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Arkansas State Parks Launches New Design for the Official Web Site for Arkansas's 52 State Parks
ArkansasStateParks.com, the official Web site for Arkansas’s 52 state parks, now features a striking new design that was just launched by its designer, Aristotle Internet of Little Rock. According to State Parks Director Greg Butts, “Arkansas’s state parks comprise one of the finest systems of parks and museums in the nation. Our online portal to the state parks has evolved to match that. This new design is beautiful, user friendly, easy to navigate and power packed with photos and details.”
He noted that in today’s world the Internet plays such an important role in decision-making including travel planning. Research shows that for over two-thirds of active travelers, it’s the exclusive source of information for planning both business and leisure travel. Butts said that much thought went into this design where fees and charges, book online features including photographs of overnight and day-use facilities available for rent, and a calendar of events are a quick click away.
Butts emphasized, “ArkansasStateParks.com allows you to look at photos of the parks, the campsites, cabins, lodge rooms and group facilities and make reservations online right there from the site.” The ResEze Web booking engine is linked to the Northwind Maestro Property Management System utilized by the camping, cabin and lodge parks. Reservations can be made 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for up to a year in advance for individual reservations. Utilizing this online reservation system is the fastest, cheapest method for making reservations by out-of-state and in-state visitors. Through the online reservation system, you can see maps of the campgrounds and if you want to reserve a specific campsite, then call the park to make that request.
Butts continued, “When Arkansans visit this Web site, it will swell their state pride as they are reminded of what a beautiful state they call home and what wonderful state parks they have.”
He said, “And when folks from out of state visit the site, the main page will give them a dramatic first impression of Arkansas. They will see our state is rich in natural beauty with mountains and sweeping vistas, delta lands teeming with wildlife, and clear lakes and streams to fish and float. And they’ll see that we offer a wide diversity of park facilities and outdoor activities to experience throughout the seasons.”
The homepage features 23 photos in a Flash format that represent the natural beauty and historic treasures in the state parks system. Information about each photo and access to creating computer wallpaper and e-postcards from the images is available by clicking
the Photo Info button. The homepage also offers five short, stunning videos that present the wide diversity of activities to be enjoyed in the state parks.
Other features on the homepage include links to booking your stay online, booking vacation and getaway packages that include visits to the state parks, purchasing gift certificates that can be used for lodging, food, gifts or other purchases in the parks and a sign up for e-mail newsletters.
According to Marla Johnson-Norris, chief executive officer for Aristotle, the site’s visually appealing redesign includes Flash photography and online videos featured on the main page. More photography including 360 degree panoramic views are located within the site. The design is supported by cutting-edge programming that makes it quick and easy to navigate.
She said, “With the new .Net programming, ArkansasStateParks.com has the capability to handle larger amounts of site traffic more effectively and efficiently. The new programming supports faster page loading, document and multimedia downloads and increased Web site security, creating an overall more productive Web site.”
According to Joe Jacobs, manager of Marketing and Revenue for Arkansas State Parks, “Amendment 75, Arkansas’s conservation amendment that was passed by voters in November 1996, is funding renovations and new facilities and other improvements around the parks system. Arkansas State Parks is experiencing one of the most exciting development phases in its history. This new Web site showcases those improvements.”
He continued, “And as we look forward to next year’s 75th anniversary of Arkansas’s state parks system, this Web site is a touchstone to the past and a call to the future.”
A navigation bar across the main page gives viewers a choice of seven main areas: “Park Finder,” “Camping, Cabins & Lodges,” “Things To Do,” “Meetings, Reunions & Weddings,” “Trip Ideas,” “News” and “Education.” Drop down menus help viewers get to the details they need.
The “Park Finder” section features a state map to quickly locate each of the 52 state parks and go to that park’s Web page or individual Web site that is the case for the larger parks. It allows multiple ways of finding the Arkansas State Parks. The Advanced Search button allows you to find the park with exactly the facilities and amenities you want. The Find a Park near You button lets you look for parks in a specified radius from your home or other Arkansas vacation spot. Use the map to find a park location based on highways or a particular part of the state. Or, utilize the dot chart to find a park by name or type of facilities offered.
