Arkansas National Parks

Arkansas national parks take you through history to learn about the struggle for land ownership among European countries wishing to establish themselves in the new world, the battles fought for the abolition of slavery, desegregation and civil rights, and historic federal courts. When you've had your fill, relax in the hot springs or meander down free flowing rivers.

Visit these Arkansas National Parks:

Arkansas Post National Memorial: Settled by the French in 1686, the remote "Post de Arkansae" was the first permanent European colony in the Mississippi River Valley and played a valuable role in the long struggle between France, Spain and England for dominance of the lucrative fur trade.

Arkansas Post Weather     Arkansas Post Ratings

Buffalo National River: The Buffalo National River flows free over swift running rapids and quiet pools for its 135-mile length. One of the few remaining rivers in the lower 48 states without dams, the Buffalo cuts its way through massive limestone bluffs traveling eastward through the Arkansas Ozarks and into the White River. Explore the river by canoe or take the back roads into the pioneer history of the Buffalo River.

Buffalo River Weather     Buffalo River Ratings

Central High School National Historic Site: On the morning of September 23, 1957 nine African-American teenagers stood up to an angry crowd protesting integration in front of Little Rock's Central High as they entered the school for the first time. This event, broadcast around the world, made Little Rock the site of the first important test of the U.S. Supreme Court's historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision.

Central High Weather     Central High Ratings

Fort Smith National Historic Site: At Fort Smith National Historic Site you can walk where soldiers drilled, pause along the Trail of Tears, and stand where justice was served. The park includes the remains of two frontier forts and the Federal Court for the Western District of Arkansas.  Judge Isaac C. Parker, known as the "hanging judge," presided over the court for 21 years. 

Fort Smith Weather     Fort Smith Ratings

Hot Springs National Park: People have used the hot springs here for more than two hundred years to treat illnesses and to relax. Both rich and poor came for the baths, and a town built up around the Hot Springs Reservation to accommodate them. Together nicknamed "The American Spa," Hot Springs National Park today surrounds the north end of the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Hot Springs National Park: Geothermal Activity

Hot Springs Weather     Hot Springs Ratings

Pea Ridge National Military Park: On March 7 & 8, 1862, 26,000 soldiers fought here to decide the fate of Missouri. The 4,300-acre park honors those who fought for their way of life, North and South.

Pea Ridge Weather     Pea Ridge Ratings

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail: Come on a journey to remember and commemorate the survival of the Cherokee people despite their forced removal from their homelands in the Southeastern United States in the 1840s.

Trail of Tears Ratings