Arkansas State Parks Trip Ideas

More Than Shade Trees at Crater of Diamonds

Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! Most people who have visited the park recognize the search area as an open field with plowed rows about every five feet. Trees scattered throughout the field provide shade from the summer heat, but many of these also enhance the experiences of park visitors in other ways.

A Visitor’s Viewpoint of Diamond Searching

Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! While our staff helps people prepare for diamond searching every day, a visitor’s advice can provide a fresh perspective. I recently spoke with James Armstead and his sister Willie Trice, of Kansas City, Mo., about their visit to Crater of Diamonds, their experiences here, and the guidance they would give other first-time park...

Basic Rock and Mineral Cleaning at Home

Discovering Lamproite at the Crater

Greetings from Crater of Diamonds State Park! Visitors to the Crater of Diamonds can find much more than diamonds here. One of the most common rocks found at the park is also one of the rarest to find beyond the borders of the crater. Lamproite is the volcanic material that erupted from the park’s diamond-bearing pipe around 100 million years ago. Four types of lamproite...

Check Out These 4 Monument Trails in Arkansas

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...

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

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...

Answers to More Common Crater Questions

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.

Walking in Mud at Crater

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.

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.