# Petit Jean State Park



## Justman (Jul 22, 2006)

Spent the week of the 4th on top of Petit Jean mountain in Arkansas. This was our second trip with the first being roughly 6 years prior. As before, the park was excellent. It was plenty busy with every (and I do mean every) site filled, up to the point they were diverting late-comers to the overflow area. There were excellent programs for the kids and the "older" kids as well. Great trails, great views, and great staff.

The water had a taste of dirt, so you may want to bring a filter. I stated as much to one of the rangers and they informed me that water was being piped up the mountain from the city of Morrilton---about 20 miles. The park apparently had its own water treatment plant at one time, but it proved to be more cost effective to have water pumped in.

The premium sites in the newer loop (A loop) were full hookups and were broadly spaced with decent shade and easy back-ins and pull throughs. The older electric and water sites in loops B, C, and D are getting a bit run down and some of the roads through the camping area do need to be repaired. Our site was a little difficult to get into because a large pine tree was in the way. However, the older sites provided excellent shade and good places for tents.

The main lodge was closed and is slated to re-open in 2012. I took a look at the building site and it appears they are greatly enlarging the kitchen and dining area. Should be a great new addition to the historic lodge.

A word of caution---the East entrance to the mountain is plenty steep. You'll want to go slow going up and coming down. However, this is probably the best route. The South approach is less steep, but the roads to get you there have some pretty good curves and is definitly a slower approach.

The 4th of July was a great day for being on the mountain. The staff joined the campers for games (hula-hoop contest, kick-ball, three-legged race, etc.) in the morning before it got too hot, and then followed up in the afternoon with a watermelon eating contest, a water balloon toss, and then a water balloon war. In the afternoon, there was a free concert. At night, we packed up a few chairs and headed to the North side of the mountain to the Petit Jean gravesite and took in the fireworks that everyone else was shooting off in the valley below. Simply amazing...

A beautiful place with amazing views. I hated to see the Petit Jean overlook area in my rear-view mirror. Definitely worth going back, and if you've never been there, definitely worth a visit.


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## Sweathog62 (Jul 28, 2005)

Nice report.... Some of us Okies have yet to make it to this park... Thanks for sharing.

Brad


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