News Release

Pea Ridge National Military Park to Begin Phased Access for Interpretive Programming.

Date: June 16, 2020
Contact: Troy Banzhaf

Garfield, AR – Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, Pea Ridge National Military Park is working to increase programs for the visiting public. The National Park Service (NPS) is working service-wide with federal, state, and local public health authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and using a phased approach to increase access on a park-by-park basis.
While the park tour road and hiking trails have been open during the entire COVID-19 pandemic.

With public health in mind, the following facilities remain CLOSED at this time:

• Park visitor center/museum 
• Elkhorn Tavern 
• Picnic area 

The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners continues to be paramount. At Pea Ridge National Military Park our operational approach will be to examine each facility function and service provided to ensure those operations comply with current public health guidance and will be regularly monitored. We continue to work closely with the NPS Office of Public Health using CDC guidance to ensure public and workspaces are safe and clean for visitors, employees, partners, and volunteers.

While these areas are accessible for visitors to enjoy, a return to full operations will continue to be phased and services may be limited. When recreating, the public should follow local area health orders Arkansas Department of Health, practice Leave No Trace principles, avoid crowding and avoid high-risk outdoor activities.

The CDC has offered guidance to help people recreating in parks and open spaces to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. We will continue to monitor all park functions to ensure that visitors adhere to CDC guidance for mitigating risks associated with the transmission of COVID-19 and take any additional steps necessary to protect public health.

Pea Ridge NMP also has a virtual tour of the park available on our park webpage at www.nps.gov/peri.


Details and updates on park operations will continue to be posted on our website www.nps.gov/peri and social media channels. Updates about NPS operations will be posted on www.nps.gov


About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.