List of Arkansas state parks

[1] The state parks division of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism is the governing body and operator of all parks, although jurisdiction is shared with other state agencies in a few cases.

The first Arkansas state park, Petit Jean State Park, opened in 1923 following an unsuccessful attempt by a lumber company to donate the Seven Hollows and canyon areas to the federal government as a National Park.

[2] Stephen Mather deemed the parcel too small in 1921, but the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 276, allowing the Commissioner of State Lands to accept donations of land for public use.

The list gives an overview of Arkansas state parks and a brief history of their development since the first park opened in 1923.

State parks range in size from 1 acre (0.40 ha) to 11,744 acres (4,753 ha).

Historic house sits beside a road
A wide river passes between a steep tree-covered hillside and a rocky shoreline, with houses built into the trees and fishermen in a canoe
An orange sunset reflects in a quiet and calm Cane Creek Lake with a timber line on the horizon
A small fenced cemetery with large trees on a flat, green landscape
Sharp rocks jut out from a river in a lush forest
Large tilled field among tall pine trees with several hopeful visitors digging for diamonds
A quiet Lake Ponder viewed through a grove of lush green trees and bushes
Quiet lake surrounded by tall, leafy green trees
Shining blue lake with trees in foreground
Red, green and orange fall foliage surrounds a small bridge spanning a quiet, rocky Lee Creek
Vessel resembling a human head on display at the museum
Granite statue of a young soldier in military uniform standing in front of an obelisk atop a plaque describing his achievements
Original wood courthouse.
Stone bridge with five circular openings allowing a leaf-littered creek to pass through slowly
Large, ornate red brick courthouse sits on a green lawn with a gazebo in the foreground
Battle of Jenkins' Ferry Memorial
The blue waters of Lake Catherine with a tall pine tree-covered point jutting out into it and camp facilities visible on the shore in the background
A bright blue lake with a line of cypress trees along the horizon and puffy white clouds in the equally blue sky
A bright blue lake with a line of trees along the horizon, interrupted only by a cooling tower for the nuclear power plant in Russellville, and puffy white clouds in the blue sky
Shining blue water with the Ozark Mountains rising in the background
Quiet lake with a short wooded point jutting out from the right, with a dark green treeline along the horizon
Aerial view of a calm, shiny blue lake and matriculating around wooded peninsulas covered in green, orange and red foliage
Calm lake surrounded by lush greenery
Small lake surrounded by old growth forest in winter
Monument flooded swamp water surrounded by large, kneed cypress trees
A tan metal building with green trim with a carved wooden sign with the park's name
A flat, green, agricultural field with a rising Mount Nebo in the background.
A historic market with red roof with a wooden "Ozark Folk Center" sign.
The primary mound, a steep, grass covered rise on an otherwise flat plain
View into a river valley from a rock outcropping, with green forest below and blue sky above
Mountain rises from a flat floodplain
Two old buildings, the left an ornate brick façade in the Georgian style, the right a lean-to housing old, iron farm equipment
Two burial mounds rise above flat, green grass with a trees in the background.
Historic marker reading "Engagement at Poison Springs" in foreground of a forested area with rustic wooden pavilion in the background.
An old, two-story brick courthouse with third-story bell tower under a starry night sky.
Tall field stone column memorial flanked by United States and Confederate States of America flags surrounded by tall, leafy green trees.
Wooden two-story lodge with green roof, large field stone fireplace, double-decker porch facing a mountain vista.
A dirt trail, a remnant of the Memphis to Little Rock Road, along a depression in the earth, with large trees on either side casting shadows on the path ahead.
A skinny wooden trail continues ahead through a forest.
Historic house sits beside a road