All Texas state parks and historic sites to temporarily close due to coronavirus
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that historic sites and state parks in Texas will be closed beginning at 5 p.m. in an effort to facilitate social distancing and prevent large gatherings due to the novel coronavirus’ spread.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission will close all state parks and historic sites tonight and will reopen them at Abbott’s direction.
“Social distancing is our best tool to curb the spread of COVID-19 and save lives,” Abbott said in a statement. “The temporary closure of our state parks and historic sites will help us achieve this goal by preventing the gathering of large groups of people.”
Previously, many state parks across Texas had remained open in a limited capacity. Visitor centers, park stores and more had been closed late last month.
Cedar Hill State Park southwest of Dallas had been closed on March 25 due to a presumed positive case of COVID-19, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s website.
Last week, Abbott issued an executive order requiring Texans to stay home unless participating in activities or services deemed essential by the state. Essential activities included visiting parks, hunting or fishing or going out to exercise, like jogging or bicycling as long as social distancing guidelines were followed.
In a news release Tuesday, Carter Smith, the executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said the agency will continue to find ways to encourage and promote essential outdoor activities. In the month of March, the state park system hosted nearly 740,000 day and overnight visitors alone, according to the news release.
Some of the challenges staff faced included difficulties “in ensuring compliance with social distancing, problems in maintaining adequate supplies and keeping park facilities sufficiently sanitized,” according to the release.
The Texas State Parks Customer Service Center is working to contact and reimburse customers who had purchased upcoming overnight and day-use reservations, and canceled reservations will not be charged administrative fees. Customers will be contacted in order of their scheduled arrival date. Group and facility reservations have been canceled until April 30 — the same date that Abbott’s order lasts through.
“Given the myriad of challenges and heightened risks of operating the parks at this time, we believe this is the best course of action right now in order to meet the health and safety expectations the state has set out for the citizens of Texas,” Smith said in a statement. “All state parks will remain temporarily closed until public health and safety conditions improve. During the closure, staff will continue to steward and care for the parks to ensure they can be immediately reopened to visitors at the appropriate time.”
In Fort Worth, trails and parks are still open. But in response to a lack of social distancing, the city has closed basketball and volleyball courts. Tuesday afternoon, the city also announced it would be closing vehicle access to many popular parks this Easter Sunday, April 12, in an effort to prevent egg hunts, parties and large gatherings.
Police and code enforcement officers may issue citations to those not abiding by social distancing guidelines, according to a news release.
Tarrant Regional Water District’s parks, such as Eagle Mountain Park, remain open, and in a Facebook post, the district noted that some public restrooms and water fountains may not be operable.
“TRWD’s 100-plus miles of Trinity Trails, 400-acre Eagle Mountain Park and lakes all remain open to the public. However, it is imperative people continue to practice proper social distancing measures so these may remain open for the public to get fresh air and exercise during these trying times,” Chad Lorance, a spokesman for the Tarrant Regional Water District, wrote in an email Tuesday.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 9:51 AM.
