Coming in at 12,056 acres of scenic lakefront and incredible Ozarks land, Hobbs State Park Conservation Area is the largest state park in Arkansas. In fact, it’s so big it’s almost twice as large as Arkansas’s second largest state park, Village Creek. As we all know, quality is a bit more important than size in some matters (I’m looking at you, Texas), and it’s no different with Arkansas’s natural spots. The Natural State’s largest state park deserves to go on the top of your bucket list not because it’s the biggest, but because it’s undeniably awesome.
Hobbs State Park Conservation Area is located at 20201 East Highway 12 in Hindsville.
The lakefront acreage of Hobbs State Park isn’t on just any lake. It’s on Beaver Lake, which is one of the most popular lakes in the Natural State.
Flickr/Granger Meador
In fact, out of the 60-mile border of Hobbs State Park, 22 of those miles are on the totally picturesque shores of Beaver Lake.
Flickr/Granger Meador
Hobbs State Park has an enormous interpretive center that contains learning opportunities focused on both the park and the Ozarks.
Yelp/Jeff R.
It has classrooms, exhibits, and interactive kiosks where you can learn everything you want to know about the park.
Flickr/Farther Along
Like any awesome state park, Hobbs has several scenic trails you can enjoy.
Flickr/Farther Along
The trails are all incredibly gorgeous and each has its own special appeal. From a lakefront experience to following a natural spring, what all the trails have in common is that they lead you through gorgeous forested land.
Flickr/Granger Meador
It isn’t only about scenic views and gorgeous trails at Hobbs State Park. They’ve also got a good dose of history. The Van Winkle Trail includes a pedestrian tunnel that goes under Highway 12.
Flickr/Granger Meador
Van Winkle Trail will lead you to the ruins of a historic antebellum lumber mill dating from the 1840s . . .
Flickr/Granger Meador
. . . as well as the ruins of a blacksmith shop, a spring house, and a garden terrace.
Flickr/Granger Meador
While it’s cool that Hobbs State Park Conservation Area is the largest state park in Arkansas, that’s not why you should put it at the top of your bucket list.
Flickr/Granger Meador
You should make it a priority to go there because Hobbs State Park has everything you could possibly want from a state park: lakefront views, densely forested trails, and a rich, well-preserved history.
Yelp/Alysa J.
For an Arkansas bucket list you need to print out and keep, click here. For another state park you need to explore, check this out.
Flickr/Granger Meador
Yelp/Jeff R.
Flickr/Farther Along
Yelp/Alysa J.
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