Arkansas State Parks Trip Ideas Park Arkansas Post Museum Bull Shoals - White River Cane Creek Conway Cemetery Cossatot River [X] Crater of Diamonds Crowley's Ridge Daisy Davidsonville DeGray Lake Resort Delta Heritage Trail Devil's Den Hampson Museum Historic Washington State Park Hobbs State Park Conservation Area Jacksonport Lake Catherine Lake Charles Lake Chicot [X] Lake Dardanelle Lake Fort Smith Lake Frierson Lake Ouachita Lake Poinsett Logoly Louisiana Purchase Lower White River Museum Mammoth Spring Millwood Mississippi River Moro Bay Mount Magazine Mount Nebo Museum of Natural Resources Ozark Folk Center Parkin Archeological Petit Jean Pinnacle Mountain Plantation Agriculture Museum Plum Bayou Mounds Poison Spring Powhatan Courthouse Prairie Grove Battlefield Queen Wilhelmina Village Creek White Oak Lake Withrow Springs Woolly Hollow Region Central Lower Delta North Central Northwest Southwest Upper Delta Park Activity Boating / Marinas Diamond Digging Fishing Geocaching Hiking Kayaking / Canoeing Mountain Biking Road Cycling Snorkeling / Scuba Diving Swimming Watchable Wildlife Trail Type Day Hikes Trail Difficulty Easy Author Arkansas State Parks Staff Jason Baumgartner Megan Ayres Moore Meg Matthews Monika Rued Sarah Reap Sasha Bowles Tayler Markham Waymon Cox Zoie Clift Date Published May 2025 August 2024 July 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 December 2022 November 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 February 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 September 2017 June 2017 May 2017 December 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 March 2016 Pagination Previous page ‹ Previous Page 6 Next page Next › Creative Contraptions for Discovering Diamonds Mar 2021 ⁄ Waymon Cox Since the park has suspended mining equipment rentals during the pandemic, most visitors now bring their own tools from home or from one of the local businesses and individuals who rent and sell mining equipment. Buckets, shovels, and screens are the most common tools of the trade, but it's interesting to see other unique gear people bring to help them find diamonds. Plowing the Search Area Mar 2021 ⁄ Waymon Cox Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! We've had beautiful weather over the past few days, and hundreds of people have come to search for diamonds during early March spring breaks. After a wet start to winter, the weather has stayed dry long enough for us to plow part of the diamond search area for the first time this year. Each spring we get lots of questions about... Trail of Tears Across Arkansas State Parks Mar 2021 ⁄ Sasha Bowles Arkansas has hundreds of miles of the Trail of Tears, and of the nine states traversed by the trail, is the only state that witnessed the removal of all five of the Southeastern tribes as they moved west. Arkansas State Parks has five parks that lie along these removal routes. These parks have been certified as National Park Service Trail of Tears National Historic Trail... Looking Forward to Spring at the Crater Feb 2021 ⁄ Waymon Cox Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! With warmer temperatures in the forecast, it’s hard to believe we experienced record-breaking cold just last week. Ten inches of snow fell at the park, but not even that stopped a few hardy folks from trying their hardest to find a diamond. One visitor braved two of the coldest days to wet sift on the south end of the search... Video: The West Drain Feb 2021 ⁄ Waymon Cox One of Arkansas' most unique natural attractions is Crater of Diamonds State Park. Located in Murfreesboro, this site hosts thousands of visitors each year. A volcanic pipe erupted here around 100 million years ago, bringing diamonds to the surface. Today, park guests search for their own genuine diamonds in a 37.5-acre plowed field atop the volcanic crater. In addition to... Video: Cruising Lake Dardanelle Feb 2021 ⁄ Megan Ayres Moore Exploring Lake Dardanelle by boat allows you to surround yourself in the beauty of the Arkansas River Valley, an area that a wide variety of wildlife depends on for survival. These waters are home to an array of aquatic species, with a multitude of other animals in the forests surrounding the lake, and skies overhead. Lake Dardanelle State Park sits along the shores of 34... More Than 80 Carats of Diamonds Discovered in Arkansas During Record-Breaking Year Jan 2021 ⁄ Waymon Cox Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! 2020 was a great year for diamond finds at the Crater. Despite the many changes brought on by COVID-19, more than 129,000 people visited the park in search of diamonds. Following is a recap of diamond finds for 2020, including some of the most memorable discoveries. What to Expect This Winter at the Crater of Diamonds State Park Dec 2020 ⁄ Waymon Cox Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! Winter officially returned as of Monday, December 21, and will continue until March 20, 2021. With wide-ranging temperatures over the past couple of weeks, many of us are wondering what kind of winter we’ll have this year. Looking at previous winters and considering recent weather trends may give us a good idea of what to... Hiking With Man’s Best Friend Nov 2020 ⁄ Megan Ayres Moore Lake Dardanelle State Park, located in Russellville, Arkansas, provides a quiet and relaxing setting to enjoy the outdoors with the entire family, including man’s best friend. The park features a large amount of pet-friendly space including open grassy fields, picnic areas, and the Meadowbrook Trail, an easy ¾-mile walk through a wooded section of the park. Responsibly... Visitor Finds 4.49-Carat Diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park Nov 2020 ⁄ Monika Rued It was all treat, no trick this Halloween for Steven McCool of Fayetteville, Ark., at Crater of Diamonds State Park. The 34-year-old found the third-largest diamond of the year. He found a 4.49-carat yellow diamond. Pagination Previous page ‹ Previous Page 6 Next page Next ›
Creative Contraptions for Discovering Diamonds Mar 2021 ⁄ Waymon Cox Since the park has suspended mining equipment rentals during the pandemic, most visitors now bring their own tools from home or from one of the local businesses and individuals who rent and sell mining equipment. Buckets, shovels, and screens are the most common tools of the trade, but it's interesting to see other unique gear people bring to help them find diamonds.
