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Arkansas’ largest state park earned a brand new 17,531 square foot visitor’s center that was opened at the end of May, 2009. The center, located just off Highway 12 in the Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area (HSPCA) near Rogers, offers informative exhibits, classroom space and houses the park’s administrative offices.
The facility blends in well with the surrounding landscape and its environmentally friendly design has made the building a candidate for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System. LEED conducts a certification process that concentrates on the latest strategies in five key areas: sustainable site development, water and energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design.
The visitor’s center was built with materials from the surrounding area in order to save the cost of fuel and transportation. It is also designed to collect and use rainwater from the roof for irrigation, and it boasts a geothermal heating and cooling system that notches down energy consumption.
Even the location of the structure took into account the geological environment - which includes small caves and springs in limestone - in an effort to minimize impact on the area.
A tiled floor (some tiles are imprinted with animal tracks as they would appear in wet soil outdoors) leads to a large relief map of Hobbs park which sits in the center of a sizeable receiving room. The relief map is interactive and displays illuminated trails for hiking, horseback riding and biking. Also shown are campgrounds, nature trails, the Van Winkle historical trail and other points of interest.
A small but nicely stocked retail space is off to one corner, unobtrusive but inviting.
Inside, the center is pristine and lays out well although the exhibit space is not as large as one would suspect from looking at the outside of the building. Classrooms take up one side of a long hall but there is a long, narrow room with environmental and informational exhibits, a walk-through simulated cave display and a room for viewing a video about Hobbs park.
Also inside the building are a wall of windows that overlook the hills and trees of this beautiful part of Arkansas as well as a man-made pond and stream that surround the structure and add a very nice water feature to the center’s grounds. To one side of this wall is a spacious reading corner stocked with books about nature and wildlife.
The cave exhibit gives visitors the feel of being inside one of Arkansas’ many limestone caves and an interactive board lets people select creatures and features found in Ozarks caves and highlights them inside the exhibit.
Some of the other exhibits show the history of HSPCA as well as the unique diversity of landscape and ecosystems found inside the park. Wildlife displays are tucked into coves built in the walls and a flock of birds seem to fly overhead as visitors walk along a hall.
As the park develops and grows, plans include an expansion of visitor programs including archery and orienteering courses. Cabins, pavilions, picnic areas and additional hiking trails are also among future considerations for HSPCA.
A stop at the visitor’s center is well worth the time spent for people new to the park as well as for those more familiar with the surroundings. Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area is located ten miles east of Rogers on Arkansas Highway 12. The entrance to the visitor’s center and to trail heads near the highway are well marked.