Storm damage closes trails at state park
Three hiking trails at Lake Catherine State Park are temporarily closed due to storm damage, Arkansas State Parks said Tuesday.
The closure affects Falls Branch Trail, Horseshoe Mountain Trail and Dam Mountain Trail at Lake Catherine, Melissa Whitfield, communications director of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, said Tuesday.
Whitfield told The Sentinel-Record that the damage was caused by trees that fell during the storm.
The state, in a news release, said strong winds downed trees that will have to be removed before the affected areas can open again for day use.
“We regret having to close more trails and day-use areas in the parks when we have already had to restrict so much due to
COVID-19, but we must keep our guests’ safety in mind. Park staff is working to get trails back open as quickly as possible,” Stacy Hurst, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, said in the release.
Whitfield said that the other parks affected by the storm were DeGray Lake Resort State Park, Cane Creek State Park, Petit Jean State Park, Mississippi River State Park and Jenkins’ Ferry State Park.
Crews were heading out to the parks to evaluate how much damage they received, she said.
State parks are already limited to day-use only due to the
COVID-19 public health emergency. State park lodges are closed, as are camping and cabin rentals. The release noted that “some very popular trails” at Pinnacle Mountain State Park, Petit Jean State Park, and Devil’s Den State Park had already been closed because they are “spaces where social distancing is not easily practiced.”
Lake Catherine State Park Superintendent Cheryl Vincent said that while the trails are closed, the boat ramp and day-use area remains open to visitors.
Most of the damage Vincent said, is at the suspension bridge on Falls Branch Trail that leads to the waterfall. Around 20 to 25 trees fell in that area, and the bridge is “totaled,” she said.
Vincent said that on Tuesday she had two crews working on the trails. One crew was working to remove the trees at the bridge, and the other crew was out hiking the three trails to see how much damage occurred elsewhere on the trails system.
“Hopefully, maybe by this weekend,” the trails will be open, Vincent said. While the bridge will not be repaired or replaced by this weekend, Vincent said that they plan to “divert around the bridge.”
Despite the damage on the trails, Vincent said “we were pretty fortunate,” because none of the buildings in the park were damaged during the storm. She said that a few trees fell across roads in the
park, but those have already been cleared away.
In addition to being superintendent of Lake Catherine State Park, Vincent is also superintendent of Jenkins’ Ferry State Park, which she said is a satellite park to Lake Catherine. The damage at Jenkins’ Ferry, which is located in Grant County near Leola, included the park’s pavilion, which was destroyed.
“A huge, massive tree uprooted and went straight through the middle of the pavilion,” Vincent said. “It’s demolished.”
Several other trees also fell in Jenkins Ferry. Vincent said that a crew will be out to that park on Thursday to attempt to move the trees, which are blocking the boat ramp. Vincent said that they hope to have the ramp accessible by this weekend.
Removing the tree that landed on the pavilion will be more difficult. Vincent said that the ground is so saturated with water that they will have to wait until it is dry enough for them to do anything. She estimated that it will be “midsummer before we can get the tree out.”
The reason so many trees fell at both parks is that the ground is so saturated with water, Vincent said. The trees didn’t break; the wind just pushed them over.