About 20 miles south of Eureka Springs on Arkansas Highway 23, Withrow Springs is a peaceful setting for camping, hiking, or relaxing floats on War Eagle Creek. (Canoes can be rented at the park, and park staff provide shuttle service for floaters.)

Fish while you float, or take advantage of the park's facilities for swimming, hiking, or tennis.

The park also offers picnic sites, pavilions, a gift shop, and baseball and softball fields.

The park has campsites for RVs or tent campers, and the camping area has a barrier-free bathhouse.

More information is available at (479) 559-2593, or by email at withrowsprings@arkansas.com

Devil's Den

The trip from Eureka Springs to Devil's Den State Park will take about an hour and a half, but it's a lovely drive, and the results will certainly justify the effort.

This state park is located southwest of Fayetteville, in the Lee Creek Valley. It dates back to the 1930s, when the Civilian Conservation Corps built a stone dam across Lee Creek and created buildings from the native stone and wood.

Devil's Den offers a variety of trails for mountain bikes, horse riders, and hikers. The hiking trails range in length and difficulty, so everyone can find just the right trail experience.

Several of the hikes include caves, which hikers can enter on their own. Some of these caves lead way back into the hillsides, so be sure to pack a couple of flashlights for a peek at what lies beneath the Ozarks.

Visitors can rent canoes, kayaks, pedal boats and water bikes to explore the eight-acre Lake Devil. A swimming pool and park cafe overlook the lake.

Devil's Den offers camping and some rental cabins. More information about the park is available at (479) 761-3325, or by email at devilsden@arkansas.com.

To reach Devil's Den, take I-540 south from Fayetteville to exit 45 at Winslow, and follow the signs for seven miles on Arkansas Highway 74 to the park.

Hobbs Conservation Area

Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area is in its initial development phase. Arkansas's largest state park in land area, Hobbs covers 12,000 acres along the southern shores of Beaver Lake, with 22 miles of shoreline. Follow Arkansas Highway 12 toward Rogers.

This park is large enough to include a variety of landscape features in a hardwood and pine forest. Water features include springs and seeps, and visitors can see how water has carved the native limestone above and below the surface.

Hiking trails range from a half-mile barrier-free trail to a 16-mile multi-use trail. The park also offers a public firing range and undeveloped access to Beaver Lake.

The park's Historic Van Winkle Trail is just a half-mile long, and accessible for all. Hikers go through a tunnel under the highway to the site of the historic Van Winkle lumber mill and home in Van Winkle Hollow on the West Fork of Little Clifty Creek.

The park's 16-mile, multi-use trail is open to hikers, bikers and horseback riders, depending on weather conditions.

Some of the primitive camping sites at this park overlook Beaver Lake.

Future plans for this park include a large visitor center to open in fall of 2008. Cabins, pavilions, picnic areas, additional hiking trails, and archery and orienteering courses are also in the works.

More information about the park is available at (479) 789-2380, or by email at hobbs@arkansas.com.

Roaring River, Cassville, Missouri

Just across the state line in southwest Missouri, Roaring River State Park covers 4,000 acres, and offers camping, lodging, swimming, trout fishing, and hiking.

The beautiful Roaring River winds through the park, and offers some of the best trout fishing in Missouri. The stream is regularly stocked with trout, which thrive in the cool spring-fed water.

Even those who do not plan to fish will enjoy feeding the trout or touring the hatchery.

There are seven different hiking trails covering a total of 10 miles. The Ozark Chinquapin Nature Center has displays and programs about the park and its history.

The park also has a swimming pool, a shady picnic area, and a store.

Campsites range from primitive to full hook-up, and the Emory Melton Inn and Conference Center has guest rooms, a restaurant, a gift shop, and meeting rooms. Some cabins are also available.

More information is available at (417) 847-2330.