Lake Frierson State Park is a Arkansas state park on

Crowley's Ridge Crowley's Ridge (also Crowleys Ridge) is a geological formation that rises 250 to above the alluvial plain of the Mississippi embayment in a line from southeastern Missouri to the Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas. It is the most pro ...

in Greene County, eastern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

. Containing a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

built by the Soil Conservation Service, the park entered the system in 1975. The park skirts the

formation and offers fishing as well as hiking, camping, kayaking, and a visitor center. In addition to the recreation opportunities at Lake Frierson, the area is home to a unique blend of forests in the state. Located partially in a forest similar to those found in the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

, the park also contains the oak-hickory forest native to

the Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant porti ...

and a wide variety of rare trees in Arkansas on Crowley's Ridge's northern slopes, including the cucumber tree,

northern red oak ''Quercus rubra'', the northern red oak, is an oak tree in the red oak group (''Quercus'' section ''Lobatae''). It is a native of North America, in the eastern and central United States and southeast and south-central Canada. It has been intro ...

and

tulip tree ''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...

History

In the 1970s, the Soil Conservation Service (now known as Natural Resources Conservation Service or NRCS) constructed ten dams along the western edge of Crowley's Ridge in northeast Arkansas. The ridge is a geological formation that rises above the surrounding flat

Arkansas delta The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...

. A lawyer from Jonesboro named Charles Frierson was instrumental in acquiring the property as a state park. The site officially became a state park when funding was approved by the Arkansas General Assembly in 1975. Although initially only a day-use park, Lake Frierson has grown to a full service park with visitor center and camping facilities.

Recreation

Lake Frierson State Park Paragould AR 04

Camping is available in four class C and three class D campsites on the east side of the lake. Picnic areas are scattered throughout the park, and an air-conditioned and heated pavilion with room for 80 attendees is available for rent. Fishing for bream, catfish, crappie, and bass is available in the timber-filled Lake Frierson. Non-motor fishing boats and pedal boats are available for rent, and bait, fishing and camping supplies and gifts can be purchased at the visitor center. Visitors are also able to hike along the circular Dogwood Lane Trail, a self-guided interpretative trail.

Crowley's Ridge State Park Crowley's Ridge State Park is a Arkansas state park in Greene County, Arkansas in the United States atop Crowley's Ridge. Located on the former homesite of pioneer Benjamin Crowley, the park contains many excellent examples of the work done by ...

is to the south on

Arkansas Highway 141 Highway 141 (AR 141 and Hwy. 141) is designation for two north–south state highways in Northeast Arkansas. The longer segment was created in 1931 and extended throughout the mid-20th century to the current alignment connecting Jonesboro and poi ...

, offering additional camping and recreational activities.

References

{{authority control State parks of Arkansas Crowley's Ridge Protected areas of Greene County, Arkansas Protected areas established in 1975 Bodies of water of Greene County, Arkansas Frierson 1975 establishments in Arkansas

History

Recreation

See also

References