Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Kayak park gets new weekend management this summer
SILOAM SPRINGS — The city Board of Directors learned during its March 27 meeting a new company will manage the Siloam Springs Kayak Park on weekends and holidays this summer.
Illinois River RV & Campground will manage the park on Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays from Memorial Day to Labor Day, said Travis Chaney, Parks and Recreation Department manager. The park is at 19253 Fisher Ford Road.
The city manages the park on the weekends the rest of the year as well as weekdays during the summer.
Illinois River RV & Campground’s responsibilities will include processing the $10 admission fee, ensuring the number of vehicles does not exceed the allotted parking spaces, and maintaining the park by cleaning and emptying trash, according to a staff report prepared by Chaney on March 20.
In 2023, the Illinois River Watershed Partnership was brought in to manage the kayak park during the peak summer months so the park would not suffer decay from overuse. City leaders said the park was being “loved to death.”
The watershed partnership limited the number of attendees to a maximum of 100 vehicles at a time and charged a $10 entrance fee per vehicle. The partnership will be back this year in a support capacity by running the life jacket station, Chaney said.
Director Betsy BlairFinn asked Chaney why the partnership decided not to manage the kayak park this summer.
The contract was only for one year, and the partnership was invited to bid for it again, Chaney said.
City Administrator Allan Gilbert said running the kayak park was taxing the partnership staff.
“They want to be involved, but they would rather do it from a safety perspective,” Gilbert said. “I’m very supportive of this because it took so much off of us last summer.”
Last summer, police did not have to respond to many calls about illegal parking and other nuisances, Gilbert said.
Blair-Finn said those who live near the kayak park said it was nice compared to previous years when attendees would park on private property because the parking lot was full.
One difference this year will be Illinois River RV & Campground will not manage the park on Fridays, which the watershed partnership did the previous year, Gilbert said. The watershed partnership lost money staffing the park Fridays because not many people visited the park that day.
The city will manage the park on Fridays this year.
Since it is leasing the park, Illinois River RV & Campground will pay the city fees collected on the days it manages the park minus staffing costs, Chaney said. Illinois River RV & Campground will also sell inner tubes and other items.
Last year there was a barrier that protected a part of the park that suffered erosion due to overuse, Chaney said.
“I think the combination of the park just being staffed and there being some physical barrier kept people out of it,” Chaney said.
Illinois River RV & Campground will maintain the barrier, Chaney said. Vegetation was installed in the protected area to prevent tree loss, Chaney said.
The watershed partnership and the Walton Family Foundation invested $50,000 to establish vegetation in the protected area, Chaney said.
With the opening of the WOKA Whitewater Park near Watts, Okla., late last year, attendance at the Siloam Springs park may be lower this year, Gilbert said.