The next big thing
Posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008
MOUNTAINBURG — To
understand what Lake Fort
Smith State Park is all about,
guests need only to stride through the front door of the visitor center and out the back to take in the view from the edge of a flagstone overlook. There lies the new Lake Fort Smith, spreading to the north and south within the forested heights of the Boston Mountains. With 1, 400 surface acres and about 18 miles of shoreline, it is three times larger than the old Lake Fort Smith and Lake Shepherd Springs that it replaced after a large-scale dam expansion to increase Fort Smith’s water supply. Though still relatively small, the lake now rates second in size only to Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas. Along the shoreline of a cove below the overlook is a marina, and next to it is a launch ramp and large parking lot where 14 vehicles with attached boat trailers were parked last Thursday morning.
In front of the marina and parking area is a lakeside day-use area with many picnic sites and a large, open-air pavilion.
Clearly, the main focus is fishing and other water sports.
Although the $ 22 million park has been officially open since Memorial Day weekend, the cooler temperatures last week encouraged checking it out at the beginning of a fine season to be outdoors.
The view and facilities from the overlook were only a small part of what the park has to offer.
However, another sight at the overlook provided another aspect of the park’s purpose. A group of junior high students was lined up to take in the views. Already this school year, hordes of others have taken field trips to the park, billed as the “gateway” to the Boston Mountains. As with most major construction projects in the region, the park was built to meet the needs of these young folks, many of whom will grow up to live, work and play in our growing area.
PARK HISTORY Underlying the present purposes is the story of a park with a history of birth, burial and resurrection. Its genesis dates back to the 1830 s and a time of travail associated with the Trail of Tears. Uriah Shepherd was a guide on the trail when he encountered a secluded and fertile valley in the Boston Mountains. It was irrigated by a stream now known as Frog Bayou, and beside it in one spot was a spring flowing with pure, sweet water. Shepherd went home, gathered family and relatives and returned to settle the valley. They came up the Arkansas River in keel boats and then overland along Frog Bayou in mule-drawn wagons to reach the site of the spring.
The community grew and at least subsisted for nearly a century until another period of travail known as the Great Depression in the 1930 s led to the formation of the Works Progress Administration to provide jobs for the unemployed. Most of those jobs in the Ozarks involved the building of parks that survive to this day.
One major project in 1936 brought about the birth of the original Lake Fort Smith Park with the creation of two lakes. The WPA workers built a swimming pool and bathhouse, a boathouse, stone cottages, an arched bridge, picnic areas, bridal paths and stone enclosures around the springs.
State-park status was granted in the late 1960 s, and facilities were refurbished and upgraded for reopening in 1972, but few of those are visible today. That’s because they were buried beneath the expanded dam.
At the park’s new location on the west side of the lake, care was taken to replicate the stone-and-timber architecture of the original structures as closely as possible.
Although the visitor center and its exhibits are relatively modest compared with others around the state, a special feature is a small theater where visitors can watch a film about the history of the park and the surrounding area.
Another special exhibit is a replica of Shepherd Spring showing how it was “captured” with stonework at the time of the WPA project. Water circulating through the replica provides a home for turtles that young visitors can handle.
There is also a full-size replica of a covered wagon of the type the early settlers would have used to reach the valley along Frog Bayou. Additional exhibits focus on the flora and fauna of the Ozark region.
PARK ATTRACTIONS From the visitor center, a road descends to a lower level of the park and the marina, where visitors can rent johnboats, canoes and kayaks, as well as purchase bait and tackle and other supplies for a day on the water. In the day-use area, many choice picnic sites offer expansive views of the lake.
Another road to the side of the dayuse area leads to the park’s Wild Turkey Lodge situated in a private, wooded setting. Reserved for group events, the spacious lodge features a two-story great room with a soaring fireplace at one end and a wall of windows at the other. It can accommodate up to 32 people for overnight stays.
North of the visitor center is an Olympic-size swimming pool and large bathhouse, and there’s a camping area with 30 campsites. Most are shaded and strung out along a forested strip beside the lake. When the leaves are off the trees, about half the campsites will offer views of the lake.
Each site is well-landscaped with rock-bordered pads and terraces. About half were occupied with travel trailers and a couple of tents last week. Bicycles parked outside several trailers indicated biking to be a popular pastime on park roads. For hikers, the park’s main attraction
1 is the new 5 / 2 miles of trail marking the western end of the heralded Ozark Highlands Trail. The trail begins next to the visitor center, skirts the northern end of the lake and proceeds into the hills and hollows of the Ozark National Forest to connect with the original route of the Ozark Highlands Trail. Park interpreter Jay Schneider suggests that hikers desiring a short, roundtrip trek take the trail for 1. 6 miles to the site of the original Shepherd Spring and return.
He also explained that the new park remains a work in progress.
Starting as early as next year, plans call for building cabins, a second lodge and a dining hall next to the Wild Turkey Lodge.
The park’s trail system will also be expanded. “We will build about 12 more miles of trail, nine of which will be used for both hiking and mountain biking,” Schneider said.
The lake won’t be ignored, either. Biologists with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the city of Fort Smith have joined in a two-year study of the lake’s fish and habitat to see what can be done to enhance fishing.
As it stands, in a region blessed with many parks around lakes and along streams, Lake Fort Smith State Park is the next big thing for people looking for new places to enjoy the outdoors. Lake Fort Smith State Park at a glance DESCRIPTION: Recreational facilities are arranged along the western shore of Lake Fort Smith, a 1, 400-acre lake with about 18 miles of shoreline surrounded by the forested heights of the Boston Mountains. LOCATION: Near Mountainburg, about 32 miles south of Fayetteville and 26 miles north of Alma. DIRECTIONS: From Interstate 540, take Exit 29 to Mountainburg, then U. S. 71 north about eight miles to the park entrance. From Fayetteville, visitors also can take U. S. 71 south through West Fork and Winslow to the park entrance. ACTIVITIES: Fishing and water sports, camping, hiking, swimming, picnicking, wildlife-watching and group events. FACILITIES: Visitor center with overlook and exhibits focusing on flora and fauna and history of the area.
Marina where boats, canoes and kayaks can be rented and bait, tackle and other supplies can be purchased.
A shaded loop with 30 campsites, including 20 with full hookups for RVs and 10 with water and electricity. All sites near restrooms with showers.
Olympic-size swimming pool with large bathhouse. Lakeside day-use area with picnic sites, playground and large group pavilion with fireplace. SPECIAL FEATURES: A new, two-story lodge built in a rustic style with a large great room featuring a fireplace at one end and a wall of windows overlooking outdoor decks at the other. The lodge can accommodate up to 32 people. Ozark Highlands Trail begins at the visitor center with 5 1 / 2 miles of new trail that skirts the lake and heads into the Ozark National Forest to connect with older sections of the trail. PROGRAMS: On a varying and seasonal schedule, the park offers workshops and training courses related to many types of outdoors recreation. More information is available by calling (479 ) 369-2469 or e-mailing lakefortsmith@arkansas. com.
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