the sunset from the highest elevation of any Kentucky state park.”

The structure is expected to be completed soon.

“The goal is springtime,” Cornett said. “We are probably about 65 to 70 percent complete at this time. The drywall has been hung this week, and the cabinets are starting…yesterday we picked out bedding, furniture and flooring, and that’s all going to start next week. We’re in the fast phase now, everything should move along pretty quickly.”

She noted the siding on the outside of the structure is approximately 90 percent complete at this time.

“The roof is done,” Cornett said. “We’re pretty far along.”

She added as soon as the first cabin is done, work is expected to begin on additional cabins.

“The goal right now is three cabins,” Cornett said.

While the project has been years in the making, the actual construction began a few months ago.

“The construction started in late fall of last year with the goal of having it complete by mid Spring,” Cornett said. “We’re on track, I think we may be done a little early.”

Once ready, the cottage will feature two bedrooms, a full kitchen, bath, and more.

“There will be multiple beds, so we can have as many as five people staying there,” Cornett said. “It has a vaulted ceiling, a patio that’s absolutely gorgeous, a full kitchen, bath and that cottage will be at the trailhead of the Pine Mountain Scenic Trail which is probably one of the most beautiful trail systems in the state. So, you’ll have Bullock Overlook as your view and you’re within 20 feet of the trailhead for anyone who likes hiking.”

Cornett mentioned the cabin is expected to be available in time for many upcoming activities at the park.

“We will be starting Black Light Mini Golf next month,” Cornett said. “We will have our Hippity Hop Easter, our Easter Scavenger Hunt – we’re actually going to do a black light Easter Egg hunt – then we also have our Raven Rock 5k coming up, several bicycle events, this will all be in March and April.”

For more information, go to https://parks.ky.gov or the Kingdom Come State Park Facebook page.