“Camping, Cabins & Lodges” includes details and photographs of the campsites at 28 parks, cabins in nine parks, and hotel-like lodges with full-service restaurants and meeting facilities featured at five parks. It also includes information about other smaller and private group lodging facilities where bunk beds, kitchens and group dining halls are available for rent. Accessibility for visitors with disabilities is other helpful information.
“Things To Do” includes the details about trails, lake tours, watchable wildlife, senior workshops and Elderhostel programs, geocaching and kid’s stuff that links to a special Web site for young people with state park and Arkansas facts, games and downloads, and
family trip ideas. This section also includes the calendar of events. The state parks offer over 40,000 programs and events each year for the enjoyment and education of park visitors. The calendar of events allows visitors to search for programs and events by subject, park or date.
“Meetings, Reunions & Weddings” provides details on park facilities that can accommodate conferences, corporate meetings, family get-togethers and other group activities. Information is included about banquet and catering services provided by the state park lodge restaurants.
“Trip Ideas” features seven road trip itineraries for those who enjoy scenic drives. Details include each route’s map and description, travel time and sights you’ll see along the way.
“News” provides information on the latest happenings in the parks. One part of this is designed for the public. The other is for the print and electronic news media to access and download the latest news releases sent out by the state parks director’s office in Little Rock.
“Education” is the section designed to help teachers plan a visit with their students to a park. The state parks comprise Arkansas’s largest, resource-based education organization. For teachers and student they are unique learning centers where you can join trained park naturalists and historians in a variety of hands-on experiences. Here in this section are teacher workbooks, ideas for fieldtrips and more.
Vacation and getaway packages are also listed in the Web site. Each package’s description and price are included and viewers can go ahead and book them online.
For those who would like to share the gift of a favorite state park with friends or family, Arkansas State Parks gift certificates can be ordered online from the Web site. Some of the most popular uses for Arkansas State Parks gift certificates are camping, lodging, golfing, boating and shopping in the parks.
The linking policy page allows other Web sites and bloggers to create attractive links to ArkansasStateParks.com.
Along with the main Web site, ArkansasStateParks.com, Arkansas State Parks has 11 other sites devoted to individual state parks and activities. They are: CraterofDiamondsStatePark.com, DeGray.com; HistoricWashingtonStatePark.com; MountMagazineStatePark.com, OzarkFolkCenter.com; PetitJeanStatePark.com, QueenWilhelmina.com; AdventureStateParks.com; HistoryStateParks.com and MountainStateParks.com. LakeandRiverStateParks.com is under construction.
For further information, contact: Joe Jacobs, manager of Marketing and Revenue, Arkansas State Parks, One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201, phone: (501) 682-6923, e-mail: joseph.jacobs@arkansas.gov.
Visitor From Shreveport Finds 4.80-carat Diamond June 9 at the Crater of Diamonds State Park
Off-white Dodecahedral-shape Diamond is the Largest Diamond Found by a Park Visitor So Far This Year
(Murfreesboro) — The month of June has been an especially good one for diamond hunters at Arkansas’s diamond site, the Crater of Diamonds State Park, the world’s only diamond-bearing site where the public can search for diamonds in the rough. During the first nine days of this month, the five largest diamonds have weighed over a carat. The gems were a 1.08-carat white diamond found by a visitor from Fort Meyers, Florida; a 1.12-carat brown diamond found by a visitor from Murfreesboro, Arkansas; a 1.18-carat white diamond found by visitor from Delaware, Arkansas; a 2.93-carat light brown diamond found by a young visitor from Butler, Missouri, and a 4.80-carat white diamond found Saturday by Milton Milam from Shreveport, Louisiana.
Milam unearthed his 4.80-carat white diamond late Saturday, June 9. His gem is the largest diamond found so far this year at the park. This year’s second largest was a 2.93-carat diamond unearthed last Tuesday by a Missouri teenager. The third largest was a 2.67-carat yellow diamond found by a park visitor from Delight, Arkansas, in February.
According to the park staff, Milam had spent the day digging in the West Drain of the park’s search area, a 37 ½-acre plowed field that is the eighth largest diamond-bearing deposit in the world in surface area. [NOTE: In September 2006 trenching was done in the West Drain, and earlier during August 2005 in the East Drain, to open up new material for visitors to search in these low areas within the diamond search field.]
