Jennings Environmental Education Center soon will welcome visitors into its exhibit hall for the first time since fall.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is lifting some COVID-19 restrictions at state parks Sunday, allowing for facilities to be filled at 75% capacity and outdoor programs to resume with a limit of 40 people.

Jennings has been offering self-guided opportunities for visitors since these restrictions took effect last fall. The park will continue focusing on independent activities because the park staff still is adjusting plans for these newly implemented guidelines, according to program coordinator Miranda Crostley.

“We focus more on family programming,” Crostley said. “We planned on a lowest common denominator for spring because we weren't sure how much we would be able to open up.”

The family-oriented programming will begin with a self-guided trail tour featuring a story written by a park educator that will be offered from Friday to April 11. Crostley said this activity demonstrates the possibilities available through self-guided offerings because people can walk the trail on their own, carrying pages of the story that explain the trail sights and taking part in activities that encourage active participation.

“There are pages of the book throughout the forest,” Crostley said. “Then, there are mini-activities to do when reading different parts of the story.”

Crostley also referenced two program tours focused on invasive species that are planned for later in the month.

While the park eventually will return to its normal programming it offered pre-COVID-19, Crostley said visitors now will at least be able to enter facilities such as the exhibit hall, where everything will continue to be sanitized. The larger group capacity also will help accommodate bigger groups who want to visit the park.

Crostley also said Jennings experienced an influx of visitors last year that many other state parks saw as well during the coronavirus pandemic.

Crostley said the trend in high visitation likely will continue this year, judging by how facilities at nearby parks already are getting booked up.