Hobbs Hopes Expansion Builds Name Recognition

When it comes to state parks in Northwest Arkansas, Mark Clippinger gives the Devil its due.

Devil’s Den near West Fork is probably the most well-known, but a $4 million visitor’s center, expanded workshops and recreation opportunities at Hobbs State Park are geared toward making the area a more popular destination.

Around 10 miles east of Rogers on Arkansas Highway 12 bordering the southern shore of Beaver Lake, the 12,000-acre Hobbs is the largest state park and features more than 30 miles of hiking and mixed-use trails and a public shooting range.

Clippinger, the superintendent at Hobbs and a 20-year veteran at the park, said 17,000 people used the trails and 5,000 visited the shooting range in 2007.

The number of hikers and mountain bikers taking advantage of the trail system was up “a couple thousand” from 2006.

“We’ve been getting a lot of attention,” he said of the 17,000-SF Hobbs Visitor Center project designed by pB2 Architecture & Engineering of Rogers and built by Milestone Construction Inc. of Springdale.

“It will help get the name ‘Hobbs’ out there. Those who have been around this area for some time are well acquainted with it, but it definitely doesn’t have the name recognition of Devil’s Den when it comes to all the new people moving to the area.”

Four trails ranging from one-half to 17 miles are currently available, and the longest, the Hidden Diversity Trail, will add another four miles this year open to hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders.

Other plans once the center opens in August will include 14 different workshops ranging in cost from $25 to $50 offering education on use of map and compass, GPS, beginning backpacking, kayaking and canoeing and photography.

Clippinger said the classes will target people “who don’t know anything” but want to get involved in outdoor recreation. Classes will teach basics like how to pack gear, how to carry a load and what kind of clothes to wear.

With a chance to learn how to kayak or canoe, people will be more likely to purchase their own once they build confidence, he said.

Educational opportunities for groups of elementary age students will be expanded and Hobbs has also requested funding for two 28-foot party barges to offer sunrise and sunset tours on Beaver Lake in the summer and eagle watch tours in the winter.

The shooting range has undergone a $450,000 renovation and a “lead capture” system has replaced the previous dirt floor. Last year the range collected two tons of lead.

Hobbs is the only state park that allows consumptive use, Clippinger said, and the effort to regrow the deer population has been a success with the first turkey permits to be issued this fall (10 adult and 10 youth).

Closing the gates one recent night, Clippinger said he saw 30 deer along the roadside, an uncommon sight just a few years ago. The park issues 150 permits during gun season and 150 permits during muzzle-loader season.

“We’re very proud of the resource management we’ve done here,” Clippinger said. “In a rapidly growing area, there’s a lot of pressure around us. The longterm goal is to protect our resources without leaving disaster behind us.”