He found the diamond around 4:50 p.m. while washing the material he’d dug from the West Drain at one of the park’s washing pavilions. According to Milam, who hunted regularly for diamonds at the park back in the 1980s, “this is the largest diamond I’ve found here, but it isn’t the prettiest.” He noted that he’d “found a flawless diamond” at the park in the past.
According to Park Interpreter Rachel Engebrecht, “Mr. Milam’s find was an “off-white, dodecahedral-shape diamond.” She noted that the somewhat cube-shape diamond had a metallic look, as do many raw diamonds, and it was very “silvery on the outside.”
She noted that this was the largest diamond found so far this year and the largest diamond that’s been unearthed at the park since Bob Wehle from Ripon, Wisconsin, discovered a 5.47-carat canary diamond in October 2006.
Another park staff member to see Milam’s 4.80-carat gem was Park Interpreter Aneesah Rasheed. She said, “I started working here at the Crater of Diamonds two and a half years and this is the second largest diamond I’ve held.” According to Rasheed, “I got to hold the 6.35-carat brown Roden Diamond that Mr. and Mrs. Roden from Point, Texas, found last September. However, I missed getting to see Bob Wehle’s 5.47-carat yellow diamond that he named the Sunshine Diamond.”
Rasheed noted that Milam’s gem marked the 337th diamond found so far this year. She said that last year by June 9 visitors had found 220 diamonds at the park. This year by that same date, park visitors have found 337 diamonds. “What a great year the park visitors are having,” she said, “and, what a great June!”
Diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow. The three most common colors found at the park are white, brown and yellow, in that order. On average, two diamonds are found each day by park visitors.
The park staff provides free identification and certification of diamonds. Park interpretive programs and exhibits explain the site’s geology and history and offer tips on recognizing diamonds in the rough.
In total, over 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed at Arkansas’s diamond site since the first diamonds found in 1906 by John Huddleston, the farmer who at that time owned the land, long before the site became an Arkansas state park in the early 1970s. The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed here in 1924 during an early mining operation. Named the Uncle Sam, this white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats. Other large notable finds from the Crater include the Star of Murfreesboro (34.25 carats) and the Star of Arkansas (15.33 carats).
The largest diamond of the 25,000 discovered by park visitors since the diamond site became an Arkansas state park in 1972 was the 16.37-carat Amarillo Starlight. W. W. Johnson of Amarillo, Texas, found this spectacular gem-quality, white diamond in 1975.
In June 1981, the 8.82-carat Star of Shreveport was added to the growing list of large valuable stones found at the Crater.
Another notable diamond from the Crater of Diamonds that has received much national attention is the 1.09-carat D-flawless Strawn-Wagner Diamond. Discovered in 1990 by Shirley Strawn of nearby Murfreesboro, this white gem weighed 3.03 carats in the rough before being cut to perfection in 1997 by the renowned diamond firm Lazare Kaplan International of New York. The gem is the most perfect diamond ever certified in the laboratory of the American Gem Society. The diamond is on permanent display in a special exhibit in the Crater of Diamonds State Park visitor center.
Another gem from the Crater, the flawless 4.25-carat Kahn Canary diamond, discovered at the park in 1977, has been on exhibit at many cities around the U.S. and overseas. The uncut, triangular-shape diamond was featured in an illustrious jewelry exhibition in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1997 that included precious stones from throughout
the world including the Kremlin collection, the Vatican, Cartier and Christies. And, in late 1997, the Kahn Canary was featured in another prestigious exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York entitled The Nature of Diamonds. Former First Lady Hillary Clinton borrowed the Kahn Canary from its owner, Stan Kahn of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and wore it in a special, Arkansas-inspired ring setting designed by Henry Dunay of New York as a way to represent Arkansas’s diamond site at the galas celebrating both of Bill Clinton’s presidential inaugurals.
Other semi-precious gems and minerals found at the Crater of Diamonds include amethyst, garnet, peridot, jasper, agate, calcite, barite and quartz. Over 40 different rocks and minerals are unearthed at the Crater making it a rock hound's delight.
