State Parks in Northeast Arkansas

My home town is in Pocahontas, Arkansas. Because there is only one Arkansas State Park located in my home town, I decided to cover a few state parks in northeast Arkansas.

A good park to begin with is Old Davidsonville State Park. Old Davidsonville State Park is located at 7953 Highway 166 South in Pocahontas, AR. Contact information for the park is (870)892-4708 or you can email at davidsonville@arkansas.com for more information. The campground and picnic area are open all year. Rest rooms are open from March until November.

Boats may be rented at the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center is open for the entire year 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The exceptions to this schedule are during the months of January, February, and December when the center is open from 8:00 am to 12 pm. May 22 until July 4 have additional hours from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. A 15 foot fishing boat can be rented for an entire day for $15.00 while a half-day is $10.00. Canoes and pedal boats are rented hourly at $5.00 or half hourly at $3.00. A canoe trip including the haul back is $30.00.

Camping rates vary according to season. Class A camps with 50 amps are $22.00 per day during season and $16.50 winter rate. Class B camps with 30 amps are $18.00 per day during season and $13.50 winter rate. Class D camps have no hookups or tent sites and are $11.00 per day during the summer and $8.25 per day during the winter. Overflow areas are $10.00 during the summer and $7.50 during the winter.

The 2 pavilions at Old Davidsonville are available for $60.00 for an entire day. They are screened in but not enclosed.

The atmosphere of Old Davidsonville is difficult to describe. When I arrive at the park, I feel peace. It is almost as though the Old Davidsonville of the early Arkansas territory remains. People fish, canoe, and are able to travel back in time in some way to avoid the current break neck lifestyle we live now. This article will be ten pages long if I list further information about what Old Davidsonville is known for and why I enjoy it so much so please see this article on Old Davidsonville that I wrote several months ago.

Lake Charles was always a fun place to visit when I was a child due to being assured we could go swimming. Other state parks were less likely to allow swimming so Lake Charles was a special treat. Lake Charles is located at 3705 Highway 25 in Powhatan, Arkansas. Further contact information for the park is lakecharles@arkansas.com . A phone number for the park is (870)878-6595.

Lake Charles has many campsites with amenities available. It is possible to rent an RV for $70.00 a day on the weekend, $60.00 a day during the week. The class AAA campsites are $28.00 and $21.00 in winter, the class b is available for $18.00 and $13.50 in the winter. Class B sites have various views-some with water or woods. Various amenities are involved with each option. The website shows some examples of views from the campsites. Lake Charles has activities available such as camping and swimming but also fishing, canoeing, boating, bike riding, a nature center and more. Lake Charles is an extremely active park. If you enjoy swimming, visit the park early in the season because as it goes on the water becomes kind of gross.

Pavilions can be rented for $25.00 per hour, $45.00 per use, and $65.00 per day. A clean up deposit is required. For groups of more than fifty people, an additional fee of $20.00 is required. Interpretative boat tours are given at a charge of $7.00 per adult and $3.50 per child (ages 6-12). Guided kayak tours that last 1 ½ hours are priced at adult $10.00 per person, child (6 through 12) $ 5.00 per person, Children under 6 - when riding tandem with an adult ride for free. Self-guided kayak tours are also available and last about three hours Tandem cost is $15.00 per kayak, solo is $10.00 per Kayak and children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Hours of operation: visitor center open all year, gift shop January- December open on Sundays through Saturdays from 8:00am to 5:00 pm except for Jan., Feb., and Dec. Sat. & Sun. 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and April 24 - July 4 Fri. & Sat. 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. The nature center open during season and you may need to contact the park or visit the visitor center to find out when season hours are. The campground is open all year. The picnic area and restrooms are open from March until November. Swimming is free but there is no life guard so swim at your own risk.

The Powhatan Court House and Powhatan State Park is one of my favorite places to visit during the summer. Contact information is at PO Box 93, Powhatan, Arkansas on Arkansas 25 in Powhatan. I cannot find the actual directions to this location. For more information on where it is located email powhatan@arkansas.com or call (870)878-6765. The court house and state park are located quite near Lake Charles State Park. As a matter of fact, I noticed the courthouse when we were returning from Lake Charles when I was a little girl. It was then that I stopped by to see what was in the unusual looking buildings.

We have a lot of unusual looking buildings in this area of Arkansas due to their age. My hometown of Pocahontas has a courthouse built in the 1870's but this courthouse looked older. The Powhatan courthouse was actually burned but restored to the original design in the 1970's. It is a beautiful and impressive building. Powhatan had a genealogy room when I first visited in the early 1990's. The history of Lawrence County, from where my own county of Randolph was derived is told in exhibits located throughout the courthouse.

Also at Powhatan State Park there is the historic Powhatan jail, an interesting rock building that took my breath away when I visited as a child. Other places of interest in Powhatan State Park are the circa 1850 Ficklin-Imboden House, circa 1887 Commercial Building, and other older buildings that tell the tale of how the Powhatan area was an important port for shipping on Black River over a large territory.

The guided town site tour is $5.00 for adults and $2.50 for children 6-12 years old. Guided tours of individual buildings are also available with the first being $2.00 per adult and $1.00 per each building. Children prices are $1.00 for the first building and .50 each for additional buildings. Family admission (parents and children through age 18) is $12.00. Adult group rates of 15 or more people have $1.00 off these fees with advance notice. Hours of operation are from 8:00am-5:00pm Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1pm-5pm on Sundays. The park is closed Monday (except Monday holidays), New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Eve through Christmas Day.

Old Davidsonville, Lake Charles, and Powhatan are located close enough in distance to visit all three areas in one day if you choose though two or three days would be better so you could enjoy all three areas more fully.

http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/park-finder/

http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/olddavidsonville/

http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/lakecharles/camping/

http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/powhatancourthouse/