Cabins coming to Lake Fort Smith State Park
by February 4, 2011 1:03 pm 81 views
The Arkansas Parks & Tourism Commission has approved $2 million for the construction of 10 cabins at Lake Fort Smith State Park — one of the final pieces of the new park built around the Lake Fort Smith expansion.
Richard Davies, director of the Arkansas Parks & Tourism Department, announced the cabin funding Friday (Feb. 4) during the First Friday Breakfast held by the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The park, reopened in May 2008, was a collaboration between the city of Fort Smith and Parks & Tourism officials. Fort Smith contributed $12 million to the initial park cost of $22 million. A new park was necessitated by the expansion of Lake Fort Smith to a 1,400-acre lake, which covered the former park.
When opened, the park features included 30 campsites, a group lodge with kitchenette that can accommodate up to 32 persons, picnic sites, a pavilion, 2,660-square-foot swimming pool with adjacent wading pool and a splash pad, marina with boat rentals, double lane boat launch ramp, hiking trails, playground, and an 8,000-square-foot visitor center with exhibits, meeting/classroom, and an outdoor patio featuring a native stone, wood-burning fireplace and a view towards the lake.
That was followed by the $3 million addition of a second lodge and a dining hall near the 32-bed lodge. Construction on the new lodge and dining hall began in late 2009, with the facilities finished by the summer of 2010.
Bids for design work will soon go out, with construction on the 10 cabins expected to begin by the end of the year. Funding for the cabins comes from the state’s one-eighth cent conservation tax, Davie said.
Parks officials have said the newer cabins and lodges in the Arkansas park system have occupancy rates above 70%.
Arkansas’ 52 state parks — sitting on 54,146 acres — recorded 9 million visitors generating an economic impact of $260 million in fiscal year 2008, the most recent year the impact was researched.