New construction planned for Lake Fort Smith State Park

Bids for a new lodge and dining hall at Lake Fort Smith Park could go out this summer, with construction taking about one year after bid acceptance, according to Greg Butts.

Butts, the director of Arkansas State Parks for the Arkansas Parks & Tourism Department, spoke Friday morning (May 1) as part of the “First Friday” breakfast speaker series managed by the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. The city of Fort Smith sponsored the May 1 breakfast.

In introducing Butts, Deputy City Administrator Ray Gosack said the new park built around the Lake Fort Smith expansion is an example of collaboration between city and state officials on a “regional quality of place project.” Fort Smith contributed $12 million to the initial park cost of $22 million, Gosack said.

In addition to the planned construction of a new lodge and dining hall adjacent to the existing 32-bed lodge, Butts said additional walking trails are in the works. He also expressed hope that funding for 10 cabins at the park would be made available within the next two fiscal years.

The cost estimate for the new lodge and dining hall is $3 million.

Also important to the Fort Smith region’s tourism economy is Mount Magazine State Park, Butts noted. The newly opened grand lodge and cabins there have proven popular with state and national tourists. Butts said the annual occupancy rates in the lodge and cabins are 72% and 74%, respectively.

“For anyone in the hotel business, they would really like those numbers,” Butts said.

He said an effort is underway to “provide more things for people to do” while at Mount Magazine, including adding horseback riding tours and spa treatments.

Arkansas’ 52 state parks — sitting on 54,146 acres — recorded 9 million visitors generating an economic impact of $260 million in fiscal year 2008, Butts said, and noted that the new (park reopened May 2008) Lake Fort Smith State Park attracted visitors from 36 states during its first year of operation.

Link here for a video documenting the 75-year anniversary of the Arkansas State Park system.