The park is named after Edness Kimball Wilkins, a twenty-five year Wyoming legislator and area resident who died in 1980 at the age of 84. In 1981, the land was purchased and almost entirely funded with General Fund monies. The purchase price was approximately $380,000 and the total state investment through 1993 was $1.3 million. Edness K. Wilkins State Park, containing 315 acres, was once nothing but rock quarry. However, since master planning began in 1982, the area has taken on a massive transformation. Initial efforts focused on the installation of a road system and parking areas. Plantings, seeding and pruning improved the vegetation in the area. Barriers, fencing and signage allowed for continued use of designated roads while certain areas returned to their natural state. Like the master potter with a lump of unworked clay, the designers, planners and operators combined their energies to provide citizens with one of the most attractive small parks in the Wyoming state park system.
Parks
Links: wyoparks.state.wy.us
By: mrjonmeyers
