Cossatot River State Park — Attraction in De Queen

We’ve been coming to the Cossatot River for years, it’s one of our favorite places. There are several locations along the River that you can drive to, then you’re on foot. If we only come up for a day, it’s usually first to the falls to hike the rocks and then to the sandbar for some swimming and relaxing. Bring comfortable shoes that can get wet and also won’t slip off. You will be miserable with the wrong foot wear. An added caution, surfaces below the waterline are especially slippery, if you hike the falls you will inevitably experience how slippery, be careful. Bring food and drinks and please don’t leave them behind, have a bag for your trash if you’re hiking. We went up for the afternoon this time, it was enough time a visit to the falls and the sandbar for some hiking, swimming, cliff jumping and fishing. There are other locations along the river that are really nice and fun to explore however you should try to arrive early and camp overnight if you want to see more and have the time to enjoy them also. There are several tent camping spots, we like the ones at the falls however those are limited and if you come when it's busy, you might have to go to another spot, there are plenty scattered along the river. Enjoy tent camping, trail hiking, river hiking, swimming, rafting, kayaking, cliff jumping, fishing, rock hunting, and more! The water can get crystal clear if there hasn't been rain, some of the sights along the river are awesome, plan to drive to different locations and then do some hiking to catch them. See a video of this visit on my YouTube channel at...

We found this place by just talking to the locals and one man drew us a map w/directions! I thought it might be a "Deliverance" moment, but my whole family was pleasantly surprised!

First, the water is awesome, even in August! I highly encourage the purchase of the cheap $5 Wal-mart tubes and actually traverse the waterfalls with your family, as long as everyone is 12 and up. 11 and lower will require Daddy to position himself near the bottoms of each waterfall, which is actually difficult to do.

Second, you also cannot survive Cossatot Falls without tight-fitting water shoes. You will have to walk back upstream eventually, and being shoeless stinks.

Third, you need to take a waterproof camera to capture everything you can! There is a "cliff" at the end of the falls and everyone can jump from ledges approximately 12 feet, 18 feet, 25 feet and 35 feet tall! The water is bottomless under the cliff, so diving is safe!

Fourth, pick up your trash and take it with you. This place rocks and should remain beautiful,...

This place is fantastic. Well worth the 2.5 hour spur of the moment drive to get here. It's a bit of a rough drive from access to access on a small vehicle, but it's doable. The views are great. Even though the water seemed low for May. The staff at the visitors center were beyond fantastic. We came for some small mouth fishing. We caught lots of sunfish and goggle eyes. I caught lots of tiny smallies and one nice size (my 2nd best ever-released for future anglers to enjoy) I tried hard to get my wife on her 1st smallie, but it just wasn't meant to be. Video of our trip coming to my UGETube channel soon. We will be back for an extend...