A Golf Course in Northern Kentucky Is Becoming a 225-Acre Park

Here's a good one: Kenton County has broken ground on Fox Ridge Park, beginning a nearly two-year transformation of the former Fox Run Golf Course into a 225-acre recreation and outdoor adventure destination. That's 225 acres of Northern Kentucky hillside that will belong to everybody — walkers, kids, mountain bikers, people who just want a pond to sit next to.

What happened

Local 12 (WKRC) reported in late September that the county officially put shovels in the ground in Independence, Kentucky. The county officially broke ground on Monday, and the property at 604 Independence Station Road is closed to the public while the work happens. County officials expect the park to reopen in August 2028.

The name is new, but the land isn't: the project combines the former golf course and neighboring Lincoln Ridge Park under the Fox Ridge Park name. And here's the detail we like best — about 70% of the former golf course is expected to remain undisturbed, aside from trail improvements. Most of that green is staying green.

What's actually going in

The plans split the park into two personalities. Discovery Ridge will include a fishing pond, dog park, playground, outdoor fitness area, water features, shelters and restrooms — the Saturday-morning-with-the-family side. Then there's the side for people who like their weekends a little dirtier: Adventure Ridge is planned to feature mountain bike trails, a pump track, climbing areas, a four-season pavilion and a Go Ape aerial adventure course.

A pump track and climbing areas in Independence, Kentucky. If you grew up around here, you know that's not a sentence anyone was writing twenty years ago.

Why this matters

Golf courses close all the time, and when they do, the land usually goes one of two ways: houses or weeds. Turning one into a big public park is the rarer, better outcome — the fairways are already open and rolling, the trees are already grown, and the whole thing is already stitched into a neighborhood that can walk to it.

It also says something about where Kentucky's outdoor culture is headed. The Commonwealth has always had the big-name wild places — the Gorge, the Falls, the caves. What's been growing lately is the everyday stuff: the county park with real mountain bike trails, the trailhead ten minutes from your driveway. Fox Ridge is that idea at full scale, and Northern Kentucky families are the ones who'll get to wear it in.

Go see it (in a couple of years)

The land is closed during construction, so this one's a mark-your-calendar situation — the target is August 2028. In the meantime, Kenton County and the rest of Northern Kentucky have no shortage of places to stretch your legs, and we have no shortage of ways to show the Commonwealth some love in our Kentucky collection.

If you want something to hike in while you wait for those new trails to get cut, the Script Kentucky Tee was more or less made for a fall afternoon on a fairway-turned-footpath.

Common questions

Where is Fox Ridge Park?

In Independence, Kentucky, in Kenton County — the property is at 604 Independence Station Road, on the site of the former Fox Run Golf Course, combined with the neighboring Lincoln Ridge Park.

When will it open?

The land is closed to the public during construction, and county officials expect the park to reopen in August 2028.

Will the whole golf course be built over?

No — about 70% of the former golf course is expected to remain undisturbed, aside from trail improvements, so most of the open land stays open.

Reported by Local 12 (WKRC). Details as published at the time of writing.