Devil’s Den State Park is a destination for many that enjoy the outdoors, including hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. A recent upgrade to the horse campground at the park adds to the park’s equestrian heritage and diverse outdoor opportunities available at Arkansas State Parks. Updates to the park's horse campground include improved access for horse trailers, expanded campsites, a new pavilion, and more. The project took place through partnerships and collaboration with equestrian groups including the Back Country Horsemen of Arkansas and the Northwest Arkansas Cavalcade Club. Their input helped shape the improvements and design at the horse campground. 

“This renovation wasn’t just a facelift,” said Cynthia Edmonson, President of the Northwest Arkansas Cavalcade. “It is an investment in the future of horseback riding, of family camping, of community. It’s a commitment to the next generation of riders, those little ones we see riding double with their parents until they’re big enough to hold their own reins.”

Jay Schneider, park superintendent at Devil’s Den State Park, said the horse campground now has 24 class AAA sites with 20, 30, and 50 amp electric service and water. The road in the campground is gravel, not asphalt, so that the horses, whether they are shod, have shoes or not, won’t slip on the asphalt or pavement. There is a manure bin and also hitching posts that are near each campsite so that riders can tie out their horses on a high line. 

“We took a former area and basically just wiped the slate clean and started over,” said Schneider about the recent upgrade. “It was built in the 70s, and it was a great effort at the time, but just needed to be updated.”

There's around 20 miles of horse specific trails at the park and there is also a connector trail down from the horse camp to the Ozark National Forest. The trails at the park are routinely maintained and upgraded. The partnerships with the equestrian groups remain key as the park works with them in maintaining the trails in light of factors that include the horse camp being closed for over a year,  weather and more. 

The equestrian partners were involved in the campground upgrade project with input and design from day one. For instance Scheider met with Edmonson and her husband and laid out where the hitching posts would be at the park. “I've owned horses in my childhood, but it's been years and I've never camped with one, so you definitely wanted that input from the final end user of where these should be located,” said Schneider. “...We're learning as well. And that's the point of anything we do is always seek input from the stakeholders and always seek to improve and make their experience better.”

The horse campground project at Devil’s Den State Park was a project of collaboration. 

“Like anything we do at the park, our job is to give the folks an opportunity to have whatever form or recreation they want,” said Scheider. “So having a campground closed is counter to that. Of course, we have to do things occasionally to make life better, and sometimes that's closing things down and totally retooling. So just getting it back open so they can come and enjoy their park as much as any other user was the main thing and the importance of getting it open. And we're so excited to have it open.”

The campground represents a strong piece of heritage for the horseback riding community. 

“This camp isn’t just a campground,” said Edmonson. “It’s a storybook. It’s a gathering ground. It’s the heartbeat of a tradition that’s been riding strong since 1951. Seventy-three years ago, a small group of riders set out from Fayetteville to Fort Smith to promote rodeo. The next year, they rode from Fayetteville to Little Rock. They didn’t have camp trailers or air conditioning, what they had was heart. What they had was grit. And what they were building, whether they realized it or not, was a legacy. That legacy became the Northwest Arkansas Cavalcade. From those early days of camping in open pastures to eventually helping to to build the three-acre campsite at Devil’s Den, the Cavalcade has grown from a handful of riders to over 400 strong. And yet, no matter how large we grow, our roots run deep. They run through the trails we ride, the horses we saddle, and the friendships we hold so dear. For many of us, Devil’s Den horse camp is more than a destination, it’s a tradition passed down through generations. I myself started riding with the Cavalcade when I was just nine years old. My grandparents are lifetime members, and each generation here is woven with decades of devotion and miles of trail behind them. And my family is just one story in a long line of stories.”

The riding at the park is also distinct. 

“It is a priceless experience,” said Edmonson. “Devil’s Den is a gem to the Arkansas State Park system, and there is no better way to experience it than by horseback because you can cover so much more ground by horse than by foot.”  

Edmonson described the terrain at the park as rugged and challenging. “Devil’s Den is not for the faint of heart, it is for horses and riders that seek out elite or advanced trail performance in themselves and in their horses,” she said. 

Around 20 miles of horseback riding terrain is available at the park.

“My favorite trail to ride is the Gorley King trail because it takes you up to Holt Ridge, the high line view of the whole Lee Creek valley,” Edmonson said. “The climb to get up there is extreme and it takes an incredibly in shape horse to even make it up there. When I was a kid, my favorite rides were the long rides where we would leave out at 9  a.m. with a lunch packed in our saddle bags, and we would ride up and over Holt Ridge into the national forest and over onto Blackburn Creek. We usually made it back into camp around 3 or 4 in the afternoon.”

The horse campground at Devil’s Den State Park is also a gathering place for community. 

“It’s not just about riding,” said Edmonson.“It’s about returning. Returning to friends, to laughter, to stories told with a cup of coffee and a crackling fire under the stars. It’s about slowing down just long enough to remember what matters.”

Along with horseback riding, Devil’s Den State Park, which is located at 11333 West Arkansas Highway 74 in West Fork in the Northwest region of the state, is home to Monument Trails, Civilian Conservation Corps history and more. For more details about Devil’s Den State Park, visit arkansasstateparks.com/parks/devils-den-state-park.