CRAWFORD COUNTY : Splendid setting awaits parkgoers
Posted on Sunday, April 27, 2008
MOUNTAINBURG — The biggest difference between the old Lake Fort Smith State Park and its replacement is the location.
“It’s a spectacular setting,” said Greg Butts, parks director at the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
“The new park is actually on the lake.” Crews were busy working last week to finish construction on various parts of the park.
Butts couldn’t give a firm date on the $ 22 million park’s opening until he received an update from Fort Smith officials on unfinished projects at the 260-acre park. A dedication ceremony, however, is set June 19.
Butts said high gas prices may make the park an economical alternative for family vacations this year.
As-yet incomplete projects include the swimming pool and bathhouse near the visitor center.
Work also continued last week on the visitor center overlook — a mass of stonework, including some salvaged from the old park, that will provide a spectacular view of the expanded lake.
Unlike the flat landscape of the original park, which closed in January 2002, the new one is set on the side of the rugged hillside overlooking the lake. Butts said the rugged location will give visitors a close look at the state’s mountainous beauty and provide a good location for planned hiking trails and mountain bike paths. “It’s a knock-your-socks-off state park,” said Ray Gosack, Fort Smith’s acting co-city administrator.
The park replaces one destroyed when Fort Smith embarked on the $ 180 million expansion of its water supply, previously contained in two reservoirs on Frog Bayou, a portion of Lake Fort Smith and Lake Shepherd Springs. Growing demand for water by Fort Smith and surrounding towns prompted Fort Smith officials to decide on rebuilding Lake Fort Smith Dam, which Gosack said almost tripled Lake Fort Smith’s water storage capacity from 8. 4 billion gallons to 27 billion gallons.
The new dam, completed in summer 2006, stands 190 feet tall, 101 feet higher than the old dam.
Workers dismantled part of the Lake Shepherd Springs dam to allow the two reservoirs to merge. Gosack said Fort Smith and Shepherd Springs lakes had a combined area of 950 acres. The expanded reservoir is nearly 1, 400 acres.
The larger footprint of the new dam loomed over the former park, which covered 95 acres below the old dam and was built during the Great Depression by the Works Progress Administration. Most of its structures, including 15 cabins, were built of stone that gave the facilities a rustic beauty.
Since Fort Smith had to destroy the park to expand its water supply, building a new park from scratch provided officials the opportunity to relocate it to overlook the lake.
Planners chose a spot near the old Lake Shepherd Springs dam on the west side of the lake. A portion of that dam now juts into the lake as a part of a dayuse area.
Fort Smith agreed to pay for the $ 12 million replacement value of the park, with the Parks and Tourism Department chipping in another $ 10 million for amenities.
Designers also have recreated the rustic beauty of the old WPA buildings in structures at the new park through the use of native stonework and vaulted ceilings, wood-paneled walls and massive wooden beams, Butts said.
About 2, 000 square feet of the 7, 900-square-foot visitor center will be devoted to exhibits such as a cutaway of a log cabin, a covered wagon and archeological artifacts excavated from nearby sites before they were inundated by the expanded lake.
It also will have a conference center and meeting rooms ideal for business meetings and retreats, Gosack said.
The park also will feature a 30-bed group lodge at its west end. Butts said other plans include someday building a second lodge and a dining hall. Eventually, he said, officials hope to replace some of the WPA cabins that were lost to the construction of the new dam.
Crews also are building 34 campsites and 15 recreationalvehicle campsites on the park’s east end. The RV campsites will have water, electric and sewer hook-ups. Campsites will have grills, lantern hangers and tent pads. Bathhouses also will be available.
Swimming won’t be allowed in the lake, but there will be other opportunities for water activities. A marina has been built, and various types of watercraft will be available for rent. Butts said interpretive boat tours, an activity growing in popularity in Arkansas, will be offered at times.
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