Petit Jean State Park – Morrilton, Arkansas

We were driving from Alabama to Texas and decided to break up the drive and spend the night in Arkansas. We visited its first state park, Petit Jean, located in Morrilton. Petit Jean is the nickname given to a young woman named Adrienne Dumont. We enjoyed learning about her interesting story.

We didn’t really have any plans in the park other than to maybe see Cedar Falls, so we stopped at the Visitors Center to ask advice on what stops to make. They were very helpful! We were given a map, and the best stops were highlighted.

When we left the visitors center, we drove to our first stop, the Cedar Falls Overlook:

Then we drove to the Seven Hollows Trail and hiked part of it. We were told that the Natural Bridge is a cool stop, so we hiked to it & back (2.2 miles roundtrip). It started off pretty flat but had some roots & rocks along a good bit of the path. It was a pretty trail and (thankfully) shaded because it was July 31 and was a very hot day!

Then we drove back towards the park entrance just past the visitors center to The Outpost and got sandwiches for lunch. It was a great stop!

After lunch, we did the Bear Cave Trail. It’s short but really cool (it is across from the Seven Hollows Trail we hiked earlier).

After this trail, we drove to the Richter Overlook:

Then we drove to the Rock House Cave. It was probably my favorite stop of the day. It was a big cave, and the rocks you walk on to get to it look like turtle shells! I think little kids could spend a lot of time here! It was a fun stop.

We went back to our hotel and took showers and went to Colton’s Steakhouse in Morrilton. It was a great dinner! Then we had to find some ice cream

The park also has a playground, a pool and a lake with water activities, so I think you could spend a couple of days there. There are also more hiking trails than the ones we did.

I looked into staying in the cabins in the park but they were all booked since we planed this trip on short notice. The park also a lodge but when I found it, we had already booked a hotel room. They also have yurts you can stay in, but they don’t have air conditioning, so I think they would be better for fall.