Hot Springs National Park Is Sick of People Committing This Crime

By Bethanie Hestermann

Published

11/23/2024

Rangers at Arkansas’ Hot Springs National Park are speaking out about an all-too-common crime at their park: vandalism. A recent wave of vandalism (specifically, graffiti) has the people who love and work at the oldest national park in the United States annoyed. And the public should be annoyed, too, since it’s their tax dollars that help fund the clean-up efforts.

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“Y’all, we need to have a talk about vandalism. Seriously, enough is enough,” wrote Hot Springs National Park in a recent Instagram post. “If you sat and thought about how many of your taxpayer dollars were being spent to clean up after you, you would think twice before popping the lid off that marker or carving your name into a sign.”

Instead of leaving graffiti saying “___ was here” or declaring love for someone, the park provides some alternative suggestions. “If you really need people to know that you were here, tag us in a social media post,” the park pleads. “If you are looking to declare your love to your sweetie, try a cute note. On paper, not our walls.”

Rangers say their scrubbing takes a bunch of time, effort, and money, and it’s wearing the rock away.