HOPPER, Ark — Tourists will no longer be allowed to visit The Blue Hole in Hopper unless they want to get caught trespassing.
The new landowner took over the property Sunday, closing the gates to the public. Michael Heindl lives just up the road from The Blue Hole and said he would constantly see visitors.
"Everybody comes up and down these roads during Spring Break, Labor Day weekend," he said.
But that tourist traffic may soon come to a halt. A family friend and spokesperson of the new owner posted the closing to the Blue Hole's Facebook page Monday night, asking the public to respect the owner's decision to do so. When asked why he decided to close it, the spokesperson would not say.
"I'm glad that they're closing it down to the public," Heindl said.
Heindl said he thinks garbage has something to do with it.
"Everybody that goes up there just about wants to trash it and is just up there to try and party and don't want to clean up their own mess," he said.
Posting his frustration to Facebook, Zack Cooksey traveled from out of town to find a lost ring in the Blue Hole two weeks ago. But instead, all he found was beer cans and gun shell casings.
"You’re not supposed to have any alcoholic beverages or firearms. But nobody ever follows the directions. Don’t jump off the cliff. But everybody ends up jumping off the cliffs anyway," Heindl said.
The spokesperson for the new landowner would not comment if there are plans to reopen The Blue Hole to the public.
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