Plowing the Search Area Mar 2021 ⁄ Waymon Cox Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! We've had beautiful weather over the past few days, and hundreds of people have come to search for diamonds during early March spring breaks. After a wet start to winter, the weather has stayed dry long enough for us to plow part of the diamond search area for the first time this year. Each spring we get lots of questions about...
Trail of Tears Across Arkansas State Parks Mar 2021 ⁄ Sasha Bowles Arkansas has hundreds of miles of the Trail of Tears, and of the nine states traversed by the trail, is the only state that witnessed the removal of all five of the Southeastern tribes as they moved west. Arkansas State Parks has five parks that lie along these removal routes. These parks have been certified as National Park Service Trail of Tears National Historic Trail...
Looking Forward to Spring at the Crater Feb 2021 ⁄ Waymon Cox Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! With warmer temperatures in the forecast, it’s hard to believe we experienced record-breaking cold just last week. Ten inches of snow fell at the park, but not even that stopped a few hardy folks from trying their hardest to find a diamond. One visitor braved two of the coldest days to wet sift on the south end of the search...
Video: The West Drain Feb 2021 ⁄ Waymon Cox One of Arkansas' most unique natural attractions is Crater of Diamonds State Park. Located in Murfreesboro, this site hosts thousands of visitors each year. A volcanic pipe erupted here around 100 million years ago, bringing diamonds to the surface. Today, park guests search for their own genuine diamonds in a 37.5-acre plowed field atop the volcanic crater. In addition to...
Video: Cruising Lake Dardanelle Feb 2021 ⁄ Megan Ayres Moore Exploring Lake Dardanelle by boat allows you to surround yourself in the beauty of the Arkansas River Valley, an area that a wide variety of wildlife depends on for survival. These waters are home to an array of aquatic species, with a multitude of other animals in the forests surrounding the lake, and skies overhead. Lake Dardanelle State Park sits along the shores of 34...
More Than 80 Carats of Diamonds Discovered in Arkansas During Record-Breaking Year Jan 2021 ⁄ Waymon Cox Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! 2020 was a great year for diamond finds at the Crater. Despite the many changes brought on by COVID-19, more than 129,000 people visited the park in search of diamonds. Following is a recap of diamond finds for 2020, including some of the most memorable discoveries.
What to Expect This Winter at the Crater of Diamonds State Park Dec 2020 ⁄ Waymon Cox Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! Winter officially returned as of Monday, December 21, and will continue until March 20, 2021. With wide-ranging temperatures over the past couple of weeks, many of us are wondering what kind of winter we’ll have this year. Looking at previous winters and considering recent weather trends may give us a good idea of what to...
Hiking With Man’s Best Friend Nov 2020 ⁄ Megan Ayres Moore Lake Dardanelle State Park, located in Russellville, Arkansas, provides a quiet and relaxing setting to enjoy the outdoors with the entire family, including man’s best friend. The park features a large amount of pet-friendly space including open grassy fields, picnic areas, and the Meadowbrook Trail, an easy ¾-mile walk through a wooded section of the park. Responsibly...
Visitor Finds 4.49-Carat Diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park Nov 2020 ⁄ Monika Rued It was all treat, no trick this Halloween for Steven McCool of Fayetteville, Ark., at Crater of Diamonds State Park. The 34-year-old found the third-largest diamond of the year. He found a 4.49-carat yellow diamond.