Exploring Hobbs State Park

Hobbs State Park is located in Northwestern Arkansas in Benton County, on the southern shores of Beaver Lake. You can access much of the park via AR-12, which cuts through the middle of the state park.

• Address: 20201 AR-12, Rogers, AR
• Hours: Daily, 8 am - 5 pm

If you want to learn more about the area and what's available, the first place you should visit is the Hobbs State Park Visitors Center.

The visitors center is filled with intriguing exhibits that will help you learn more about:

• The park's natural resources
• Wildlife within the park
• Limestone landscape
• Historical impact of the area
• And more!

The Hobbs State Park Visitors Center also offers materials and maps helping you find the attractions you are interested in. Throughout the year, the center also hosts interpretive programs and workshops to help visitors of all ages become more engaged with the outdoors. The topics of the class range from gardening classes to the popular Star Parties, which focuses on astronomy.

One of the big highlights of the this park is the diverse, 54-mile trail network that the area offers. These trails can support a wide array of activities such as hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and more. Many of these trails are also ADA accessible. The trail vary in both length and difficulty, meaning that there is something for everyone here.

Some of the most popular trails here include:

• Pigeon Roost Trail: 8.5 mile loop trail that is great for a family hike
• Hidden Diversity Multi-Use Trail: 24 mile trail that supports bikes, hikers, and horses.
• Shaddox Hollow Nature Trail: 1.4 mile loop trail that is a popular locale for birding.

• Hours: Tues - Sun: 8 am - 4:30 pm; Closed Mon

Being the only public shooting range in the state of Arkansas, the Hobbs State Park shooting ranges receives thousands of visitors every year.

The range itself offers five, 100-yard long lanes, one of which is wheelchair accessible. Target holders are provided, positioned at 25, 50, 75, or 100 yards. The park asks shooters not to bring any targets that leave debris and only use targets made from paper or cardboard with wooden clothespins. You'll also find a bullet trap on site.

The shooting range is unsupervised, so it's important for every visitor to communicate and help each other with safely using the facilities. Note that the range is designed only for rifle and handgun use, not for shotguns.

Hobbs State Park is the only state park in Arkansas that allows for regulated hunting, making it a popular destination during the various hunting seasons. From small game such as rabbit and quail to larger prizes such as elk and bear, the park is perfect for almost any kind of hunting expedition.

During the various hunting season, various parts of Hobbs State Park will be closed for safety concerns, including some of the trails and the shooting range. As such, it's important to plan ahead and determine which areas are safe if you are not in the area for hunting. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has excellent resources to help you learn what you need to know during hunting season.