Surrounded by the Ouachita National Forest, Lake Ouachita is known for its scenic natural beauty and the clarity of its waters. These pristine waters form the largest manmade lake within Arkansas's borders. Named one of the cleanest lakes in America, 40,000-acre Lake Ouachita is a water sports mecca for swimming, skiing, scuba diving, boating, and fishing. Angling for bream, crappie, catfish, stripers, and largemouth bass can be enjoyed in open waters or quiet coves along the lake's 975 miles of shoreline.

Anglers will find the relatively shallow waters of 640-acre Lake Poinsett, nestled atop the rolling hills of Crowley's Ridge in northeast Arkansas, a special getaway for crappie, catfish, bream, and bass fishing. Situated on the northern end of this Arkansas Game and Fish Commission lake, the state park offers 29 campsites (Four Class A, 22 Class B and three Class D), picnic areas, a standard pavilion (screened with restrooms), boat launch ramp, and boat rentals. Near the picnic area is ample room for impromptu softball games. A children's playground is located between the picnic area and campground. For hiking enthusiasts, the 1.1-mile Great Blue Heron Trail can be enjoyed in a leisurely 45-minute hike.

At Arkansas's first environmental education state park, interpreters present workshops on ecological/environmental topics. The park's natural resources provide a living laboratory for students and visitors. Most of Logoly's 368 acres comprise a State Natural Area that includes unique plant species and mineral springs.

This National Historic Landmark at the junction of Lee, Monroe and Phillips counties preserves the initial point from which all surveys of the property acquired through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 initiated. That year, President Thomas Jefferson purchased the vast territory of Louisiana from France for $15 million. The unmapped wilderness of approximately 900,000 square miles doubled the size of the fledgling nation and helped shape the destiny of the United States.

Here you'll understand the role of Arkansas's White River, with emphasis on the Lower White, as one of the vital transportation routes for the first settlers who arrived in the Arkansas frontier. Artifacts and state-of-the art exhibits tell the story of the river's influence on settlements established along its banks and their subsequent commerce rooted in hunting and fishing, and expanded into agriculture, shelling, and timber.

Mammoth Spring is Arkansas's largest spring and the second largest spring in the Ozark Mountains. A National Natural Landmark, the spring flows nine million gallons of water hourly. Forming a scenic 10-acre lake, it then flows south as the Spring River, a popular Ozark trout and float stream. Located near the spring, the park's 1886 Frisco depot will take you back in time to an early 1900s train station. Parked just outside the train station is a Frisco caboose to explore, too.

In the spring of 1864, three Civil War battles took place in south central Arkansas that were part of the Union Army's "Red River Campaign." Arkansas's three state historic parks that commemorate these battles--Poison Springs Battleground State Park, Marks' Mills Battleground State Park and Jenkins Ferry Battleground State Park--are part of the Red River Campaign National Historic Landmark.

A series of boat lanes meander through timber, marshes, and oxbow cutoffs making Millwood Lake a "tree-filled" fishing haven. Famous for bass tournaments, this 29,260-acre lake abounds in largemouth, catfish and crappie. Spring and fall offer anglers great crappie fishing here, and catfish and bream fishing in summer. Bird watching is another popular activity here because of the lake's variety of year-round inhabitants, and wintering eagles.

Through a special use permit from the USDA Forest Service, Arkansas State Parks is developing Mississippi River State Park within the St. Francis National Forest in eastern Arkansas. The improvements at Beech Point Campground in the Bear Creek Lake Recreation Area, accessed from Ark. 44, were completed in fall 2010. Situated on a wooded peninsula in Bear Creek Lake, these campsites feature views of the lake and are surrounded by prime wildlife and birding habitat. Two courtesy docks provide campers with additional access to this lake known for its outstanding bream and bass fishing. The campground features 17 campsites [14 Class AAA with water/electric/sewer hookups and three Class D Walk-in Tent Sites]. Each paved site includes an adjacent, extended hardened living area with picnic table, grill, lantern hanger, and tent pad. A barrier-free bathhouse is centrally located. Improvements to the campground include the access road and all utilitities including new water and wastewater treatment and distribution systems. The campsite rental feeis $30 per night. For details on the campground's renovation, visit: http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/news/for-media/display.aspx?id=1593.

You'll find one of the most popular fishing and water sport areas in south central Arkansas where Moro Bay and Raymond Lake join the Ouachita River at Moro Bay State Park. Park facilities include 20 campsites (five Class A and 15 Class B), picnic sites, a store, marina with boat rentals and gas pump, standard pavilion (screened), playground, trails, and the Moro Bay Ferry exhibit featuring a historic tugboat and barge.

Small grains of sand, silt, and clay floated and tumbled with river currents until reaching the edge of a vast ocean. Some of this sediment spilled off the continental shelf into a deep abyss. Over time huge quantities of sediment formed. Compaction squeezed, and glued sediment particles together to form sandstones, siltstones, and shale

Rising 1,350 feet, Mount Nebo offers sweeping views of the Arkansas River Valley. In 1933, a portion of the mountain was chosen as a park site. Native stone and logs from Mount Nebo were used by the Civilian Conservation Corps to construct many of the park's bridges, trails, rustic-style cabins, and pavilions.

