Shiloh National Military Park welcomes visitors following closure

HARDIN COUNTY, Tenn. — For almost two months, all facilities at Shiloh National Military Park have been closed, but Friday, they re-opened the restrooms, main parking lot and picnic area.

“It’s exciting to be able to open those places back up, especially the picnic area,” said Acting Superintendent Randy Martin.

Martin said during the closure, no workers were laid off because there is still a lot of work to be done.

“We continued to telework, and we staggered our maintenance staff so there were different people here at different times and different hours,” Martin said.

Although visitors are allowed in the park, the visitor center and book store will remain closed.

“We’re hoping in the next two to three weeks to start opening that back up on a limited basis, but just starting to get back to normal,” Martin said.

But while those areas of the park are closed, there’s still plenty to do. You can walk through the cemetery, visit the eagle’s nest, explore the Indian mounds, or just enjoy the scenery.

“Just enjoy the park,” Martin said. “We’ve got so much stuff here to offer.”

Rangers say the park is continuing to encourage social distancing practices.