The Kentucky State Parks are celebrating their 85th anniversary this year by offering lodge rooms for $55 a night, week-days August 2009 through February of 2010.

The discount is good with a coupon Sunday through Thursday at all 17 resort parks. The coupon can be printed from the Kentucky State Park web site at www.parks.ky.gov or the Department of Travel site at www.mykentuckybackyard.com

Kentucky State Parks offer excellent scenery, adventure and hospitality. Besides lodges, most resorts also have cottages and campgrounds, along with hiking trails and other recreational opportunities. All resorts have full service restaurants. For more information about each of the 52 Kentucky State Parks, visit the web site.

A limited number of rooms are available at each park. The offer is not good on holidays and cannot be combined with other offers. The discount applies to leisure travel only.

This offer will be good at 12 resort parks during the month of October (see list below).

Here is a listing of all 17 state resort parks and the phone number for reservations and information:

• Barren River, 12 miles SW of Glasgow, 800-325-0057
• Blue Licks Battlefield, NE of Lexington, 800-443-7008
• Buckhorn Lake, 25 miles NW of Hazard, 800-325-0058
• * Carter Caves, 5 miles off I-64, Olive Hill, 800-325-0059
• * Cumberland Falls, Near Corbin, off I-75, 800-325-0063
• * Dale Hollow Lake, KY 449 (TN border), 800-325-2282
• General Butler, I-71 (NE of Louisville), 866-462-8853
• Greenbo Lake, 18 miles from I-64 in NE, 800-325-0083
• Jenny Wiley, KY 114, Prestonsburg, 800-325-0142
• Kenlake, 16 miles NE of Murray, 800-325-0143
• Kentucky Dam Village, 15 min. from Paducah, 800-325-0146
• Lake Barkley, 7 miles west of Cadiz, 800-325-1708
• Lake Cumberland, Off U.S. 127 South, 800-325-1709
• * Natural Bridge, KY 11, SE of Winchester, 800-325-1710
• Pennyrile Forest, 7 miles off West KY Pkwy, 800-325-1711
• * Pine Mountain, U.S. 25E, Pineville, 800-325-1712
• Rough River Dam, 18 miles from Leitchfield, 800-325-1713

(*Discount not offered during October at this resort park)

If you plan to make online reservations with this offer, use the code “BACKYARD.”

The Kentucky State Park System is composed of 52 state parks plus an interstate park shared with Virginia. The Department of Parks, an agency of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, operates 17 resort parks with lodges — more than any other state. For more information on Kentucky parks, visit our Web site at http://www.parks.ky.gov