Crater of Diamonds State Park is located two miles southeast of Murfreesboro.
Thirteen-year-old Visitor From Missouri Finds 2.93-carat Diamond Tuesday Evening at the Crater of Diamonds State Park
Walking with her mother and grandmother Tuesday evening around 7:00 p.m. along a path—a service road in the 37 ½-acre diamond search area of Arkansas’s Crater of Diamonds State Park—that thousands of other park visitors have traveled, 13-year-old Nicole Ruhter of Butler, Missouri, saw something sparkling on the ground that no one else had noticed. According to the teenager, she knew the “metallic looking” stone half buried in the dirt was a diamond because of the way it shined. When she picked it up, the 2.93-carat diamond looked “pyramid-shaped, pointy, light and shiny,” noted Ruhter, “and it sparkled.” The path, a service road the park maintenance staff drives along to reach the diamond search area’s washing pavilions, also serves as a pathway for park prospectors.
Because she found her diamond at the edge of that path, Ruhter named her gem the Pathfinder Diamond. She plans to keep it at first and perhaps sell her gem later after it’s appraised.
This was her family’s first visit to the park and their second day of diamond searching at the park. They had learned about the park from Ruhter’s grandparents who visited the park last year. Ruhter’s family learned more about the Crater of Diamonds on the park’s
Web site.
According to Ruhter, shortly before she discovered her gem, she said a little silent prayer in hopes of finding a diamond, any diamond, even a very small one. She didn’t care how large or of what value it would be, she just wanted to find a diamond. “And, 15 minutes later, I found it,” she said.
Park Superintendent Tom Stolarz noted that, “Nicole Ruhter’s light brown diamond is the color of iced tea and about the size of a piece of candy corn. Of the 332 diamonds that have been found by park visitors so far this year, this gem is the largest.” The second largest diamond this year was a 2.67-carat yellow gem unearthed on February 6 by a park visitor from Delight, Arkansas. Stolarz said that on average, two diamonds are found each day by park visitors.
He noted that other young people have discovered diamonds at the park and it’s always thrilling for other visitors and the park staff when a young visitor unearths one. “What a wonderful memory to have and to share with family, friends and classmates,” said Stolarz.
According to Stolarz, “The Crater of Diamonds State Park offers many recreational choices for young visitors including the park’s aquatic playground, Diamond Springs and the Diamond Discovery Center. He continued, “But the essential park experience for them, like adults, is the opportunity to search for real diamonds and the other semi-precious stones, rocks, and minerals that are found here.”
Stolarz emphasized that the park policy is finder-keepers. “What park visitors find in the diamond search area is theirs to keep.”
The search area at the Crater of Diamonds State Park is a 37 ½-acre plowed field, the eroded surface of the eighth largest diamond-bearing deposit in the world in surface area.
It is the world’s only diamond-producing site open to the public. Diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow. The three most common colors found at the park are white, brown and yellow, in that order.
Visitor/Education Center at Bull Shoals-White River State Park Enhances Experiences for Visitors and School Groups
One of the state parks system’s newest facilities funded by Amendment 75, Arkansas's 1/8-cent conservation tax, is the $4.5 million visitor center that opened last year at Bull Shoals-White River State Park near Bull Shoals Lake. Situated on a highpoint, the 15,744-square foot structure affords a spectacular view of the White River, Bull Shoals Dam and Bull Shoals Lake. The visitor/education center is named in honor of Jim Gaston of Lakeview, owner of Arkansas’s renowned Gaston’s White River Resort. The center serves as the primary visitor contact point at Bull Shoals-White River State Park. In addition, it is the focal point for the interpretation of the White River, Bull Shoals Dam, Bull Shoals Lake and their histories. Interpretive exhibits are featured throughout the lobby, gift shop, Johnboat Theater and Exhibit Hall, a 1,720-square-foot area filled with images of the river, lake and dam.
Mid-America’s premier trout stream, the White River is renowned for its catches of record rainbow and brown trout. Bull Shoals Lake, at 45,440 acres, is Arkansas’s largest lake, with waters stretching across Arkansas's northern border into southern Missouri. Anglers and water sports enthusiasts are drawn to its clear waters and Ozark Mountain scenery.
