Nestled in a wooded valley in the Boston Mountains of northwest Arkansas, Lake Fort Smith is currently being enlarged. Lake Fort Smith and Lake Shepherd Springs are being expanded to meet additional municipal water demands in the Fort Smith area. The two will form a single reservoir that will total 1,390 surface acres. City officials expect the lake construction and Lake Fort Smith's subsequent filling to span from spring 2002 through 2006.
Arkansas's 23rd state park, Lake Fort Smith State Park, was situated below the Lake Fort Smith dam. While the park—popular for swimming, camping, fishing, hiking and picnicking—closed in January of 2002 due to the enlarging of the lake, a new park will open in 2005. The new version of Lake Fort Smith State Park will be built on the western side of the enlarged reservoir. Facilities will include campsites, cabins, a group lodging facility, picnic sites, hiking trails, a visitor center, amphitheater, pavilion, swimming pool, marina, boat launch ramp and park support facilities. When the new park and its improved facilities and trails are completed, a trail link will allow this park to once again serve as the western terminus for the Ozark Highlands Trail. The park has long served as the western terminus for the trail, but because of the park's closure, the terminus has been temporarily relocated to nearby Dockery Gap.
