It was a beautiful morning, perfect for exploring trails along the state park. We drove :30, 2…read moremiles out of Hot Springs. We started in the visitor center with Wi-Fi, maps, and a small gift shop. We followed the trails down to the marina. We passed campsite's & pullouts. Kayaks, paddle boats, pontoon boats are all available. There was a small beach with two people sitting on chairs.

We drove through part of Lake Ouachita State Park in late July 2025…read more Entrance was free. The lake looked clean everywhere we went. I was impressed. Many boaters, some swimmers (with designated areas and beaches even), some fishermen, and hikers scattered this area of Arkansas just outside of Hot Springs. It was fairly hot when we went, but still good fun and beautiful scenery. If time had permitted, I would have liked to take my daughters to Three Sisters Springs and other places. We instead stayed at Echo Canyon which is not technically part of the state park, but exists on Lake Ouachita.

Just finished a week stay at Degray Lake, and am beyond delighted that it was chosen for my first…read morevacation spot. From the moment you turn onto state park road, you can feel the calming and rejuvenating atmosphere. The views of the lake and surrounding areas were breathtaking, as well as all of the wildlife. Every member of the staff were extremely friendly and helpful, it felt as if I was at a good friends house for a week. I'd like to take the time to shout out the restaurant staff, in particular; Gina, Lauren, Shannon Rick and David. Every time we found ourselves in the restaurant we were welcomed with great energy and open smiles that could be felt and seen through the masks, regardless of time of day. It was as if we were regulars at our favorite spot. Would absolutely recommend for anybody trying to take some time to disconnect from daily life and get back in touch with the simpler sides of life.

Came here with some friends while we were out boating and had a great lunch! The food was not…read moreoverpriced by any means, and it was actually pretty good! My fiancé and I both got salads (one Cobb and one chef) and our friends got the gyro and the quesadilla. Neither of us had any complaints, it all came out relatively quickly, and tasted great. Our waitress was slammed (someone called in) but she was very attentive to our needs and brought us refills before we were even finished! Overall we were impressed and glad we decided to stop in instead of bringing sandwiches.

I wanted to be sure to come back and write a review as I couldn't find many newer reviews prior to…read moregoing. I'll start out by saying that the owners were great!!! We originally booked a camp side with electric and water for 2 days and would float on our last full day. We decided to extend our campsite and change our float to the next day AND swap to kayaks Instead of tubes. When we went to the office to make the changes and they were more than happy to help us as if it were no big deal! I also watched the owner down by the river everyday we were there just greeting people and chatting and helping in any way possible. I'm pretty sure I saw him pulling someone's car that had broke down. Just a testament to how helpful they are. The Campsite- my wife and I got site L for 3 days. The owner had just finished mowing the grass as we pulled up and it was very clean and level. I had read one old review that said the electric pole was a hundred feet away or something so I showed up with 5 extension cords. lol to my surprise, the electric pole was right at the side and 10 feet away from our tent! But I was ready. The water spigot was also right behind that so it was all very close. There was a nice fire ring and a camp style grill and the picnic table was in great shape. No one was in the site to our right but there were some folks in the site to our left but there was just enough space that it was no bother. The bathrooms were just a short walk up the hill. There was one men's and one women's restroom that stayed clean the whole time we were there and there were two showers, each in its own individual room. All 4 doors had pin pad knobs so they stayed locked and you needed a code to get in, they didn't give us any issues. The showers were push knobs so you have to hold them to keep water flowing but the temps were good. A little warm for my tastes but my wife loved it. The River- we decided on the kayaks instead of the tubes as we have tubes the river a few times and wanted to check out a little more. Since we were camping at the shuttle site, we just had to jump on a van once we were ready and they took us on a ten minute ride to the river. The driver was very knowledgeable and gave us some good tips. We ultimately floated for about 4 hrs to get back. The river was around 5.3 river level gauge so we did have a few spots where I had to get out but my wife slid right over. Guess I should lose a few pounds hahaha. It's definitely an easy paddle and kid friendly. There were a few spots with some faster moving water but nothing to be alarmed about. All in all it was a great experience. I will say, if you are looking for a quiet, in the woods campsite, this isn't it. It is close to the road so you hear every truck going down the road and those boys in Central Arkansas love their glasspack mufflers! lol but if you are looking for somewhere to camp after floating the river, this place is perfect! You don't have to drive to a shuttle area and then when you get done, you are back at camp. Caddy River Camping & Canoe, you guys are doing a great job!!