For more information about Bull Shoals-White River State Park, go to:
http://www.ArkansasStateParks.com/BullShoalsWhiteRiver.
The 60-room Lodge at Mount Magazine and the Park's 13 Cabins Opened in Spring 2006 to Rave Reviews
Last spring Mount Magazine State Park opened its new $33 million, 60-room mountain lodge and 13 cabins. These exciting new facilities feature breathtaking views of the Petit Jean River Valley and Blue Mountain Lake from their settings on the south bluff of 2,753-foot Mount Magazine - Arkansas' highest mountain.Arkansas State Parks was granted a special use permit from the USDA Forest Service in 1996 to develop this state park on 2,234 acres in the Magazine District of the Ozark National Forest atop Mount Magazine. Construction of the 60-room mountain lodge and 13 cabins began in February 2004. Funded by a bond issue, the $33 million lodge complex and cabins represent the Arkansas state park system's largest, single capital investment. The new state park lodge graces the same location of the former U.S. Forest Service lodge that was destroyed by fire in early 1971.
Entering the lodge, visitors step into a grand lobby featuring a two-story fireplace and large windows that frame the view from the bluff. The lodge has an indoor swimming pool, a fitness center and game room along with conference space for business groups and retreats. Forty guest rooms feature balconies and 17 offer spa tubs. Four suites include a kitchenette, gas log fireplace, seating space apart from the bedroom and two balconies each. The lodge's Skycrest Restaurant offers a menu featuring fine Southern cuisine.
Lodge rates range from $79 for a standard room on a winter weekday to $199 for a suite with a fireplace and balcony on Fridays and Saturdays throughout the year, except in the winter. The cabins range include one, two, and three-bedroom designs that include a kitchen, wood-burning fireplace, washer and dryer, high speed Internet connection, satellite television and a covered deck with an outdoor hot tub facing the sweeping view from the bluff. The cabins sleep two to six guests and range in price from $149 a night to $429 a night.
According to Arkansas State Parks Director Greg Butts, there are still many weekdays, when rates are lower, and weekends when guest rooms and cabins can be reserved. “Although accommodations are booked well into 2007 there are many openings available.” For Arkansas State Parks’ lodging facilities, individual reservations can be made up to 12 months in advance and group reservations can be made up to two years in advance commencing from the date the reservation is made.The park also offers a campground featuring 18 campsites with water, electric and sewer hookups, and modern bathhouse.
A wide variety of outdoor activities are available in the state park and surrounding Ozark National Forest. The long list includes hiking, hang gliding, horseback riding, boating, rock climbing, birding, backpacking, fishing and geocaching, the high-tech version of treasure hunting.The park is home to black bears, wild turkey and so many butterflies that Mount Magazine hosts an annual International Butterfly Festival each summer.
Like "an island in the sky," the mountain is home to flora and fauna uncommon in other parts of the state and country. The Magazine Mountain Shagreen, a small snail, has skin like a shark. The Wood's False Hellebore can send up seven-foot-tall stalks lined with star-shaped maroon flowers.The park is located on Arkansas Scenic Highway 309 approximately 17 miles south of Paris.
For more information visit the park Web site at http://www.MountMagazineStatePark.com.
First Time Visitor From Oklahoma Finds Flawless 4.21-Carat, Canary Yellow Diamond at the Crater of Diamonds State Park
After seeing Arkansas’s Crater of Diamonds State Park featured on The Travel Channel in a program titled, "America's Best Places to Find Cash and Treasures," Marvin Culver of Nowata, Oklahoma and his wife decided on the spur of the moment to head to Arkansas’s diamond site yesterday afternoon. According to Culver, they’d wanted to visit the park for 10 years. Since school spring break had just begun for their niece and nephew, the four were free to leave yesterday for the Crater of Diamonds. This afternoon at 1:00 p.m., after digging a bucket and a half of soil, Culver discovered a flawless 4.21-carat, canary yellow diamond while washing the material in the diamond field’s south washing pavilion. The gem is the largest of the 84 diamonds found so far this year by park visitors.When Culver, an Oklahoma state trooper, was told by park officials that none of the park’s notable diamond finds had been ever named for his state-—instead bearing names like the “Amarillo Starlight,” “Star of Arkansas,” and “Star of Shreveport”—-he said, with a smile, that he would name his gem the “Okie Dokie Diamond.” Culver noted that his second choice for his yellow diamond would be, “Old Yeller.”
