STATE & NATION TRAVEL · alerts
Hobbs State Park closes five trail areas, campsites and its range for two November hunts
By Staff Writer · Published November 5, 2026
Non-permit visitors lose access to specified Hobbs State Park routes and facilities November 7-8 and November 14-18. Other park areas are not listed as closed by the notice.
Official announcement: Arkansas State Parks · November 7, 2026
Source: Arkansas State Parks Hobbs visitor information and 2026 hunting closures
Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area will close a group of trails, Pigeon Roost campsites and the park shooting range during Arkansas's youth modern-gun hunt on November 7-8 and the permit modern-gun hunt on November 14-18. The official park page says the restrictions apply during permitted fall gun-hunting seasons.
The closed routes are the 24-mile Hidden Diversity Trail System, 8.4-mile Pigeon Roost Trail, half-mile Sinking Stream Trail, 1.5-mile Shaddox Hollow Trail and 4.2-mile Wolf Den Loop. Because Pigeon Roost campsites are reached by hiking about four miles on their namesake trail, the closure removes both the route and those backcountry stays on the listed dates.
Arkansas State Parks has not listed the entire conservation area as closed. Visitors whose plans avoid the named facilities should still confirm current conditions with the park before arrival, rather than treating an open visitor center or another trail listing as proof that every activity is available during the hunt.
What Travelers Need to Know
Do not enter the named trails, shooting range or Pigeon Roost campsites on November 7-8 or November 14-18 unless park officials confirm that your use is permitted. Check the park page again immediately before travel because hunting dates and access conditions can change.
Move an overnight reservation or route that depends on Pigeon Roost, Hidden Diversity, Shaddox Hollow, Sinking Stream or Wolf Den Loop to a confirmed open alternative. The closure list covers entire named systems, not only a short trail segment.
Call the Hobbs visitor center at 479-789-5000 for the geographic limits of hunting and current public access. Hunters should separately verify license, permit and WMA requirements with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission; this travel notice is not a hunting-regulation summary.
About the Location
Hobbs is Arkansas's largest state park, covering 12,173 forested acres along the southern shore of Beaver Lake in the Ozark Plateau of northwest Arkansas. The conservation area lies in the White River watershed and combines hiking, mountain biking, lake access, primitive camping and regulated hunting.
Arkansas State Parks says Hobbs is one of two parks in the system that permits regulated hunting, a management arrangement shared with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Its visitor center was the first LEED-certified center in the state-park system and interprets the area's natural resources and history, while the long Hidden Diversity system and lakeside Pigeon Roost sites draw visitors well beyond the building.