Park A Day: Degray Lake Resort

I think that Degray is the most beautiful location in Arkansas. I go up there every January for their eagle awareness programs. They really do mean it when they call it a "resort." The lodge comes complete with a golf course and full service marina.

Degray Lake is 13,800-acres and has plenty of fish, water sports and wildlife watching. It's called a "Diamond Lake" because the water is so clear. However, there has not always been a lake where Degray sits.

DeGray lake and dam were authorized by Congress in the River and Harbor Act of 1950. June 6, 1964 was the groundbreaking for Degray Dam, which would help form what we now know as Degray Lake. Degray Lake didn't being to form until August of 1969. The site became a park in 1973.

Today, it has great public facilities, excellent guides and interpreters and views that can't be rivaled. If you've never been, it's certainly worth a day trip. However, I would recommend a whole weekend vacation if you can afford it. There are campsite available if you can't afford the lodge. The lodge is about an hour away from Little Rock.

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