Arkansas State Parks Trip Ideas

Chris Adams

Learn the history of this cabin that once housed the supervisors of the Royston plantation. Explore the saddlebag design, the art of chinking, and the contrast between frontier life and the grandeur of Greek Revival homes. Click the link to learn more.

Find two August birthstones at Crater of Diamonds State Park

Sarah Reap

Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! Rockhounds often have a special connection with their birthstones. The diamond search area at Crater of Diamonds State Park is a good place to find many birthstones, most notably diamonds—the birthstone for April—but also peridot and spinel, which are birthstones for August.

Find two August birthstones at Crater of Diamonds State Park

Arkansas State Parks: A Park for Everyone

Zoie Clift

Arkansas has one of the top state park systems in the nation and these destinations, which are open year-round and free to enter, can be found across the state in a range of landscapes.

A bicentennial year for Washington, Arkansas

Zoie Clift

This year is a bicentennial year for Washington, Arkansas.

The 1874 Hempstead County Courthouse at Historic Washington State Park.

Arizona man finds two-carat diamond at Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park

Waymon Cox

There is nothing better than memories made while spending quality time with family. For Will and Marshall Barnett, of Buckeye, AZ, a recent father-and-son trip to Arkansas’ famous Crater of Diamonds State Park resulted in the story of a lifetime and the second-largest diamond registered so far this year.

Arizona man finds two-carat diamond at Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park

Walking in Mud at Crater

Waymon Cox

Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! On muddy days at the Crater, lots of people visit and leave with mud-caked shoes, tools, and kids. Visitors often don’t realize how muddy the search area becomes when it rains. Understanding how rain affects the diamond-bearing soil and how to navigate the muddy search area can be helpful when searching for diamonds.

mud puddle at Crater of Diamonds State Park

Petit Jean State Park Dr. T.W. Hardison Visitor Center

The Dr. T.W. Hardison Visitor Center welcomes visitors to Petit Jean State Park. The newly constructed building, which provides space for camper registration, interpretive exhibits, meetings, special events, and staff offices, is named for the man whose vision for Petit Jean State Park brought about its creation as the cornerstone in the system of Arkansas State Parks.

Petit Jean State Park Dr. T.W. Hardison Visitor Center Statue

Tips for Finding Diamonds on the Surface

Waymon Cox

Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! One of the easiest ways to find diamonds here is surface searching. Many of the large diamonds people hear about in the news are found on the surface of the plowed search area. As a result, people often have the misconception that most of our diamonds are found this way. While several diamonds are found on top of the ground...

Diamond on surface at Crater of Diamonds State Park

7 Staycations at Arkansas State Parks