Really appreciate Mike giving us a call to give us heads up on inclement weather and gave us chance…read moreto rain check or refund. We didn't and had a blast.

Friends trail Great trail! Easy path to follow, roots and…read morerocks make it unstable for any stroller or wheels. Clean area, the river is beautiful! The path also leads up to a cliff area. Must stop and walk when town. Our 2 year old followed us everywhere on the trail.

What a great time at Beavers Bend State park. It's a beautiful time of year with small crowds. The…read morearea is very accessible from Hochatown. If you are in the area it's worth it to check it out!

I recently visited Hot Springs, Arkansas national Park and me and my family spent several hours…read morethere. We're walking in and out of the bath houses and looking around the area even took some time to ask the gentleman who works for the national parks inside of the main building. Where is some things that we could see around the area? He of course, handed me a map and he said well the best thing we got is right outside the door. There's a fountain outside. For me I was hoping there would be more to that national park than just a few bath houses and a few fountains with hot water now I understand that that is amazing but it definitely under performs as a national park. We did take time to walk around the trails. We did take time to see the other areas, but there's really not much here other than a few hot water springs and some trails to walk on. Now don't let this take away from Hot Springs the city. It is a great city a lot of vibrant shopping in restaurants along Hot Springs. If you're going just to go shopping then you won't be disappointed. There was a lot to do as far as that but from the national Park perspective it was a letdown.

I'm probably going to catch some flak for this because it's not 5 stars, but this was my…read moreexperience... Hot Springs National Park was truly unique. At first I admit I was underwhelmed actually. Then we explored several key features: + Hot Springs Mountain Tower (we drove & didn't go up to the top because we had our dog with us) + Bathhouse Row (viewed everything from outside) + Grand Promenade (dog-friendly path & park area) + Fordyce Bathhouse Visitors Center (dogs not allowed, we found a dog boarder and came back to explore it) The old cranky park ranger that we spoke to inside the Fordyce Center was not friendly at all on 7.21.2025. He was very dismissive and not willing to share any insight beyond the two questions I asked him. Not welcoming. Between my picking up trash scattered throughout the Grand Promenade and his attitude, that's primarily the reason for a star knocked off. It's not operated by the National Park Service, but the Buckstaff Bathhouse is regulated by the NPS. My daughters, ages 12 and 10, really enjoyed a mini spa day there. We bought passes at about 9:30 AM and had no wait. We were out by 11:00 AM. Yes, I recommend you experience this old-fashioned body treatment at least once. There are several wonderful shops and some restaurants within walking distance. On Sunday, metered street parking was free. On Monday, I paid for all-day parking (just a little over $8) in the Exchange Street Parking Plaza garage on Exchange Street. All three of us are highly active, so this was an easy walk for us even in the late July 2025 heat. TIPS + Residents really do fill up every plastic jug they can find at the water fountains. Lol. It's free! There were two cold water springs that I heard about: one at Whittington Park and the other at Happy Hollow. But plenty of folks stopped in front of the NPS Administrative building on Reserve Street. + Don't forget to get your national park passport cancellation stamp inside the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitors Center. It was to the right of the front office when we visited.

Great camp but they are unfair when it comes to photo posting. My kid was there 2 weeks and we…read morewent several days in a row without seeing a single sign of life. Meanwhile, you see the same kids' faces posted multiple times a day. Last year we got 3 blurry background photos, while our neighbor got 65 photos of her kid doing fun activities.

It was fun but i got harassed by a p staff which if you don't know thats like the permanent staff…read morewhich they are supposed to be roll models so this is pretty much crazy but i didn't want to jump off a 50 ft drop thing that looked unstable and this guy named Austin grabbed my hands and was trying to put it on this thing your supposed to grab to jump and i told him and this other girl up there i didn't want to and i clearly could have just gone down you literally go up stairs to get up there but he wouldn't stop and kept pulling me. They were acting like i was getting in trouble for telling them to stop trying to force me off of a drop thing. Kids are supposed to look up to p staff and i honestly don't think this guy should be allowed to work with kids. Everyone told me i should report it to P staff but i was scared to because he was apart of P staff. After i told this story to another counselor she told me shes seen staff literally pick up and throw kids off of this. This whole situation was crazy to ne because this camp was not cheap at all and that made me really uncomfortable and just ruined my experience. Then my coach for tribal comp told me i was doing great and that i was the best player out there then told me me shot was pitiful and that i could stop staring at her like i was "some old grandma" the camp was super fun but a lot of staff there was super rude and should not be working with kids

Lisa was fantastic. The tour was very laid back and we went at the pace that we wanted. She was…read morevery knowledgeable of the area and very easy to talk to. We came across a couple eagles perched on a tree and we were able to hang out by then as long as we liked. If you are in the hot springs area and want to do some kayaking, definitely go with Ouachita Kayak Tours!

