Devil's Den State Park - West Fork, Arkansas - Park

Devil's Den State Park is located at West Arkansas Highway 74 in West Fork, Arkansas. It can be reached by travelling eight miles south of Fayetteville on I-540 to Exit #53 then go 17 miles southwest on Arkansas 170. Plenty of information about the park can be obtained from the Visitor Center, which opens throughout the year from 8am to 5pm, except between May 22 and September 5 when it is open until 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

The 2,500 acre park features an eight acre lake formed by the dam and is an attractive spot for anglers, campers and hikers. It is a fine place to watch wildlife with many varieties of birds, mammals and reptiles living here. The park brochures will show some good viewing areas for visitors to see things like groundhogs, beavers, vultures, ducks, deer, songbirds, foxes and armadillos as well as many others.

There are numerous camping areas at the park including three accessible ones and they vary in terms of available facilities. In total there are 146 sites, many of which have electrical, water and sewer hook-ups and there is a horse camp located near the riding trails that weave through the Ozark National Forest. Horses cannot be hired here so visitors will have to bring their own and ensure they make reservations well in advance.

For visitors wishing to camp or backpack at the park, but who don't have the necessary equipment there is a service here rents out the necessary items. Campers and other visitors are well catered for during the summer with a cafe located in the park, which opens for breakfast and lunch. There is also a gift shop and store overlooking the lake, where camping and picnic supplies can be purchased.

As well as the campground visitors also have the choice of an overnight stay at one of the 17 cabins located near the stream. These have one, two or three bedrooms as well as fully equipped kitchens and nice stone fireplace to keep the cabin warm. Each cabin is furnished with bath/shower, sofa bed, television, microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker and ironing facilities amongst many other things.

Various trails are located at the park offering different sights and sounds with booklets and maps available from the Visitor Center. The Butterfield Hiking Trail is a 15 mile looped backpacking trip providing splendid photo opportunities of views such as Blackburn Creek. One of the most popular trails is the Devil's Den self guided trail of about one and a half miles, which takes in caves, waterfalls and sights of the park wildlife.

There is also a cross country mountain bike trail here of 3 to 15 miles with different types of terrain to negotiate such as hills, dirt tracks and creek crossings. There are three horse trails here, the easiest of which is the Old Road Trail although it does require crossing Highway 170 at two stages. There are a few other trails here too and after a long walk visitors can cool down it the park swimming pool.