According to the park staff, Culver's diamond is about the size of a peanut M&M candy. When asked if he planned to have the stone cut and faceted, he laughed and noted, “My wife has already seized it. You’ll have to ask her.”Just before entering the park’s diamond search area to begin their diamond prospecting this morning, Culver and his family attended a program by Park Interpreter Aneesah Rasheed called “Diamond Mining 101” at the park’s Diamond Discovery Center. The new interpretive center that opened last June is situated on the edge of the park’s 37 ½-acre diamond search area. The search area is the eroded surface of the eighth largest diamond-bearing deposit in the world in surface area. Culver credited Rasheed with teaching him and his family how to successfully prospect today.
Park Superintendent Tom Stolarz said, “The flawless canary diamond is a perfect crystal shape. It's a dandy."Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only world’s only diamond-producing site open to the public. The park offers visitors a one-of-a-kind experience, the opportunity to prospect for real diamonds and keep any gems regardless of their value. Diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow. The three most common colors found at the Crater of Diamonds are white, brown and yellow, in that order. On average, two diamonds are found each day at the park.
The park staff provides free identification and certification of diamonds. Park interpretive programs and exhibits explain the site’s geology and history and offer tips on recognizing diamonds in the rough.In total, over 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed at Arkansas’s diamond site since those first found in 1906 by John Huddleston, the farmer who at that time owned the land long before the site became an Arkansas state park. The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed here in 1924 during an early mining operation. Named the "Uncle Sam," this white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats. Other large notable finds from the Crater include the "Star of Murfreesboro" (34.25 carats) and the "Star of Arkansas" (15.33 carats).
The largest diamond of the 25,000 discovered by park visitors since the Crater became an Arkansas state park in 1972 was the 16.37-carat "Amarillo Starlight." W. W. Johnson of Amarillo, Texas found this spectacular gem-quality, white diamond in 1975.In June 1981, the 8.82-carat "Star of Shreveport" was added to the growing list of large valuable stones found at the Crater.
Another notable diamond from the Crater of Diamonds that has received much national attention is the 1.09-carat D-flawless “Strawn-Wagner Diamond.” Discovered in 1990 by Shirley Strawn of nearby Murfreesboro, this white gem weighed 3.03 carats in the rough before being cut to perfection in 1997 by the renowned diamond firm Lazare Kaplan International of New York. The gem is the most perfect diamond ever certified in the laboratory of the American Gem Society. The diamond is on permanent display in a special exhibit in the Crater of Diamonds State Park visitor center.Another gem from the Crater, the flawless 4.25-carat “Kahn Canary” diamond, discovered at the park in 1977, has been on exhibit at many cities around the U.S. and overseas. The uncut, triangular-shape diamond was featured in an illustrious jewelry exhibition in Antwerp, Belgium in 1997 that included precious stones from throughout the world including the Kremlin collection, the Vatican, Cartier and Christies. And, in late 1997, the “Kahn Canary” was featured in another prestigious exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York entitled, “The Nature of Diamonds.” Former First Lady Hillary Clinton borrowed the “Kahn Canary” from its owner, Stan Kahn of Pine Bluff, and wore it in a special, Arkansas-inspired ring setting designed by Henry Dunay of New York. Mrs. Clinton chose to wear the gem as a special way to represent Arkansas’s diamond site at the galas celebrating both of Bill Clinton’s presidential inaugurals.