What an AWESOME day on the water with Ms. Lisa! She was fantastic with our son, having fun with him…read morethe entire time. She was very patient and made sure we all were comfortable in our kayaks before starting the tour. We had so much fun island hopping, snorkeling, having lunch and lounging in the hammock on our own private island! She is extremely knowledgeable about the lake and shared so many interesting facts about the area. We had an amazing time paddling with Ms. Lisa. Thank you for the memories!

Clean and comfortable - natural beauty sitting just around the bend and over the next hill and…read moreunder the placid water of Lake Catherine! It's fun and easy to reach/enjoy with family friendly opportunities for hiking, fishing, boating, swimming, grilling, camping (cabins available too) - very close to Hot Springs which has a lot of beauty from the National Park in downtown to the lookout tower atop the highest point in downtown - including the natural hot springs which makes this place famous for America's first off season professional baseball camps and the likes of gangsters and movie stars all mingled alongside the everyday persons enjoying the same or hanging out at the horse races. It's a cool place to visit and you'll have a super time at the park - with other states parks and lakes and rivers/hiking and nature all around!

Lake Catherine-- We absolutely love this lake!…read more Although, I felt like things were not labeled as they should have been during the hike of "Falls Creek Falls". There were marks on trees during the hike that were red, white and yellow, but I had no idea what those meant. Maybe this part of town is less touristy and more locals, because people had set up hammocks, and all of their things that they needed for the night/day around the waterfall after the hike. I spoke to a sweet man and woman on a golf cart who seemed to work there, as they were going around and changing papers for the reservations for there were trailers in the parking lot, and they advised us on where to go and park. They did advise us that if you go on the trails, if you go towards the left, the hike is shorter and it's about a 1/2 a mile, and if you go towards the right, it's about a mile and a 1/2 Which is a great tip because, of course, we wanted to take the shorter route. We had a toddler and an elderly person with us, and so we did not want to do a strenuous hike. This hike was just enough for us to feel better adventurous, and like we accomplished something when we got to the falls. The falls were beautiful, and the water looked gorgeous. Although, I did see later on another app, that a lot of times sewer water gets into the falls. Unfortunately, we had decided to take a dip even though we didn't have swim suits just because it looks so refreshing but it's just something to keep in mind. Overall, we would definitely come here again! It looks like a great place to bring lunch and hang out and eat after a great hike!

The state park itself is beautiful. The trails and lake are great. We stayed at the lodge for a…read moreweek. The staff are all friendly and welcoming. The restaurant and staff there were very good. Where it fell short for us was mostly the room. The room was very small, crowded, musty and in extreme need of updating. The bathtub has rust stains, the tile is old and grout is filthy. The carpet in the room is also filthy. There were spiders in the corners of the room. The air system was so loud! The door to the room had gaps so spacious that light from the hall poured in all night and everyone walking by sounded as if they were in the room with us. The chair in the room was stained. You get the point. The elevator safety certification in both elevators expired in 2024. Doesn't instill great confidence. My husband had never been here and I was so excited to share a place I had stayed at several times in my childhood. Unfortunately the experience was a bit of a letdown. There were no activities at all. The outdoor paved walking trail behind the lodge had maybe two of the lights working and the lanterns were filthy. I remember that path being lit so well at night that the frogs would be on the path catching insects that were drawn to the lights. There wasn't a frog to be seen or heard. With some TLC and renovations & perhaps an activities director, this could be a beautiful place to stay again.

Peaceful and relaxing nature. It has multiple entrances to visit from. Picnic areas available with…read moregrill stations.

This is a pretty place to come with the kids, the dogs or just by yourself…read more Lake Willastein is a man-made lake/earthen dam created in 1942 which perhaps why there are several military-looking bunkers spread around. There's a jogging track, a few piers to fish from, a kids playground and hiking trails that lead back into the woods. There's 53 acres to explore and I have been told, an excellent 4th of July fireworks display held by the water.

Love this park, been coming here since I moved to little rock 5 years ago. It's quiet , clean and…read morealways very pretty! My nana & pawpa live nearby to so that's always a plus. Don't miss out! go to the park!!! run , walk or jog don't get fat ! After this great review everybody should be going to the park and working on their fitness!!!