by Ian Emery

Have you ever wondered why they call Arkansas the “natural” state? Let’s explore the 501 area and find out. So grab your bathing suit and bivy bag because we are planning four weekend trips to beautiful swimming holes.

Lake Catherine

For our first stop, we’ll drive to 2,180-acre Lake Catherine State Park (LCSP) in Garland County’s Hot Springs, which accentuates the motley of red, yellow and green trees (looks like this nearly all year long) nestled in the Ouachita Mountains.
Half the fun is getting there; the side-winding scenic highway alone drops a few jaws. Complete with breathtaking waterfalls and Tolkien-esque woodland views, this tourist hot-spot is ideal for its virgin forest and back country feel.
Many LCSP visitors keep busy hiking rugged, often four-hour-long horse trails (I recommend Falls Branch for the picturesque waterfalls), sailing and even birding for American black vultures and turkey vultures.
If you don’t like being active, you could also sit on the side of a rock cove cuddled under a space blanket with a loved one next to a waterfall listening to the tranquil symphony of crickets and bullfrogs. It creates a feeling like you are the only two people on the planet.
 

Lake Sylvia

We’re good on gas and we restocked the cooler since last weekend, so why don’t we head up north to the 16-acre Lake Sylvia, located right on the Perry-Saline county line in Perryville.
Many people hitch up a fishing boat to bring along or even rent one at the park for snagging some catfish. Or, you could hang back and enjoy the freshwater shoreline complete with towering pines that are instantly identifiable by their overwhelming air freshener smell.
I personally enjoy pitching a tent and simply warming up in a lawn chair next to one of my trademark teepee fires. Sylvia may look like a pond compared to the expansive Lake Catherine, but it makes it up with its many family-oriented activities, including tree-identification trails, which are notorious for their high snake population. In my experience, prairie king snakes like to drop in unexpectedly, but they’re not poisonous, just lonely. This hole has a kicked back atmosphere that the whole family can enjoy.
 

Jenkins’ Ferry

Looking for something a little more secluded? It is weekend three and we’re trucking it south to Grant County where we’ll find Jenkins’ Ferry State Park, which has a swimming hole hidden in old growth forest (oaks and such) along the Saline River. (The park is located 13 miles south of Sheridan on state Highway 46.)
This mud-colored natural pool is tiny, and it’s not rigged for camping, but there will still be time to make country bumpkin-esque memories if you remembered the tire swing. Also, if you’ve never been involved in a mud fight, now is the time. I suggest sticking close to shore and start hurling slop balls at your closest friends until everyone is caked in a layer of fresh, gooey mud. My motto is: He who is without mud in the ear gets smacked with the first mud ball.
At this point, I must mention that the surrounding pristine primitive area is not used to much human interaction, so (speaking from experience) don’t, and I repeat, don’t go muddin’ in a four-wheeler because you’ll get stuck and muddy. After everyone’s mud-caked and miffed, it might be time to cool off and observe deer that are known to come as close as 20 feet to lucky visitors.
Also, this place is pretty secluded, so why not use this time to put the “natural” in The Natural State?
 

Lake Bennett

Our final weekend getaway is a personal favorite: 40-acre Lake Bennett at Woolly Hollow State Park. Located in Faulkner County just north of Greenbrier, it is the flattest of the swimming holes on the list, at first glance.
The area is stuffed with black jack oaks with mud bank hills rising on either side. Bennett is packed with wildlife, mostly camp robbers, including raccoons, birds (jays and ravens), and others that like to scare the living heebie jeebies out of you when you’re going to bed at night.
Also, this place has the hottest outdoor showers around that never seem to lose the heat. You can canoe, kayak, rent a pedal boat and fish. Plus, they have water slides and beach volleyball.
Alright, you tend to miss the waterfalls, evergreens and mud fights of the previous venues (respectively), but it can’t all be about getting some R and R. I can serve a mean spike, so why not kick back and back flip into a lake with a lifeguard on duty every now and then?
There’s always more time to enjoy the sights and sounds of central Arkansas’ other scenic swimming holes. We’ve just scratched the surface.