Arkansas, Texas are home to diverse state parks,
Only in Arkansas can you dig for your own diamond and take home what you find.
The Natural State and the Lone Star State are both home to diverse and beautiful state parks.
Crater of Diamonds, a 911-acre state park in Pike County, Ark., is the world’s only diamond-bearing site accessible to the public. The 37.5 acre plowed field has been the site of found diamonds since 1906, including the Strawn-Wagner diamond.
On average, two diamonds per day are found by park visiotrs. Visitors can keep any gem they find, regardless of its value. The site became a state park in 1972 after the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism purchased the site from the Arkansas Diamond Co. and Ozark Diamond Mines Corp., which had previously operated the site as a tourist attraction.
Visitos who want to learn more can continue to the Diamond Discovery Center, which offers a look at prospecting for diamonds. And after a long day of digging, visitors can cool off in the Diamond Springs aquatic playground. Phone—870-285-3113 Address—209 State Park Road, Murfreesboro, Ark. 71958
Webs it e—www. crater of diamonds state park.
Caddo Lake State Park is home to the unique treasure that is Caddo Lake.
Bald cypress trees draped with Spanish moss tower over the maze of bayous, sloughs and ponds of the 26,810-acre Caddo Lake. Visitors can paddle the waterways, stay in a historic cabin or try their luck fishing.
Alligators live in the park; along with more than 70 species of fish in the lake.
Scientists believe Caddo Lake formed when floodwater, blocked by massive log jams on the Red River, backed up into the Cypress Bayou watershed. Caddo Indians settled the land in the late 18th or early 19th century.
Atlanta State Park is nestled in the cool green pineywoods of Northeast Texas and located on picturesque Wright Patman Lake. This large reservoir is ideal for fishing, sailing, boating, water skiing and swimming.
It is located in Cass County, two miles north of Atlanta on U.S. Highway 59
Website—http://tpwd. texas.gov/state-parks/atlanta
Other state parks in Texas and Arkansas include:
Daingerfield State Park
455 Park Road 17 Daingerfield, Texas Call (903) 645-2921
Bob Sandlin
Lake Bob Sandlin State Park is located around Lake Bob Sandlin in Northeast Texas, in the Pineywoods region. The lake lies in Titus, Camp, and Franklin counties, with a small part in the northeast corner of Wood County.
Address: 341 State Park Road 2117, Pittsburg, Texas 75686
Old Washington State Park
Travel back to the 19th century in Historic Washington, Ark. Established on George Washington’s birthday in 1824, the town of Washington today is one of America’s premier historic villages and Historic Washington State Park is a National Register of Historic Places site. It is also home to a blacksmith school. Phone—870-983-2684 Address—103 Franklin, Washington Ark., 71860
DeGray Lake
DeGray Lake Resort State Park is Arkansas only resort state park.
Located near Bismarck, Ark., in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains and nestled along the north shore of 13,800-acre DeGray Lake. The lake is one of the region’s five Diamond Lakes known for their crystal clear waters. DeGray offers all the outdoor adventure and quality of an Arkansas State Park combined with resort-class amenities at one of the finest lodges in the state.
Queen Wilhemina
Queen Wilhelmina State Park is a unit of Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism in the Ouachita Mountains.
The original “Castle in the Sky” lodge was built in 1898 on 2,681-foot Rich Mountain, in Polk County, Arkansas. The park is on Talimena Scenic Drive— northwest of Mena, Ark., and east of the Oklahoma state line. It is the only lodge open on the 235 mile Ouachita Trail. It is also the top state park on the Talihena Parkway. It is located on Arkansas’ second highest peak, Rich Mountain. Phone—479-394-2863 Address—3877 Highway 88, Mena, AR 71953