Arkansas State Parks things to do

Exciting Things to do in The 52 State Parks of Arkansas

There are 52 state parks in Arkansas each with it’s own attractions and history.

Many Arkansans make it a challenge to visit each state park in one year at least once in a lifetime. It’s kind of a “state park challenge.”

However, you definitely don’t have to visit all 52 state parks in one year. I like to take time to linger and thoroughly enjoy each state park.

I have put together a list of all 52 state parks in Arkansas with links to separate articles highlighting the best things to do at each park.

This will give you great ideas of what to do while you’re there so you don’t miss the good stuff!

Happy exploring!

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52 State Parks in Arkansas

*This article is a work in progress while we explore and write about each state park.

Central Arkansas State Parks

Pinnacle Mountain State Park

Plantation Agriculture Museum

Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park

Woolly Hollow State Park

North Central Arkansas State Parks

Bull Shoals-White River State Park

Mammoth Spring State Park

Ozark Folk Center State Park

Upper Delta Arkansas State Parks

Crowley’s Ridge State Park

Davidsonville Historic State Park

Hampson Archeological Museum State Park

Herman Davis State Park

Jacksonport State Park

Lake Charles State Park

Lake Frierson State Park

Lake Poinsett State Park

Lower White River Museum State Park

Parkin Archeological State Park

Powhatan Historic State Park

Village Creek State Park

Lower Delta Arkansas State Parks

1. Arkansas Post Museum

2. Cane Creek State Park

Cane Creek State Park is a beautiful Arkansas state park in the Lower Delta region that offers camping, biking, birding, and fishing.

Cane Creek State Park Arkansas
Cane Creek Lake. Photo by Kevin Wood/Creative Commons

Because of it’s location, this Arkansas state park offers several great attractions that are unlike other state parks.

Read all about it here: 4 Things to Do at Cane Creek State Park

3. Delta Heritage Trail State Park

4. Lake Chicot State Park

At 20 miles long, Lake Chicot is the largest natural lake in Arkansas and the largest oxbow lake in North America.

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Lake Chicot State Park offers many great activities like camping, fishing, levee tours, and guided lake tours.

Pst…There are even alligators.

Read all about it here:
Tips: Camping at Lake Chicot State Park

5. Louisiana Purchase State Park

The Louisiana Purchase State Park is a day-use park and a National Historic Landmark that includes a portion of the largest headwater swamp in the Lower Mississippi River Valley.

Sign at Louisiana State Park in Arkansas
Sign at Louisiana State Park in Arkansas. Photo by Jay Gannett/Creative Commons

An important place in history, this National Historic Landmark preserves the initial point from which all surveys of property acquired through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 originated.

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Full details here: [THE WILD] Louisiana Purchase State Park in Arkansas

6. Mississippi River State Park

Southwest Arkansas State Parks

Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources

Conway Cemetery State Park

Cossatot River State Park-Natural Area

Crater of Diamonds State Park

If you aren’t from Arkansas, you may not have known that we hold the title of having the only public diamond mine in the world. You can actually come here and dig for diamonds with your own shovel (or you can rent if you didn’t bring your own).

Crater of Diamonds State Park sign - allaboutarkansas.com
Crater of Diamonds State Park sits on top of an ancient volcanic pipe. Photo credit: J. Michael Raby/Flickr

If you find a diamond, you can keep it. Finders keepers. Losers weepers.

Full details here:
Ancient Volcano in Arkansas: Crater of Diamonds State Park

Daisy State Park

DeGray Lake Resort State Park

Historic Washington State Park

Lake Catherine State Park

Lake Ouachita State Park

Logoly State Park

Millwood State Park

Moro Bay State Park

Queen Wilhelmina State Park

Jenkins’ Ferry Battleground State Park

Marks’ Mills Battleground State Park

Poison Springs Battleground State Park

South Arkansas Arboretum

White Oak Lake State Park

Northwest Arkansas State Parks

Devil’s Den State Park

Hobbs State Park – Conservation Area

Lake Dardanelle State Park

Lake Fort Smith State Park

Mount Magazine State Park

Mount Nebo State Park

Petit Jean State Park

Petit Jean State Park is Arkansas’s very first state park.

The natural beauty and ancient geology of the legendary Petit Jean Mountain inspired the creation of Arkansas’s first state park and with it our state park system.

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The view from Stout's Point on top of Petit Jean Mountain.
The view from Stout’s Point on top of Petit Jean Mountain. Photo by Mike Goad.

This state park offers great camping, a beautiful lodge, a coffeehouse, a ranch with trail rides and a petting zoo, a large lake and much more.

Read all about it here:
14 “Must Do” Things at Petit Jean State Park

Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park

Withrow Springs State Park