Other semi-precious gems and minerals found at the Crater of Diamonds include amethyst, garnet, peridot, jasper, agate, calcite, barite and quartz. Over 40 different rocks and minerals are unearthed at the Crater making it a rock hound's delight.Crater of Diamonds State Park is located two miles southeast of Murfreesboro. It is one of the 52 state parks administered by the State Parks Division of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
For more information about the Crater of Diamonds State Park, visit the park's Web site at http://www.CraterofDiamondsStatePark.com
New Campsites Open at Withrow Springs State Park
Cradled by the bluffs of the War Eagle Creek in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, Withrow Springs State Park near Huntsville is a peaceful setting for relaxing camping and quiet river floats along this scenic mountain stream. The park's campground now features 30 new campsites. Nestled in shaded woods, the new camping area offers 30 Class AAA campsites with water, electric (up to 50 amp service) and sewer hookups. Each new campsite can accommodate either an RV and/or tent. This camping area also features a new barrier-free bathhouse.The park also offers 17 Class B sites with water and electric hookups.
Here in the natural beauty of the Ozark Mountains, you can also enjoy hiking, swimming, tennis, and fishing for catfish, bream, perch and bass. The park also offers picnic sites, pavilions, a snack bar, gift shop and baseball and softball fields. Rental canoes are available at the park and the park staff offers a shuttle service.The park is located five miles north of Huntsville on Ark. 23; or 20 miles south of Eureka Springs on Ark. 23.
For more information about Withrow Springs State Park, go to: http://www.ArkansasStateParks.com/Withrow Springs.
Video Tours and 360 Degree Photos of Several Arkansas State Parks Are Now Featured on ArkansasStateParks.com
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Now visitors to ArkansasStateParks.com can view many state park outdoor settings and look inside park facilities through videos and 360 degree photos. Facilities within Arkansas's 52 state parks are as varied as the diverse landscapes in which they are located. Explore the state parks through these engaging videos and photographs. A five-part video on the homepage features breathtaking 35mm cinematography of many of Arkansas's 52 state parks. In addition, individual parks are featured in separate videos in the Video Tour section. The featured parks include the Crater of Diamonds State Park, DeGray Lake Resort State Park, Devil's Den State Park, Lake Chicot State Park, Lake Dardanelle State Park, Lake Ouachita State Park, Mount Nebo State Park, the Ozark Folk Center State Park, Petit Jean State Park, Queen Wilhelmina State Park and Village Creek State Park. Take a peek!
http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/parks/virtual_tours.asp.
New Diamond Discovery Center Opens at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, Arkansas’s Diamond Site
Arkansas's diamond site, the Crater of Diamonds State Park,
has undergone many enhancements for the enjoyment of park visitors. The latest improvement is the new 3,900-square-foot Diamond Discovery Center, a $965,069 structure that now serves as the gateway to the park’s 37 1/2-acre diamond search area and an in-depth introduction to the adventure of searching for diamonds. The Diamond Discovery Center is a diamond search area-based, interpretive facility that is designed to enhance the visitor experience at the park by helping park visitors understand diamonds and how to search for them at the site.The exhibits include the diamond hunters’ hall of fame, and feature information about the many notable diamonds that have been unearthed here since those first diamond discoveries in 1906. Along with the exhibit gallery, the two level barrier-free building features a refreshment facility, digging equipment rental, restrooms/bathhouse/changing rooms, office, and storage on the lower level. The building’s upper level features a 1,600-square-foot classroom.
Nestled above Fugitt’s Bank near the search area, the building sports an architectural design reminiscent of old mining buildings. This mining-theme is carried into the interior with the look of the exhibits and furnishings.Located in southwest Arkansas, two miles southeast of Murfreesboro on Ark. 301, the park is the world's only publicly operated diamond site where the public is allowed to search and keep any gems found, regardless of value. Visitors search over a plowed field, the eroded surface of the earth’s eighth largest diamond-bearing deposit in surface area. Other semi-precious gems and minerals found here include amethyst, garnet, peridot, jasper, agate, calcite, barite and quartz. The park also offers 59 campsites with water and electric hookups, bathhouse, picnic sites, pavilion, a cafe, visitor center with exhibits, gift shop, laundry, hiking trail, Diamond Springs aquatic playground, amphitheater, wildlife viewing area with viewing blind, and interpretive programs. The park staff provides free identification and certification of diamonds. Park interpretive programs and the exhibit gallery in the park visitor center explain the site’s geology and history and offer tips on recognizing diamonds in the rough.
Additional information about the Crater of Diamonds State Park is located on the park’s
Web site: http://www.CraterofDiamondsStatePark.com.
