21 State Parks in 2021- Part 16: Queen Wilhelmina State Park
Known as the “Castle in the Sky”, Queen Wilhelmina State Park sits on top of Arkansas’ second highest peak. This park has an amazing lodge, camp grounds for RV and tent camping, a tasty restaurant, and many unique outdoor recreational activities such as mini golf and a miniature train ride around the park. So far this has been one of our favorite parks and places to spend a weekend because of the family friendly atmosphere. This park is also close to the ATV trails at Wolf Pen Gap, so we were able to bring our side-by-side in on this trip to enjoy riding some fun trails.
#16 Queen Wilhelmina State Park
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The Lodge at Queen Wilhelmina State Park
The crown jewel of this park is the outstanding lodge. It sits on the very tip top of the second highest peak in Arkansas. The original lodge was built in the 1800s and was nicknamed the “Castle in the Sky.” The name suits it because you will drive up literally through the clouds, and often will not be able to see it until you are right on it. This was our experience on our trip. We thought it was a foggy day, but much to our surprise we were told we were literally in the clouds.
The lodge has 40 rooms, a restaurant, sitting area with board games and televisions, a restaurant, a conference room, and a small gift shop. Unlike the lodge at Mount Magazine, the rooms themselves do not have balconies, but have breath taking views of the sunset, sunrise, and the storms rolling in. The rooms are spacious, comfortable, and modernized with USB ports close to the beds for charging your electronics. There are even a few pet-friendly rooms that can be rented at this property.
The only issue we had during our stay was there is a bright light on the phone that shines in your eyes at night. I recommend using a sticky note over it to help you sleep if you don’t like a bright room at night.
Camping at Queen Wilhelmina State Park
Camping is one of the most popular activities at this state park. It houses 41 camping sites in total that consist of 8 Class A, 27 Class B, and 6 tent sites. Most camping sites are in a circular pattern around the perimeter of the park. Be warned, we do not recommend camping in sites 35-36. Especially not in #36. This is where the miniature train ride crosses over and blows its whistle multiple times a day. If you like a quiet campsite, then #36 is not for you.
A complete campsite map for the park is found here.
The Queen’s Restaurant
Our favorite place to eat during our stay was the Queen’s Restaurant at the Lodge. The restaurant has a bar area and serves up home style cooking. The staff was super friendly too. We tried several different meals here and highly recommend all of them. The pancakes at breakfast were amazing. Morgan loved the fish. The chicken fried steak is wonderful, and the steak at dinner is very well cooked. I don’t think there was one thing that I wouldn’t recommend trying. The quality of the food was so good that you would not expect this from a campground.
Recreational Activities available at Queen Wilhelmina State Park
Several unique activities are available to do during a stay at this park. You can enjoy a game of mini golf or even go for a ride on miniature train that circles the park. I would advise using caution if playing mini golf after a rain. The concrete steps on the course can become quite slick and I did happen to fall pretty hard while walking. Both the mini golf admission and train ride tickets are available for purchase, for a small fee, inside the train depot.
The train runs a loop around the park perimeter and is fun for the whole family. We even saw deer crossing the tracks during our turn.
The park is also close to Wolf Pen Gap ATV trails. You will have to trailer in to reach the trails, but the road in is not bad. We enjoyed a full day of riding there. The trails are very family friendly and well maintained.
Final Thoughts
We highly recommend an overnight stay at Queen Wilhelmina State Park. We promise you will not get bored. There are so many things to enjoy here it is fun for the whole family. We hope you are enjoying reading about our state park adventures as much as we have enjoyed going on them. Stay tuned for our next stops in the 21 Arkansas State parks in 2021 Challenge . Remember… Life’s Short… Take the Trip!
Ready to start planning your own adventure? Email us at: amberh@destinationsinflorida.com
