Burns Park
4.6(3.5K)google
5.0(1)yelp
Nature
Overview
Burns Park ranks as one of the largest municipal urban parks in the entire United States, sprawling across 1,700 diverse acres along the river in North Little Rock. This massive recreational complex features two full 18-hole championship golf courses, an extensive covered tennis center, a large dog park, and an archery range. Families can explore historical remnants, including a real vintage covered bridge and a retired military tank display. Its vast network of paved and unpaved multi-use trails connects directly into regional river trail systems.
Practical Info
Mon6:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Tue6:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Wed6:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Thu6:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Fri6:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Sat6:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Sun6:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Suggested Duration2-4 hours
Best TimeMay through October showcases this massive 1,700-acre park—one of the nation's largest municipal parks. Late afternoon from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM is premium; the early evening breeze cools the extensive Arkansas River trail network, and the soft light is ideal for photographing the park's historic vintage log cabin and red historic covered bridge.
Getting TherePerfectly positioned parallel to the river. Drive west from Little Rock via I-40 W, taking Exit 150 (Burns Park) which funnels vehicles directly into the park's main outer arterial loop, Military Road. Because the grounds are vast, distinct developed complimentary paved parking grids exist at each major sports complex and boat boat-launch ramp.
Travel Tips
- Spanning over 1,700 acres, this massive municipal tract isolates its sports complexes and singletracks by miles of wilderness loops. Never rely on a generic park name map marker; you must enter the exact GPS coordinate for your intended destination node to avoid getting lost.
- The northern forest sectors integrate high-velocity gravity mountain bike tracks that enforce absolute single-direction routing. Pedestrians must avoid all entryways marked for cyclic operations; trekking counter-flow invites severe head-on trauma and legal liability.
- Preserving pristine riverfront bottomlands, the forest floor harbors venomous copperheads, requiring strict trail centering. Main vehicular gates lock automatically via digital timers at 10:00 PM sharp nightly; stranded vehicles cannot be extracted until dawn.
Reviews
Positive
- As one of the nation's largest municipal parks, its massive wilderness acreage offers near-endless space for outdoor exploration.
- Sports facilities are unparalleled, including an elite tennis complex, champion disc golf courses, baseball hubs, and a large dog park.
- Features a beautiful historic steam locomotive display and rustic CCC picnic pavilions, well-lined with free parking lots and trailmaps.
- The paved, fully integrated Arkansas River Trail section is excellent, offering flat and pristine asphalt great for long-distance cycling.
Heads up
- Because the park footprint is so gargantuan, individual fields are miles apart, making traveling between them on foot impossible.
- Suffering past heavy tornado damage, certain deep woodland rustic loops still show raw fallen timber scars and are undergoing slow clearing.
- The deep riverside woods naturally breed thick clouds of mosquitoes and ticks in sticky summer months, making bug spray vital.
- Restrooms in the more remote rustic trailheads suffer from maintenance delays, looking a bit weathered compared to front entrance hubs.