New Arkansas State Parks Web Site Launches That Features Arkansas's Mountain State Parks
Mountains cover half of Arkansas. The Ozark Mountains, Arkansas's northernmost range, and to the south, the Ouachita Mountains, each have their own unique geological and cultural history, scenic splendor, flora and fauna. These rugged ancient mountains, along with the distinctive flat-topped mountains in the Arkansas River Valley--peaks like legendary Petit Jean Mountain, Mount Nebo and Mount Magazine--are home to Arkansas state parks. Visit the newest Arkansas State Parks mini-Web site http://www.MountainStateParks.com and learn more about Arkansas's seven mountain parks: Devil's Den State Park, Mount Magazine State Park, Mount Nebo State Park, the Ozark Folk Center State Park, Petit Jean State Park, Pinnacle Mountain State Park and Queen Wilhelmina State Park. You'll find these state parks, each one rich in natural beauty and history, as unique and captivating as the mountains they grace.
Arkansas State Parks Launches New Web Site Featuring History and Heritage Sites
The hallmark of Arkansas's state parks system is the diversity of its natural, recreational and historic offerings. A new website has just been launched that features the history and heritage sites preserved, conserved and interpreted by Arkansas State Parks. The new site, http://www.HistoryStateParks.com offers details and photographs of historic homes and buildings, historic towns, museums, Civil War sites, Civilian Conservation Corps structures and other works, Trail of Tears sites, archeology sites, national register sites and landmarks, the Ozark Folk Center and historic trees. In addition, research links provide access to a variety of resources for further details and research opportunities. Learn about these places. Experience them. Be inspired by them. Each one reveals Arkansas's chapter of America's great story.
Arkansas State Parks Launches New AdventureStateParks.com Website
Arkansas State Parks has just launched its new Web site for adventure sports enthusiasts: http://www.AdventureStateParks.com. The state parks offer great outdoor adventures, from exciting outdoor sports to adrenaline pumping extreme adventures for thrill seekers. The diverse topography and breathtaking scenery of Arkansas combine to offer a wide variety of experiences for outdoor sports and extreme adventure enthusiasts. Visit the new Web site and get details on where to go backpacking, caving, hang gliding, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, river running, rock climbing and snorkeling.Test your skills in the Class IV rapids at the Cossatot River, Arkansas's whitewater adventure. Rock climb and rappel at Mount Magazine - Arkansas's highest peak. Hang glide at Mount Magazine, too, and nearby Mount Nebo. Race along the ATV trails at Mount Magazine and Daisy State Park on Lake Greeson. Explore the largest sandstone crevice cave area in the U.S. at Devil's Den. And access backcountry areas for great backpacking and mountain biking adventures in the Ozark and Ouachita National Forest lands adjacent to the state parks. Cast your line in mid-America's premier trout stream. Take a guided horseback ride in the rugged scenic Ouachita Mountains. Go on snorkeling adventures for everyone from the beginner to the experienced diver in Arkansas's crystal lakes. Or try your wakeboarding and waterskiing techniques in the wide open waters of the state's largest lakes.
The parks offer something for everyone, from the beginner to the experienced, from those who seek a relaxing adventure to those wanting a physically challenging test of skills that requires stamina. Looking for adventure? It's here for you. It's here for your whole family. You'll find daring adventures for those who want to test their skills, and easy adventures that your whole family can experience together.
Lake Fort Smith State Park Closed Until January 2008
Situated in a scenic Ozark valley near Mountainburg, Lake Fort Smith State Park closed in early 2002 to be relocated to a site nearby. This was due to the enlarging of Lake Fort Smith and Lake Shepherd Springs into a single reservoir to provide additional water storage for the Fort Smith, Arkansas, municipal water supply. The new park is located on the western side of the enlarged 1,490-acre reservoir. Lake Fort Smith State Park will feature 34 campsites, group lodging with kitchen, picnic sites, a pavilion, swimming pool, marina with boat rentals, hiking trails, and a visitor center with exhibits. For updates on the progress of the new facilities and to make reservations, contact the park at: P.O. Box 4, Mountainburg, AR 72946. Phone: (479) 369-2469. E-mail: lakefortsmith@arkansas.com.