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Pine Bluff Regional Park in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

5+ Outdoor Things to Do in Pine Bluff

July 17, 2024

Incorporated in 1839, Pine Bluff is a unique place to visit. Located along the Arkansas River, the city used to thrive as a cotton center and river port. Its unique geography places the city along the boundary line of the West Gulf Coastal Plain and the Delta. The area contains much history, as it has seen the removal of Native Indians during the Trail of Tears, the October 1863 Attack on Pine Bluff, plays a role in music history, and has a heritage in Civil Rights.

Pine Bluff is a great place for outdoor enthusiasts to explore nature and enjoy outdoor activities. The city is host to nineteen parks and a plethora of rivers and lakes! The Delta Family Adventure Trail in Pine Bluff encompasses the city’s many experiences inside and outdoors. Check out just a few of the family (and adult) friendly things to do outdoors in Pine Bluff in the list below. All things listed below are free, so be sure to eat and shop in Pine Bluff to show your appreciation and support for providing these activities to the public.

AGFC Nature Center

The Governor Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center is a great place to learn about the Delta’s heritage and the wildlife and ecology that make up the Delta. The center offers visitors a 22,000-gallon aquarium, native reptiles and American alligators in two ponds, and native birds of prey in an outdoor exhibit.

The center offers 130 acres of forest and is surrounded by a bayou and lake. With over two miles of hiking trails, there is plenty of wildlife to encounter. The main trail, Discovery Loop, is a short half-mile paved and ADA accessible trail. Whitetail Trail is a shorter trail that is also paved. The other trails are primitive and not paved.

In addition to nature, the center also offers a 3D Archery Range that gives visitors the opportunity to practice shooting from different distances. There are 20 targets in different sizes of game.

Please be aware that Delta Rivers Nature Center is not pet friendly. Picking flowers and plants is also not allowed.

Murals of Downtown Pine Bluff

Just driving around Pine Bluff’s downtown area will attract your attention to the large wall murals on many of the downtown buildings. The mural tour can easily be explored on foot as it is a short distance between the murals. The murals depict different aspects of the area’s history over the past 200 years. While they are all uniquely curated, some are more educational in content.

Along the tour, you will find an entertainment park with plenty of tables and shade for resting or a picnic. Also, while walking the downtown streets viewing murals on the tour, be sure to stop by the Pine Bluff Veterans Memorial for another large mural spanning the side of a building.

Bayou Bartholomew

Flowing roughly 364 miles, Bayou Bartholomew is the longest bayou in the world. Beginning in Pine Bluff, the bayou joins the Ouachita River in Louisiana. It is the second most diverse stream in North America as it contains over 117 documented species of fish. Lined with tupelo and cypress swamps, the bayou is home to an entire ecosystem of nature and wildlife. Turtles and alligators are known to make their home in the bayou.

The bayou is the perfect place for fishing, canoeing, or kayaking. For an ultimate lazy river experience, launch your kayak at the Dr. Curtis Merrill Access.

Bayou Bartholomew is a parent stream of Byrd Lake, an Arkansas Natural Area that represents the boundary between the Coastal Plain and Mississippi Plain. Byrd Lake Nature Trail offers an easy and ADA accessible hiking trail loops visitors through a bottomland mixed pine-hardwood forest. An overlook of the lake and viewing benches are available on the trail. This trail is located off Main Street. More information on its location can be found here.

Saracen Landing All-Inclusive Playground

If you are visiting Pine Bluff with your family or children, the Saracen Landing All-Inclusive Playground is a good place to bring the kids to play and run off some energy. This playground was thoughtfully designed to provide a safe place for kids of all abilities to play alone and/or with other kids. The park’s equipment is mostly sensory.

See, feel, discover and play together!
Pine Bluff Parks & Recreatonal Department

Harbor Oaks Golf Club and Restaurant

Located at Pine Bluff’s Regional Park, the Harbor Oaks Golf Club reopened last year. Voted one of the top 10 public golf courses in the state of Arkansas, there is also an award-winning restaurant and conference center on site. Offering its guests an 18-hole golf course, Harbor Oaks is a challenging par 72. Facilities also include a chipping and putting green, practice bunker, and 25 hitting stations on the practice range.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff has a partnership with Harbor Oaks that allows the U of A golf team to host all home and dual tournaments at the Harbor Oaks Golf Course.

For more information on things to do and what Pine Bluff offers, make a stop at their Visitor’s Center (623 S. Main Street). Located in a historical building, it is a great place to learn about Pine Bluff’s history, as well.

What is your favorite outdoor activity?

Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park in Scott, Arkansas

How Toltec Mounds Became Plum Bayou Mounds Archeological State Park

June 3, 2024

In case anyone is wondering, Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park is no more. For quite a long time, there have been discussions and arguments over the park’s name. Apparently, the park was named after the wrong Indian tribe and some people have been fighting to restore honor to the tribe that once occupied the land. The concern was that the park has always been named Toltec and all media publications were printed under this name. Another concern was that the occupying tribe’s name is actually unknown to archaeologists. Regardless of the concerns, the site needed to honor and respect the Native American Indians that built the mounds. So, the state consulted with the Quapaw Nation and Arkansas Archaeological Survey to finally agree on changing the name to reflect the tribe who supposedly occupied the area and created the mounds.

