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Gavin Navarro, 7, pushes his brother Jonah, 8, on swings at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.

“We’ve come to say goodbye”: Visitors flock to Fairfield Lake State Park on its last day

For decades the park has sat on leased land that the owner recently decided to sell. As the staff closed the gates Monday night for the last time, visitors and staff held out hope that the state could find a way to save the park.


Park visitors wait to pay their entrance fee to Fairfield Lake State Park in Fairfield on its closing day on Feb. 27, 2023.
Mary Navarro's children collect seashells and attempt to skip rocks from the bank of Fairfield Lake at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.
Mary Navarro brought her five children to Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023, the last day the park will open.
Coots dot Fairfield Lake while people cast their fishing line from a boat during sunset at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.
A buck looks out in a field at Fairfield Lake State Park in Fairfield on Feb. 27, 2023.
State Park Police Officer Kyle Ware makes the rounds at Fairfield Lake State Park in Fairfield on Feb. 27, 2023.
Daniel Stauffer, Fairfield Lake State Park Superintendent, closes the park gates after the final visitors have left the park grounds on Feb. 27, 2023.

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