Representatives of local recreation areas and attractions say they have fielded some concerns about whether flooding along the Arkansas River is impacting Hot Springs, but it apparently has not impacted visitation.
Instead, representatives of Lake Ouachita, Mid-America Science Museum and Magic Springs Theme & Water Park say visitation remains on track for the summer season.
"We have received several calls asking if certain recreation areas are closed due to flooding," said Amy Shultz, natural resource specialist for the Lake Ouachita Field Office. "We have also received a few Facebook messages asking about the status of our recreation areas. All recreation areas are currently open for camping on Lake Ouachita and all campsites are open."
Shultz said the corps had to close a few campsites due to high water earlier this spring, but those areas have since reopened. Since then, sites have remained full.
"Our Corps of Engineers campgrounds have remained full through the weekends and the lake was packed over the Memorial Day weekend," she said. "This could be due to the nice weather we had over Memorial Day, or possibly due to other recreation areas in Arkansas being closed due to flooding. Additionally, we have not received any cancellations in reservations due to concerns over flooding."
Lake Ouachita is part of the USACE Vicksburg District, while areas that are flooded in central Arkansas fall under the USCE Little Rock District. As of Thursday, Shultz said the Vicksburg District had not received any requests for assistance from the Little Rock District.
"What usually happens is the district the disaster occurs in utilizes their own employees initially, and then begins asking for assistance from other districts," she said.
"I believe there will be a massive cleanup effort needed after the floodwaters recede," Shultz said, adding she would not be surprised if a request is made for assistance in cleaning up.
"Vicksburg District rangers can then help once the request comes in," she said.
At Magic Springs, Michael Wampler, director of sales and marketing, said the park has not seen a decline in visitors or fielded many calls concerning flooding. Similarly, Mid-America Science Museum has actually seen a better start to their summer season than this time last year.
"It's pretty difficult to say what impact the recent devastating floods have had on the museum; however, I can guarantee that our attendance has not decreased because of it. It's quite the opposite actually as just by glancing at the museum's attendance numbers our volume of guests has actually increased as it continues to do now each year especially beginning around the start of summer vacation," Jim Miller, marketing director for the museum, said in an email.
"These guests are visiting the museum and coming to Hot Springs from not just around the state but they are visiting from all over the country. Last weekend, for example, we hosted a Girl Scout troop visiting all the way from Tennessee and we've had the pleasure of greeting families who are vacationing to Hot Springs from states that are even farther away. Many of whom are not even aware of the flooding that's been occurring in Arkansas."
Miller said the increase in visitation is still in part thanks to the museum's redesign in 2015, but also the addition of permanent and traveling exhibits.
"It is also thanks to the addition of the Oaklawn Foundation DinoTrek, and new traveling exhibits that we are hosting this summer such as Magnificent Me, and our Apollo 50 exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11's landing on the moon," he said.
"The Visit Hot Springs team has also done an excellent job in communicating that the major summer destinations like Mid-America Science Museum, Garvan (Woodland) Gardens, Magic Springs, and other attractions in the downtown Hot Springs National Park and surrounding areas are all open for business," he said. "We're looking forward to a peak summer season and hopefully, some record-breaking attendance numbers as these trends in visitation continue."
Local on 06/08/2019