Parks & Recreation

City Parks

Conway has 11 city parks for your enjoyment. There are a variety of activities including basketball, tennis, volleyball, softball, and lots of open space at these parks. Also most parks have picnic and pavilion areas as well as playgrounds. The city park system includes Tucker Creek Walking/Bike Trail, a 1.2 mile long paved trail; Beaverfork Lake, which has areas for swimming, boating and fishing; First State Soccer Park, contains ten full sized soccer fields and two U-10 fields and a driving range; Don Owen Complex, houses t-ball and softball fields, a rodeo arena, and the Conway Sports Center; and Simon Park located downtown and is used for most festivals and events in town. Other parks are Airport Park, Bainbridge Park, Curtis Walker Park, Fifth Avenue Park, Gatling Park, and Laurel Park. Also included in the City Park system are two indoor recreational facilities, Conway Sports Center and Conway McGee Center. Those centers include basketball and racquetball courts, a walking track and meeting rooms. Also located in Conway are the Faulkner County Fairgrounds. Run by the Young Business Men’s Association, the fairgrounds include a practice, baseball, and soccer fields, pavilions, picnic tables and exhibit areas. It is the location on the Conway Farmers’ Market and in September the Faulkner County Fair.

Woolly Hollow State Park is located about 15 minutes north of Conway off Hwy 65, on Ark Hwy 285. This state park is a serene getaway overlooking lovely Lake Bennett, 40-acres for fishing and swimming at the park’s beach area. The park offers canoes, pedal boats, fishing boats and motors for rent, and a launch ramp. The park facilities include 30 campsites, a snack bar and bathhouse, picnic area gift shop and hiking trail. Woolly Cabin, the log home of the area’s first settlers, offers a historic perspective to this peaceful hollow. Contact information: 501-679-2098; 82 Woolly Hollow Road, Greenbrier, AR 72058; woollyhollow@arkansas.com.

Cadron Settlement Park is a Corp of Engineers park located five miles west of Conway on Hwy 319. The Arkansas River is the backdrop for this national historic site marks the site of some of Arkansas’s first settlers and offers a boat launching site, picnic areas, a pavilion and camping areas. It also has the Blockhouse restoration, several historical markers and the Cherokee Trail of Tears Memorial Hike.

Old Ferry Landing Park and Toad Suck Park are located south of Conway along the east and west banks of the Arkansas River. The east side offers a boat ramp, picnic areas, and a playground. There is also a restored metal towboat once used by the ferry, and the only mixed oak and pine tree. The Toad Suck Lock and Dam is located here and you can watch the river barges come through. The west side of the park offers a boat ramp, picnic areas, pavilions, tent and trailer spaces. There is also basketball, softball and soccer fields as well as a playground. Both Old Ferry Landing and Toad Suck parks have access to the river for fishing and are operated by the Corps of Engineers.