Special Notices
State Parks Director's Office
Although the caves at Devil's Den State Park and Withrow Springs State Park are closed to the public as state and federal agencies work to protect these caves and the bats that inhabit them from White-nose Syndrome, Arkansas's show caves are still open for business. These seven caves in the Ozarks include Blanchard Springs Caverns operated by the USDA Forest Service and the following privately-operated caverns: Bull Shoals, Cosmic Caverns, Mystic Caverns, Old Spanish Treasure Cave, Onyx Cave, and War Eagle Cavern.
Information on these caverns can be found at: http://www.arkansas.com/things-to-do/caves/.
The Arkansas State Parks On-The-Go Park Guide for iPhone or Android will help you find just the right park for you. Find a park by type (camping, historic site, lake, lodging, mountain, museum, or just for a picnic). Find one near you and get contact information, a list of upcoming programs, and a link to the park website for more information. A map will help you find the park and give directions from wherever you are. Download these free apps at: http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/community/default.aspx?page=iphone.
Queen Wilhelmina State Park
Queen Wilhelmina State Park Lodge will close on February 17, 2012, to undergo renovation. It will reopen in summer 2013. This temporary closure will include the 38 guest rooms, restaurant, lobby, meeting room, and restrooms. All other facilities at Queen Wilhelmina State Park, including the campground and trails, will remain open. Park offices will be temporarily located near the entrance to the park campground.
Devil's Den State Park
Lake Devil has been drained in preparation for repairs to the lake and the gate of the 1930s CCC rock dam, and silt removal. Because of this, the park's pedal boats and canoes are currently not available for rent.
Lake Ouachita State Park
The Caddo Bend Trail and Campground Area "B" at Lake Ouachita State Park remain closed until repairs from severe storm damage in late-April are complete. For updates, contact the park at: 501-767-9366.
Petit Jean State Park
Historic Mather Lodge and Restaurant at Petit Jean State Park near Morrilton, one of the Arkansas state park system’s CCC treasures, closed temporarily beginning December 1, 2010, and will remain out of operation until spring 2012 while undergoing renovation. This renovation will replace the lodge’s 1960s-era dining room with a more rustic-style design, expand the kitchen, add a 75-person conference room, relocate the guest registration desk, and construct a new lodge swimming pool. Public restrooms, convenient for the park’s many hikers, will be added underneath the pool. The renovation will not affect any of Mather Lodge’s original CCC and WPA work dating from the 1930s. For updates, visit: http://www.petitjeanstatepark.com/.
Village Creek State Park
The Ridges at Village Creek, the public 18-hole golf course at Village Creek State Park near Wynne, closed temporarily beginning June 7, 2010, to allow for a year-long upgrade and grow-in. The anticipated reopening date for the course is spring 2012. For updates, contact the park at 870-238-9406.
Withrow Springs State Park
On April 16, 2010, War Eagle Cave at Withrow Springs State Park at Huntsville closed temporarily to the public. [NOTE: This is the cave on the state park's War Eagle Trail. It is not the privately-owned War Eagle Cavern on Beaver Lake. All show caves in Arkansas and the surrounding region remain open to the public.] This park cave closure is necessary in an effort to protect this cave from the possibility of contamination from White-nose Syndrome, a fungus that has killed millions of hibernating bats in the New England and Mid-Atlantic states. The disease is transmitted bat to bat. White-nose Syndrome was first detected in February 2006 in Schoharie County, New York. It has now spread as far west as Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana. For more information about this cave closure, visit:
www.arkansasstateparks.com/news/for-media/display.aspx?id=1442
Devil's Den State Park
On April 16, 2010, Devil's Den Cave and Ice Box Cave at Devil's Den State Park near West Fork closed temporarily to the public. Earlier, in May 2009, the park's Farmer's Cave and Big Ear Cave closed. These closures are necessary in an effort to protect these caves from the possibility of contamination from White-nose Syndrome, a fungus that has killed millions of hibernating bats in the New England and Mid-Atlantic states. The disease is transmitted bat to bat. White-nose Syndrome was first detected in February 2006 in Schoharie County, New York. It has now spread as far west as Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana. For more information about these cave closures, visit:
www.arkansasstateparks.com/news/for-media/display.aspx?id=1442
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