So how did the Plum Bayou Mounds acquire the wrong name in the first place?

From 1857 to 1990, Mrs. Gilbert Knapp owned the land that contained the mounds. Initially, the mounds were named after her – the Knapp Mounds – but an official name was quickly created. From the beginning of her ownership, she always thought that the Toltec Indians of Mexico were responsible for building the mounds. However, Mrs. Knapp’s interest in archaeology of the mounds started an investigation on the property in 1883 by Edward Palmer, a field investigator for the Bureau of Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution. Palmer excavated in eight of the mounds and his findings proved Mrs. Knapp’s idea wrong. According to the findings, archaeologists believe the North American Indian ancestors were the ones who built the mounds. Since their name was unknown, archaeologists decided to name the tribe after a nearby stream – the Plum Bayou Indians.

For quite some time, the area was known as the Toltec Mounds. Continual debate over changing the name pursued. Some thought it would be too much trouble to change everything while others wanted to recognize and honor the actual occupants of the land. The Toltec Mounds remained until November 2022, when they officially renamed the state park after its actual occupants. Yet, people have to be careful when talking about Plum Bayou because it can still be confusing to those who did not get the memo that the Toltec Mounds had a name change.

Plum Bayou Indians

The Plum Bayou Indians (or whatever their tribe’s name actually was) were highly intelligent people whose culture was very distinct from other tribes. They created an entire way of life around the sun and its rotation around the earth. They knew a mathematical system way beyond a lot of people’s understanding, or at least my understanding.

While Plum Bayou mounds are found across the entire state, they specifically occupied this land from about 650 to 1050 BC. They built 18 mounds next to an oxbow lake, which served as a port of water transportation. A 10-foot-high and 1-mile-long earthen embankment wall was built to surround the mounds and protect its occupants. The mounds were created for social, religious, and political activities. Only one mound is said to have been used for burial purposes. The mounds’ locations were strategically placed based on the alignment of solar positions. Standardized units of measurement were used to determine the spacing of each mound.

While its small community here was made up of mainly religious and political leaders, the site was a central waypoint and destination for many Native American Indians. Their location was strategically placed near the water, which many people used for travel purposes. Whether traveling by land or water, Indians from the other Plum Bayou mounds in the state would make the trek to Plum Bayou for religious purposes, political issues, and ceremonial purposes. Considering the size of Little Rock, this site’s traffic was much larger in its prime, as it served as the culture’s center point for such activities.

A Change of Times

In the 1400s, a different Native American Indian tribe occupied the land for a short time. Much later in time, the land became farmland for settlers. In 1977, consistent archaeological research began at the mounds and still continues today. Even after 135 years of farming on the mound site, there is still plenty of evidence of its Native American history. Fortunately, erosion and farming have not washed away the mounds, as clear evidence of them remains.

Visiting The Mounds

Plum Bayou is unique in that it is 1 of 4 National Historic Landmarks in the state park system. In 1978, the site was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark. For over a hundred years, the mound site has attracted national interest from tourists and archaeologists. Probably rightfully so because this park interprets the largest and most complex mound site in the entire state!

Inside the Visitor Center is a unique collection of artifacts and animal bones, and information about the archaeological excavations. Unfortunately, the findings from the first excavation in 1882-1883 are not on display here. You can see these artifacts at the Smithsonian Institute.

For the history buffs, there is a complete timeline of occupants of the area. You can even read about Palmer’s descriptions of his excavations in Report on the Mound Explorations of the Bureau of Ethnology, published in 1894 by Cyrus Thomas. If science or math is more interesting, then you will enjoy learning about how the mounds were formed and which was used for what purpose. Perhaps art is your thing, and you will enjoy the sketches drawn in 1883 by Henry J. Lewis of the mounds by Palmer’s descriptions.

The only barrier free trail at this location is Knapp Trail, which will lead you through the prehistoric Indian site to 3 of the 18 mounds. Be prepared, though, because the trail can be very hot in summer heat as there is no shade. There is also a guided tour that educates people about the Native American Indians that occupied the land and built the mounds over a thousand years ago.

So, next time you are in the Little Rock area, be sure to drive out to this unique piece of history that archaeologists are still trying to understand. While there are plenty of mounds to see, it is important to know that a lot of walking can be involved to see them all up close.

What was your favorite part of the mounds when you visited?

Life-size replica of a Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress that crashed during WWII at Sheridan, Arkansas

Actual Crash Site of A Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress

May 31, 2024

If you are ever in the Little Rock/Sheridan area, the B-17 Memorial Park is a great roadside veteran memorial worth visiting! Located in the middle of what seems like nowhere is the most pristine and memorial site. Since my mom and I enjoy visiting veteran and memorial parks, we have certainly visited a plethora all over the country in our travels. Yet, we were extremely impressed with how well-constructed and well maintained this park was, especially since its location being so far off the main highway.

