State campgrounds partially reopen Friday
Arkansas State Parks will partially reopen to in-state residents over the next month, beginning with reopening campgrounds to self-contained RVs this Friday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday.
Arkansas residents with RVs that have self-contained bathroom facilities will be allowed to stay overnight in the parks’ campgrounds, the governor’s office said. Bath houses will remain closed. Check-in and checkout will be automated.
“Closing our parks, campgrounds, and visitor centers has been one of the toughest restrictions during this pandemic, but it was necessary,” Hutchinson said in a news release following his daily COVID-19 news conference in Little Rock. “I am elated that we can give Arkansans the opportunity to get out of their homes to enjoy our natural resources again.”
Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs, said he was pleased with the announcement.
“We in the Hot Springs tourism and hospitality industry are pleased that Gov. Hutchinson
and his task force are moving ahead with recovery steps that are positive for the city,” he said.
“While many other steps will be necessary for Hot Springs to begin some return to a normal tourism climate we are grateful to the governor for starting us down the road to recovery,” Arrison said.
May 15 is the target date to reopen other services, including retail shops, exhibitions, lodges, cabins, and Rent-A-RV, Arkansas State Parks said in a news release following the news conference.
“The date is subject to change, depending upon health and safety considerations, and will include restrictions, such as limits on the number of people allowed inside visitor centers, retail stores, and exhibitions. Social distancing will be enforced,” the release said.
Restrictions will be placed on restaurants and food service facilities; museums and exhibits; retail stores, including gift shops and golf-pro shops; visitor centers; and marinas and rental equipment stores, it said.
After May 15, reservations for cabins, lodges and Rent-A-RV services will be restricted to Friday through Monday to allow for “thorough cleanings in between uses.” Reservations will continue to be for in-state residents only.
Explaining why they are holding off the reopening of those facilities for a couple of weeks, Hutchinson said, “we want to make sure that the park personnel has adequate opportunity to have the protective equipment that they need. We want to make sure that they’re able to get the park facilities open, we’ll get our employees back and trained in the proper fashion.”
“Arkansans love their state parks. We know that because we track visitation and we want to invite Arkansas residents back into our parks,” Stacy Hurst, director of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, said during Tuesday’s news conference.
“We presented a phase one plan to Gov. Hutchinson to gradually lift the public use restrictions that were placed on Arkansas State Parks. This recommendation was reviewed and approved by (Health Department) Secretary Nate Smith before going to the governor
for final approval,” Hurst said. Hurst said that Arkansas
State Parks have been restricted to day-use only since April 3.
Hutchinson was questioned about how the parks will know if the campers are Arkansas residents. Hutchinson said one check is that visitors “usually give where they are from” when they check-in.
“In addition, the park rangers can go by and if they see an out of state tag, its obviously an opportunity to go have a conversation,” he said.
As far as guests who have recently moved to Arkansas who do not yet have state license plates, Hutchinson said “that’s what happens in a conversation. That’s why I expect our park rangers to go in there and have a conversation. They say ‘Well we just moved here,’ we’ll probably say ‘Welcome.’”
Social distancing will continue at the parks as they reopen. “Park staff are instructed to maintain a safe social distance between themselves and visitors,” Hurst said. “We want everyone, visitors and staff, to remain safe,” she said.
“I will tell you that our superintendents and our staff are excited about welcoming visitors to Arkansas State Parks,” Hurst said.
“Of course if these measures become problematic or dangerous in some way within our state parks, for staff or for visitors, we will certainly reexamine these measures and make new recommendations to the governor,” Hurst said.
There are two state parks near Hot Springs — Lake Ouachita and Lake Catherine.