Arkansas State Parks Trip Ideas

What exactly is a Monument Trail, you ask? It’s a world-class mountain biking trail crafted by some of the world’s best trail builders to show off a specific area’s natural, iconic beauty. And Arkansas State Parks has the only four of these sustainably designed paths just waiting for you to visit. They include Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area, Mount Nebo State Park...

Mountain biking the Monument Trails at Pinnacle Mountain State Park

5 Arkansas State Parks Summer Hot Spots

Summer isn’t just a season — it’s a state of mind. And Arkansas is the perfect place to explore that sun-kissed bliss of nights around a campfire, hair drying from a jump in the lake, making gooey s’mores feel. Explore 5 state parks to find where you should kick your heels up for the warm months.

Visitor Finds Two-Carat Diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park

Waymon Cox

It’s thrilling when hard work pays off. For years, 26-year-old Christian Liden, of Poulsbo, Wash., has wanted to find the raw materials to make his own engagement ring. He started by panning for gold around his home state. After five years, he had accumulated enough for the ring. Liden recently embarked on a mining excursion that led him across the country to Arkansas’s...

Picture of Christian Liden's Washington Sunshine yellow diamond next to a quarter for scale

Answers to More Common Crater Questions

Waymon Cox

Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! Many first-time guests to the Crater wonder the same things when they arrive. Here are answers to a few of the more common questions we hear.

Family searching for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park

Hidden Wonders Scavenger Hunt

All around us are many “hidden wonders”—small animals, plants, and fungi—that may not be as engaging as deer or turkeys, but they are just as important to the ecosystem. You can download and print the Scavenger Hunt below. By carefully looking for the items on this list while you explore Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area, you can discover these hidden wonders and learn...

Photo Essay: Alligator Antics

Ivory Detter

Alligators can be observed during the warm months of the year at Millwood State Park in the southwestern region of Arkansas, and they are an important part of the aquatic habitat here. Follow along as we go on a virtual alligator spotting adventure! All of the alligators in the following pictures have made Millwood State Park their home.

The Delta as the 1815 Surveyors Experienced: Louisiana Purchase State Park

Ryan Smith

Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park, a small lesser-known park in the eastern part of Arkansas near Brinkley, protects the initial survey point for all lands acquired in the United States’ Louisiana Purchase. The park also provides you access to see a granite monument marking the location on an elevated boardwalk in a headwater swamp. This special site is not only a...

Granite monument in swamp with water at its base. Trees growing in background as far as viewer can see.

Two Visitors Find Large Diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park

Waymon Cox

Confirmation of two large diamonds found at Crater of Diamonds State Park made for a busy week last week at the park, one of the only places in the world where the public can search for diamonds in their original volcanic source.

Serendipity diamond next to quarter for scale

Photo Essay: Branches in Time

Leita Spears

Historic Washington State Park in southwest Arkansas is well known as a historic village filled with preserved 19th-century homes and buildings. Besides these structures, you can also walk through town and explore a unique collection of living witnesses to the history of Washington: its many historic and champion trees.

Giant magnolia tree at Historic Washington State Park

Rivers as Transportation