Best Tips For The 52 Arkansas State Parks Challenge

If you plan on participating in the 52 Arkansas State Park Challenge, stay tuned for the lessons we learned and some tips + tricks to get the most out of your Challenge!

During one of our early park visits, we came across the Arkansas State Parks Challenge and the free passport book by accident. My boyfriend and I knew immediately that we were going to take the challenge!

The challenge? Visit all 52 Arkansas State Parks, getting a stamp in the passport book at each stop. FUN!! We had only visited 1 or 2 parks together at that time. So we decided to start fresh and see all 52 parks. Together.

“A couple who travels together, grows together.”

AHMAD FUADI

Even more challenging, we found a scratch-off poster that encouraged visiting all of the parks in a year. 52 Arkansas State Parks. 52 weeks in a year. That’s quite an average of parks to visit. 1 a week. But we were confident we could do it!

(Some of the product links on this website are affiliate links of which Sunrises2Sunsets receives a small commission from sales, at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases)

We started at the end of October 2022 (10 months into dating). Did we finish in a year? NOPE. We took 1 year and 5 months to complete the challenge. But that’s okay. We actually recommend you DON’T do it all in a year. Here’s why…

Arkansas State Parks Challenge Tip 1

You must DO something at each park.

We made this a rule for our visits. Some of the park rangers we spoke with told us of many people who would quickly pull in the parking lot, run inside for the passport stamp, and leave. While this does accomplish the purpose of getting a stamp, it defeats the purpose of the Arkansas State Parks Challenge- to see and explore Arkansas Parks.

Some of the parks are large and could easily keep you occupied for a week (Petit Jean State Park, Hobbs State Park). Other parks are very small and only require a short walk or look (Herman Davis State Park, Louisianna Purchase State Park).

There’s always something to do at each park, even the small ones: talk to a park ranger, read about the park’s history, or take a walk around. Just find something!

We tried to spend at least a day at each park that had enough activity to fill a day. But that had to be balanced with our time available and how far we had to travel. Coming from NWA, some of the parks are a 5-hour drive, requiring multiple parks to be visited in a weekend.

If you try to see all 52 parks in a year, you will feel rushed and not get the full experience of each park.

---

---

Arkansas State Parks Challenge Tip 2

Strategically plan the general scope of your trips ahead of time.

One mistake we made was seeing all of the parks closest to us first and then slowly working our way out, further from home. The downfall of this is when we were left with the state parks furthest away, we had a solid 4 or 5-hour drive back home with no park stops because we had already seen all of the other ones on our path home. Save a few of those closer parks for the drive home on later trips!

Arkansas State Parks Challenge Tip 3

Be familiar with the parks.

It takes some initial planning, but sectioning the parks into groups of 4-5 for a long weekend trip worked well for us. If you know a little about the parks, it can be easier to group them.

For instance, don’t group 4 large parks together to see in one weekend. Instead, mix it up with 1 or 2 medium/large parks that have plenty of activities, and then 2-3 parks that are historical landmarks or museums that may take 1-2 hours to explore to the fullest.

Arkansas State Parks Challenge Tip 4

Camp at as many parks as you can.

All Arkansas State Parks are free to enter, but you must pay to camp. Although, in comparison, the camping costs are less than most other accommodations. We travel in a camper van and always book Class B sites when possible. It is a great deal at just $28 per night.

In off season (winter), camping is easy and doesn’t always need to be booked ahead of time. But, it’s a good idea to book ahead a day or 2 in semi-season and a week or 2 in advance for prime season. Camping is offered in 33 of the state parks.

Arkansas State Parks Challenge Tip 5

Know the seasons and geography of Arkansas.

Knowing the seasons of Arkansas and what weather to expect can help make the state park visits more enjoyable.

Summers get hot and humid. It can be hard to enjoy the hiking parks (central and northwest) in 100-degree weather.

In super cold weather, you don’t want to explore the lake parks with only water activities.

During the rainy season, stay out of the flat plains of the far south and delta regions that may flood and limit your access.

One of our far south trips occurred right after 5 days of rain had flooded out 3 parks. Luckily we had our kayaks and took advantage of the excess water at 1 of them. Without the kayaks, we would not have been able to access the park stamp.

Final Thoughts on our Arkansas State Parks Challenge

We made it. And we are still dating (yah!). We explored more of the state than I have seen in my 42 years of living here.

Was it worth it? Absolutely!!

My favorite part of the state? Anywhere in the Ozarks. I am a sucker for bluffs, beautiful overlooks and waterfalls!

My least favorite part of the state? The plains. Driving across flat farmland is boring.

My favorite Arkansas discovery? Cypress trees! I have seen photos, but kayaking through Cypress trees was amazing (check out Old Town Lake near Delta Heritage Trail State Park).

What I learned? Arkansas has incredibly diverse geography. IT stands out among the other states because there are 5 geographical regions within the state– the Ozark Plateau, the Arkansas River Valley, the Ouachita Mountains, the West Gulf Coastal Plain, and the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain. Depending on the source, Crowley’s Ridge is sometimes included as a sixth region. Each region has its own features that make it special.

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Arkansas State Parks Challenge: Breakdown of the Parks

This may be too much information if you are just starting or looking for tips. But if you are ready to start planning, here is what the parks are composed of…

(There’s a full list of Arkansas State Parks at the end of this article!!)

Mountains: Devil’s Den, Mount Magazine, Mount Nebo, Petit Jean, Pinnacle, Queen Wilhelmina, Ozark Folk Center

Archeology: Davidsonville Historic, Hampson Archeological Museum, Historic Washington, Parkin Archeological, Petit Jean, Plum Bayou Mounds Archeological

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Structures: Crowley’s Ridge, Devil’s Den, Lake Catherine, Mount Nebo, Petit Jean

Historic Buildings: Crowley’s Ridge, Devil’s Den, Jacksonport, Lake Catherine, Mammoth Springs, Mount Nebo, Parkin Archeological, Petit Jean, Powhatan Historic, Prarie Grove Battlefield, Woolly Hollow

Historic Towns and Trees: Davidsonville Historic, Historic Washington, Jacksonport, Louisiana Purchase, Powhatan Historic

Museums: Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources, Arkansas Post Museum, Hampson Archeological, Historic Washington, Jacksonport, Lower White River Museum, Mammoth Springs, Parkin Archeological, Plantation Agricultural, Plum Bayou Mounds Archeological, Powhatan Historic, Prarie Grove Battlefield

Civil War: Historic Washington, Jacksonport, Jenkins Ferry Battleground, Mark Mills Battleground, Poison Springs Battleground, Prairie Grove Battlefield

Lakes + Rivers (a large portion of activities involve water): Bull Shoals-White River, Cane Creek, Cossatot River, Daisy, DeGray Lake Resort, Lake Catherine, Lake Charles, Lake Chicot, Lake Dardanelle, Lake Fort Smith, Lake Frierson, Lake Ouachita, Lake Poinsett, Millwood, Mississippi River, Moro Bay, White Oak Lake, Woolly Hollow

Camping: Bull Shoals, Cane Creek, Cossatot River, Crowley’s Ridge, Daisy, Davidsonville, Degray Lake, Delta Heritage Trail, Devil’s Den, Hobbs, Jacksonport, Lake Catherine, Lake Charles, Lake Chicot, Lake Dardanelle, Lake Fort Smith, Lake Frierson, Lake Ouachita, Lake Poinsett, Logoly, Millwood, Mississippi River, Moro Bay, Mount Magazine, Mount Nebo, Petit Jean, Queen Wilhelmina, Village Creek, White Oak Lake, Withrow Springs, Woolly Hollow

---

---