Daisy State Park, Arkansas' eighth state park, has often been described as a hidden gem of the Ouachitas.  

“It is small, quaint and made to be a relaxing, comfortable area to get away from the city's busy life,” said Nathan Fort, park superintendent at Daisy State Park.  

The park is on the north shore of Lake Greeson, a lake built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of a flood control project. The man-made lake, which is named after a local civic activist, was dedicated in 1951 and has since become a popular recreational lake, known for its boating, water sports, and crappie fishing. Around the lake are marinas, boat launches, and options for camping at places like the state park and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds.  

Daisy State Park, which is located near the small town of Daisy, opened in 1954 and was acquired by the state from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which had made a small park there that included a few campsites. From this small beginning, the state park grew and now stands out on the lake as a destination offering 100 campsites, three Yurts, a playground, an ATV trail, interpretive programs and more. 

Recently, the park unveiled a new Visitor Center, which was under construction for around a year and added on to one built in the early 1970s. “It went through a renovation where we added about 350 square feet more to the building,” said Fort.

The Visitor Center was under construction for around a year. The renovation is meant to accommodate visitors and also interpretive programming that the park hopes to expand on. The current interpretive rotation at the park includes kayak tours, guided night bat hikes, and more. One program in particular is called Turtle Talk. During this program visitors can learn about turtles including Johnny and Willy, a pair of three-toed box turtles that live at the Visitor Center. 

Along with the Visitor Center, the park playground, which is used by both the community and park visitors, has also been upgraded.  

Among those that have helped with updates at the park is AmeriCorp. They came to the park and helped redo the wall on the sand volleyball court at the playground and also worked on retaining walls on two campsites in Area B that helped with accessibility.

”We kept some of the older equipment to keep the history and depth of who we are but it's nice that we added some inclusive playsets to it,” said Fort. “And are able to take a new approach to it where we can still have families enjoy the outdoors and camp and what we do but make it accessible for everybody.” 

A piece of park history can be seen at the park’s Interpretive Center where visitors can see the original wooden Daisy State Park entrance sign. The sign was used at the entrance of the park until around 2000 when it was replaced by the one there now.

The lake is a big draw of the park and visitors can rent kayaks to explore the lake from. The Bear Creek Cycle Trail also offers views of the lake. Camping has strong roots at Daisy State Park and continues to be popular. Some repeat campers have been coming to the park for decades. “Most people who visit Daisy, they are coming back more than half the time,” said Fort. 

Daisy State Park is located at 103 East Park in Kirby. Other state parks nearby include Crater of Diamonds State Park and Cossatot River State Park-Natural Area.