We hear a lot about the mountain bike trails in Northwest Arkansas but they have a lot of outdoor recreation opportunities beyond the two-wheeled kind. Besides miles and miles of hiking trails they also have a beautiful whitewater park in Siloam Springs. Canoe & Kayak Magazine has taken notice.
In Northwest Arkansas a small paddling community is bustling and growing. Far from the snowmelt and runoff of the Rockies, this group of paddling enthusiasts watches the forecast for rain to feed the Siloam Springs Whitewater Park. This family-friendly river resource is a bustling location by late spring and into the summer, lined with plenty of soft grass and open gravel bars on the banks of the…(more)
Source: If You Build It: Northwest Arkansas’s Siloam Springs Whitewater Park
3 Responses
Pretty cool, kinda… Looks like the Siloam Springs Kayak Park has made Canoe & Kayak, with a picture of your’s truly…
Here’s the problem… the Park isn’t like this anymore. BOTH features have fallen into disrepair, and neither actually exist right now. As much as I love the park, I cannot, and will not invite friends to travel to the area to play, because it’s just not… what this article describes it to be.. So, this is a bittersweet post. I’m super stoked to have made it to Canoe & Kayak, but more than anything, I want the City of Siloam Springs to take ownership of this park, and start maintaining the area like it should be.
These parks are for everyone. If you compare the total “fun hours” had by paddlers, to the total “fun hours” had by non-paddlers, it’s not even close, the non-paddlers win hands-down… and since the features have fallen into disrepair, the only people who’ve stopped using the park are the paddlers… I mean, we’re going to the Lake to paddle miles, instead of going to the Park to surf, because the Siloam Springs Kayak Park is not what’s being advertised in this article.
I’ve asked several, and gotten several different answers, so, I’ll ask again…
Are there any plans to get back out there and “fix” the park, or is this how it’s going to be? If there are, do we have a timeline? Spring is right around the corner, and this article is going to create a lot of interest. If playboaters travel to the park in it’s present form, they will be more than disappointed.
If there is no plan to “fix” the parks features, I think the whole Lake Francis project and the possible Pump Station projects need to be rethought and reconsidered, or, at least redefined. I’m all for community “river-parks”, just stop selling them as “kayak playparks”.
I’m ready to be a cheerleader for the Park again. I’m ready for the park to be what this article describes.
Please note that I’ve just gotten word that the City will be going out next week to look at what needs to be done. Thank you Siloam Springs.
Awesome!