Located about five miles north of Sheridan, B-17 Memorial Park is the work of a very determined group of individuals that wanted to preserve a moment in history. The park is unique from other veteran memorials as it is the actual crash site of the Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress in 1943. Thus, why it is located in the middle of a field and back off the road a couple miles.

The story behind the crash is nothing fancy, but certainly warranted quite the investigation. Apparently, the B-17 bomber was based in Smoky Hill Airfield in Salina, Kansas. It was set to depart from Kansas, head to Morrison Field in West Palm Beach, Florida, and then make its way to Europe to help fight in World War II. The bomber departed Kansas on March 12, 1943, and headed toward Florida. While enroute to Florida, the nine airmen aboard experienced the bomber violently vibrating. When the crew encountered a thunderstorm, the pilot was forced to decide to turn back around toward Kansas or make an emergency landing in Little Rock, Arkansas. When their flight path was changed toward Little Rock, one of the bomber’s engines caught fire and explored in mid-air. As a result, the crew lost their lives and the remaining pieces of the bomber crashed in a wooded area at the park’s location. It took less than three hours of total flight time for this unfortunate ending.

Apparently, a military investigation found service records on the bomber that reported this particular B-17 had significant mechanical problems. Two engines had been replaced a couple weeks earlier and two other engines were scheduled to be replaced. Such problems were known to cause failure and a high possibility of crashing, which resulted in it being condemned for flight to Florida by the United States Army.

Yet, the base was eager to catch up with the previously deployed squadron that had left for combat in the war. So, the fateful decision was made to have nine airmen fly it to Florida for repairs, even with the current mechanical problems. Afterward, they were to fly to Europe and reunite with the rest of their squadron. Unfortunately, this decision resulted in a loss of a bomber and nine men, some of which had a family waiting for them at home. While another B-17 could be sent across the ocean, a person’s life can never be replaced.

The military investigation placed a lot of blame for the crash on the pilot and the thunderstorm. It is still unknown, and probably hard to determine, if the crew knew about the condemnation of the bomber or not. However, family members of some of the airmen did report that conversations weeks before the flight expressed concerns and fears that mechanical problems would result in their deaths.

A year later, a stone memorial marker was erected on March 10, 1944, at the crash site in memory of the nine airmen aboard the B-17 bomber. Over time, the marker had been forgotten about and nature had started to cover up the marker. With the forgotten and lost marker, memory of the crash had even become forgotten.

Forty years later, Jerry Jackson and his father stumbled upon the marker while walking in the woods. Jerry was so moved by the memorial and its historical significance that he made it a part of his Eagle Scout project to restore the marker. He was still working with the Grant County Museum to restore the memorial and crash site when he died in a car accident in 1986 at the age of sixteen. The project that he started was continued by the American Legion in collaboration with other volunteers and sponsors.

On October 12, 2015, the B-17 Veterans Memorial Park was opened. It was constructed to honor the crew of the Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress, but the county wanted to honor all local military personnel that died in war. So, the memorial also honors Civil War veterans killed at the Battle of Jenkins Ferry, and those killed in action in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and American veterans of the past and present.

WWII B-17 Crash Site at B-17 Memorial Park in Sheridan, Arkansas

Very well designed, constructed, and maintained, this park seems to be out of place in the middle of a field. Upon entering the park, you are greeted with the original memorial marker. Attached to the other side of it is a plaque that honors Jerry Jackson for his passion, determination, and dedication to restore the area in memory of those who lost their lives in war. In the center of the park is a life-size replica of a B-17 bomber that is quite fascinating. “Dummy” personnel were placed inside to give a better representation of its use and make it more life-like. Around the bomber is a very lovely short walking trail with informational plaques and an audio tour that is available to learn more information on the crash and the airmen. You can listen online at Sheridan B17 Memorial Park – Sheridan B17 Memorial Park (stqry.app).

At the back of the park is a black granite wall containing the names and information of the airmen in the crash. Dedications and speeches are held here in honor and respect of our military personnel, as well as other events. American and military flags line the bomber fencing and surround the memorial park, showcasing an ambience for honoring our military. Off to the rear side of the park is a pavilion with a little picnic area, which is the perfect place to celebrate a veteran’s birthday or special event.

The B-17 Memorial Park is quite an experience. It is both family friendly and pet friendly – please just clean up after yourselves and your animals. The American Legion, Daughters of the American Revolution, and all the other collaborators and sponsors certainly did a fantastic job at erecting a worthy memorial to the nine airmen and all our fallen soldiers.

The Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress crew:

Second Lieutenant George Davis (pilot)

Second Lieutenant Robert Turchette (co-pilot)

Second Lieutenant Leo E. Dolan (navigator)

Second Lieutenant Phillip Niewolak (bombardier)

Technical Sergeant Dewitt Tyler (engineer)

Technical Sergeant Peter Ivanovich (radio operator)

Staff Sergeant Arthur Potter (waist gunner)

Staff Sergeant David Secorski (ball turret gunner)

Staff Sergeant Kenneth Cain (tail gunner)

What was your impression of the memorial when you visited?