A Wonderful Way to Enjoy Yesterday," here's an adventure in yesterday's Ozark Mountain way of life that you can see, touch and enjoy today. Arkansas's unique Ozark Folk Center State Park is America's only facility that works at preserving the Ozark heritage and presenting it in such an entertaining way.

Parkin Archeological State Park in eastern Arkansas at Parkin preserves and interprets the Parkin site on the St. Francis River where a 17-acre Mississippi Period, American Indian village was located from A.D. 1000 to 1550. A large platform mound on the river bank remains. The site is important for understanding the history and prehistory of northeast Arkansas. There were once many archeological sites similar to Parkin throughout this region, but they did not survive as eastern Arkansas was settled.

Petit Jean Mountain is a special place – an unforgettable place – known for the legend of Petit Jean, the story of a French girl who disguised herself as a boy and secretly accompanied her sweetheart, an early explorer, to the New World and to this mountain.

Pinnacle Mountain is a day-use park dedicated to environmental education, outdoor recreation, and preservation. Located just west of Little Rock, this natural environment of 2,000 acres was set aside in 1977 as Arkansas's first state park adjoining a major metropolitan area. The park features a rich diversity of natural habitat, from high upland peaks to bottomlands along the Big Maumelle River and Little Maumelle River, for park visitors to experience. And, here among this natural diversity, park interpreters and volunteers help visitors and students understand man's relationship to the environment. Special interpretive programs conducted by the park interpreters may be scheduled by contacting the park.

Exhibits and programs interpret the history of cotton agriculture in Arkansas from statehood in 1836 through World War II, when agricultural practices quickly became mechanized. Learn about growing and picking cotton, as well as ginning and storing the seeds. Tour the 1912 museum building, Dortch Gin Building, and Seed Warehouse #5.

In the spring of 1864, three Civil War battles took place in south central Arkansas that were part of the Union Army's "Red River Campaign." Arkansas's three state historic parks that commemorate these battles--Poison Springs Battleground State Park, Marks' Mills Battleground State Park and Jenkins Ferry Battleground State Park--are part of the Red River Campaign National Historic Landmark.

In the 1800s, this busy river port on the Black River was the chief shipping point for a large territory. In 1888, high on a hill overlooking the busy riverfront, an Italianate-style courthouse was built from bricks made on site. Dramatically, the courthouse was placed high atop the first rocky ridge at the eastern edge of the Ozarks. The two-story courthouse was erected on the foundation of the original courthouse, completed in 1873, that burned in 1885. Restored in 1970 to the architect's original plans, the Victorian courthouse is this state park's dominant feature.

Recognized nationally as one of America's most intact Civil War battlefields, Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park protects the battle site and interprets the Battle of Prairie Grove, where on December 7, 1862, the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi clashed with the Union Army of the Frontier in a day of fierce fighting resulting in about 2,700 casualties. This marked the last major Civil War engagement in northwest Arkansas.

A spectacular mountaintop setting. Breathtaking panoramic scenery. Royal hospitality. Queen Wilhelmina State Park is this, and more. The park's crowning attraction is its renowned hostelry, a historic lodging tradition born in 1898 with the original "Castle in the Sky" that graced this same lofty locale high above the Ouachita Mountains over 100 years ago. Today's Queen Wilhelmina Lodge features 38 guest rooms including two spacious Queen's Rooms and two royal Regent's Rooms, fine Southern fare in the Queen's Restaurant, and a treasure-filled gift shop. Park campsites, hiking trails and overlooks are just a short walk from the lodge. Come experience this royal retreat atop 2,681-foot Rich Mountain, Arkansas's second highest peak. Of the 52 Arkansas state parks, Queen Wilhelmina is one of the state park system's eight mountain state parks.

In the spring of 1864, three Civil War battles took place in south central Arkansas that were part of the Union Army's "Red River Campaign." Arkansas's three state historic parks that commemorate these battles--Poison Springs Battleground State Park, Marks' Mills Battleground State Park and Jenkins Ferry Battleground--are part of the Red River Campaign National Historic Landmark.

This 13-acre site adjacent to the El Dorado High School exhibits native plants indigenous to Arkansas’s West Gulf Coastal Plain region and exotic species including flowering azaleas and camellias. Operated by the South Arkansas Community College, the arboretum offers walking trails, a pavilion, restrooms, and parking. It is open 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. (Monday through Saturday); 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. (Sunday). Closed Christmas Day.

A National Historic Landmark, the Toltec Mounds site comprises one of the largest and most impressive archeological sites in the Lower Mississippi River Valley. Preserved here are Arkansas's tallest American Indian mounds. Three mounds remain where 18 once stood surrounded by an earthen embankment eight to ten feet in height, a portion of which is still visible today. These ancient earthworks are the remains of the ceremonial and governmental complex which was inhabited here from A.D. 650 to 1050. The park visitor center features exhibits including artifacts from the site, an A/V theater, and archeological research laboratory. A meeting room and enclosed pavilion (with restrooms) that overlooks the mounds are available for rent.

The Ridges at Village Creek, the public 18-hole golf course at Village Creek State Park near Wynne, closed temporarily beginning June 7, 2010, to allow for a year-long upgrade and grow-in. The anticipated reopening date for the course is spring 2012. For updates, contact the park at 870-238-9406.