Hot Springs National Park stays busy despite pandemic

HOT SPRINGS — Despite the pandemic, visitation numbers remain strong at Hot Springs National Park, Superintendent Laura Miller said.

“I would say visitation has been about the same,” Miller told The Sentinel-Record, noting she didn’t have official number counts yet, but the park has stayed busy over the past few months.

Bathhouse Row and the park’s campgrounds have both remained popular, she said. “Our campgrounds have remained pretty full. Most of the businesses on Bathhouse Row have reopened and are doing the best they can.”

The visitors center at the Fordyce Bath House remains closed, but staff members have been on the porch of the building to help visitors, Miller said, noting they were looking at reopening the Fordyce before coronavirus numbers started rising.

Miller said reopening the building to the public depends on “where infection rates go.”

As for the park employees working the porch, Miller noted it has been a hot summer. “They’re dealing with a lot of things,” she said, and they are rotating staff working the porch so nobody is “out too long.”

“It’s certainly been an interesting summer,” Miller said.

Campers in the park have been following rules about social distancing, but “I have seen a lot of people not wearing masks” while walking around Bathhouse Row, she said. “We certainly encourage visitors to wear them.”

Miller said some of the staffers in the park are working from home, noting it is “good to keep a lower number of people in buildings.” Park rangers are still out in the park, she said.

“I don’t think [the pandemic} is negatively affecting the park,” Miller said. “We are still able to do a lot of things in the park.”