Riverside Park West Fork, AR
131 N Main St.
West Fork, AR
Mom Review & Pros & Cons:
This small but beautiful park is well maintained and offers gorgeous bluff views year round. It features a spacious paved parking lot, large open grassy areas, a playground with a grass/ dirt surface consisting of a large play structure with slides and nearby swings, a flat mostly open concrete trail just short of a half mile long, a kiosk at the trail head featuring information about the city and the river itself, a large pavilion with electrical outlets & grills that can be reserved for events, two smaller pavilions and several open picnic tables and benches. Occasionally, food or snow cone vendors set up shop here, but there are no permanent food & beverage fixtures, so you'll want to be sure to pack a cooler.
131 N Main St.
West Fork, AR
Mom Review & Pros & Cons:
This small but beautiful park is well maintained and offers gorgeous bluff views year round. It features a spacious paved parking lot, large open grassy areas, a playground with a grass/ dirt surface consisting of a large play structure with slides and nearby swings, a flat mostly open concrete trail just short of a half mile long, a kiosk at the trail head featuring information about the city and the river itself, a large pavilion with electrical outlets & grills that can be reserved for events, two smaller pavilions and several open picnic tables and benches. Occasionally, food or snow cone vendors set up shop here, but there are no permanent food & beverage fixtures, so you'll want to be sure to pack a cooler.
Swimming and fishing are permitted here so summer is undoubtedly my family's favorite time to visit. It's a huge bonus for this mama when the playground, swimming & fishing are all in one location. When the weather is warm and the water is high like it is now, this middle of town swimming hole can draw a crowd. However, you can easily move up or down the river to get some space or avoid bluff divers if a more peaceful scene is what your craving. Even if the water is low, there is usually enough to keep any toddler or small child happily wading. It was next to impossible to get my kids out of the water to help me review the playground.
I also really like the large pavilion. You could easily host a large event here. The grills & electrical outlets are so handy and the views from this spot are just absolutely gorgeous.
Cons: The only restrooms are two port-a-potties. There are no permanent restroom facilities. I know many young children who are scared of them and it so hard to be any kind of sanitary when trying to assist a squirmy child in one.
Cons: The only restrooms are two port-a-potties. There are no permanent restroom facilities. I know many young children who are scared of them and it so hard to be any kind of sanitary when trying to assist a squirmy child in one.
The playground is not shaded so during the middle of the day it becomes entirely too hot to play on. I also realized how much I like the soft surface covered play areas that this playground is lacking.
My overall mom conclusion is- My kids- 17 years, 14 years, 5 years & 8 months ALL played /swam themselves into exhaustion here. While it does not have a fancy playground, this park is a visually pleasing place to where you can just spend hours enjoying nature. It's likely the way most of us spent our childhood summers. If you live in one of NWA's big 4 cities and want to deviate from some of our more popular “go to” parks this is worth a visit and it's only 15 minutes south of Fayetteville.
~A. McIver
