jacksonport state park

We drove to Jacksonport State Park to see trees that were planted in memory of a family member. We also took time to run around, play on the playground and just enjoy the fresh air and family time.

We stopped at Jacksonport State Park on the drive down to Little Rock from Jonesboro. Nice State Park, not too far off the highway and easy to find, good stop to break up the drive. It was a gray day in January. There's an old courthouse, and some info on its significance, though there could be more. The park is along the river and the river waters were very high, so walking along the river we saw a lot of cool things, and just neat geography.

I am sure we barely touched the surface of what Jacksonport State Park has to offer, but it was a good "pull over" for us to stretch our legs during our summer road trip. We saw a small wedding taking place under the pavilion (over looks the "beach" and lake area), many campers set up on the camp site and shared the playground with other locals. I was very impressed with the clean bathrooms outside (they are built up several stories - the kids had a blast running up the large, winding ramps!) and the condition of the playground. I'm sure it is a local favorite.

One of the stops on the Arkansas Civil War trail was the old port city of Jacksonport. During the war it was important to both Confederate and Federal forces and the site of the surrender of Confederate troops in the northern part of the state in 1865. I was under the impression that there were more buildings making up the park, but the only one of importance was the courthouse that was built after the war and later restored after falling into ruin. There are a collection of bells from different buildings that once existed in the park and a monument to the Jacksonport Guards who served in the eastern theater of the Civil War. On the banks of the Black River there had been a steamboat that worked the river in the 1930's but it is no longer there. It had sunk twice and burned. It was sold and moved and at last news it had been bought to be restored as a restaurant in Batesville. The park is interesting and worth a stop, but not a long trip to see. We could not go inside for some reason that wasn't explained. The staff of the park are helpful and interesting. We seemed to be the only visitors in several days.

my children had a blast even though it was cold!! The river was beautiful the people who worked in the park store was nice, and the museum was beautifully crafted!

We visited Jacksonport to have our Arkansas Civil Way passports stamped. The grounds are beautiful, the exhibits in the Courthouse are very well done and organized (especially the kids area, lots of hands on), and the Civil War memorial is very nice. Make sure to drive through the remainder of the park to see the river. Additionally, Kimberly, who helped us around the Park, was a wonderful guide, we thoroughly enjoyed her tour.

We had our family reunion at the park. We rented the pavilion for the day. We had a lot of space, tables and 2 large grills. We all had a great time. The staff at the park was very helpful. Pavilion was right next to the bathrooms. Couldn't have asked for a better location.

Jacksonport is in a part of the State that you could visit several State Parks in one day.

We went to the web site and looked forward to riding the paddle boat, however upon arrival found that it had sunk several years ago. The staff were great and we enjoyed the tour of the old courthouse.