Bull Shoals and White River State Park, North Arkansas

Mark and I decided to spend our spring doing a tour of a few Arkansas State Parks. This week Bull Shoals. I grew up in Mountain Home and I can’t tell you the flood of memories from the massive hours that I spent water skiing on lake bull shoals with high school friends. It was great place to grow up. 

If you have never visited the Mountain Home area and you enjoy the outdoors…you should. Mountain Home sits between two huge lakes - Norfork and Bull Shoals. Cotter, a little town that sits right on the White River, is considered the Trout Capital of the US. 

Guides and boats are available and everyone has been catching their limit. 

Gaston’s is a great place for breakfast or an afternoon beer. And if you have kids or just want a fun stop, the Bull Shoals Caverns are close. 

The big bluff trail is a super easy hike that takes you through thick trees with huge climbing vines. And you reach a bench the looks out over the river and you have a perfect view of eagles trolling the river for meals. 


We hit up Rapps Brewing for a beer and lunch grub. 

The visitors center is really beautiful. 

Ruby has had a great time, too. 

The weather and relaxation has been spectacular! 

Lake Fort Smith State Park - Mountainburg,AR

Our first RV outing of 2023. Time for some R&R, checking out the RV for any issues from winter storage, exploring a state park that we hadn’t visited and enjoying some amazing spring weather. 

Lake Fort Smith State Park campground is relatively small with only 30 sites. But it has some amazing amenities. A pool, the cleanest bathhouse that I have ever been in at a state park in any state, beautiful visitors center and is part of the 175 mile Ozark Mountains Trail system. Great hiking. RV sites are spread out so far that you can’t see your neighbors. 

The dogwood trees are abundant and in full bloom. 

We hiked, enjoyed our new solo stove and wore our pup out. I would highly recommend visiting this state park.