Owsley County wins funding for Booneville splash park and walking track

Owsley County Fiscal Court was selected for $85,497 to build a splash park and walking track in Booneville, giving the county a new public recreation asset on the county seat’s main river corridor. If the project clears final approval, families, walkers and seniors will gain a low-cost place to cool off, exercise and gather in the heart of town.

The money comes through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a federal program established by Congress in 1964 to safeguard natural areas, water resources and cultural heritage while expanding recreation opportunities. The U.S. Department of the Interior says the fund invests offshore oil and gas leasing earnings into projects that strengthen communities and preserve history, and Kentucky’s Department for Local Government administers the program for the state.

The Booneville project is not fully final yet. Kentucky’s 2024 LWCF list says selected projects still undergo review by the National Park Service before funding is finally approved, which makes the splash park and walking track both a local improvement and a reminder of how federal recreation dollars move through a public approval process before they become visible on the ground.

That process matters in Owsley County because Booneville sits at the junction of Kentucky Route 11 and Kentucky Route 30 on the South Fork of the Kentucky River, and the county is small enough that one public amenity can shape daily life. The U.S. Census Bureau lists Owsley County’s population at 4,051 in the 2020 Census and estimates it at 3,932 as of July 1, 2025. The county also has 197.4 square miles of land area, a median gross rent of $448 and a median value of owner-occupied homes of $80,100 in the bureau’s 2020-2024 estimates.

The project fits a broader run of recreation and quality-of-life investments in the county. On Oct. 19, 2023, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman announced more than $1.2 million in funding for Owsley County at the Owsley County Recreational Center in Booneville. The 2025 LWCF list also includes a separate Owsley County proposal for a kayak and canoe launch site, walking trails and picnic areas in Booneville, suggesting county leaders are building a longer recreation pipeline rather than a single one-time project.

For Booneville, the splash park and walking track would turn outside funding into a weekly-use amenity residents can see, reach and use without leaving town. In a county where public space carries outsized weight, that makes the project more than a line on a grant list.