As of Friday, there will be parking restrictions in place at Rainbow Lake on Signal Mountain due to an increase in visitors and complains from residents in the surrounding area, according to a release from the Signal Mountain Police Department.
The popular Rainbow Lake trail and area is being "inundated with visitors," said Chief of Police Mike Williams. He said residents are complaining about parking in the area so as of Friday, March 27, there will be no parking on Ohio Avenue.
"It is also a hazard for getting emergency vehicles through that area,' he said in a release. "If there is no more parking at one of the parking lots please pick another destination."
In recent weeks, between coronavirus concerns and home quarantines, record numbers have been turning to parks for relief - in some cases, causing so much congestion, parks have been forced to close due to overcrowding.
For the time being, both Tennessee State Parks and Hamilton County Parks are keeping most of their outdoor spaces open to the public, but closing a number of park playgrounds, visitor centers and offices. On Monday, a statement released by the Parks and Recreation Department urged users to act responsibly with regard to social distancing and park capacity. The following day, it temporarily closed Enterprise South Nature Park to the public, due to rainfall and concern that the wet trails could be damaged by the increasing number of visitors to the property.
"All of our parks experienced increased visitation last week," Lamb said. "One ranger told me over the phone, 'It looks like more than we get on a normal spring break, but this ain't normal.'"
Enterprise South, said Lamb, is the most impacted by overuse due to limited parking, which has the capacity for just 356 vehicles. He estimated that more than 1,000 people visited Enterprise South the previous Saturday. Amid the high turnout, park rangers tried to remind visitors to maintain safe distances from others, said Lamb, but "were surprised by the turnout and several people's disregard for distancing."