LAKE SYLVIA -- On a sweltering summer afternoon, the fun is simple and satisfying at Lake Sylvia. Along the beach, more grass than sand, two dozen grown-ups and youngsters are splashing in the cooling water and jumping off the short pier that serves as a diving platform.
Less than an hour's drive from Little Rock, Lake Sylvia is one of 32 locations around the state listed as "great swimming spots" by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Under federal aegis within Ouachita National Forest, Sylvia is man-made like so many Arkansas lakes. It's not a very large or well-known body of water, but the tourism department's website sums up its allures:
"Lake Sylvia is a picturesque 18-acre lake in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, 38 miles west of Little Rock. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, the lake contains some readily identifiable rock structures that the CCC and WPA [Works Progress Administration] were known for."
The Parks and Tourism website notes whimsically that "when planning a beach vacation, land-locked Arkansas rarely jumps to the top of the list. It's surprising to most that Arkansas indeed does have lake and river beaches with no jellyfish, no crabs or sharks."
On the other hand, there may be snakes. However unusual a beachgoer's encounter here with a poisonous reptile might be, a "Beware of Snakes" sign posted on a bulletin board at Lake Sylvia does warn about the possibility.
There's also a warning, more likely to be needed, under the headline "When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!" It urges swimmers to get out of the water, stop all other beach activities and seek shelter in a sturdy building or hard-topped vehicle." That seems like common sense, but not every beachgoer is endowed with such acumen.
The "Great Arkansas Swimming Spots" cited on the Parks and Tourism posting include nine state parks with sandy shores of some kind for swimmers. They are DeGray Lake, Lake Catherine, Lake Charles, Lake Dardanelle, Lake Ouachita, Village Creek, Woolly Hollow, Crowley's Ridge and Jacksonport.
Among the 15 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes with beaches, "the crystalline blue waters of Beaver, Bull Shoals, Greers Ferry, Norfork and Table Rock lakes are all tucked away in the mountains in the northern half of the state. Three of the sparkling Diamond Lakes -- Ouachita, DeGray and Greeson -- are Corps impoundments."
Eight swimming spots with beaches "are located in the confines of the tree-shrouded Ozark and St. Francis national forests. Cove, Spring, Horsehead and Shores lakes, plus Lake Wedington and Long Pool are located in the Ozarks." In eastern Arkansas, St. Francis federal land is home to Bear Creek and Storm Creek.
In the Ouachitas, sunbathers can bask along the banks of mountain streams and small lakes at recreation areas including Knoppers Ford, Jack Creek, Charlton, Albert Pike, Shady Lake -- and Lake Sylvia.
While there's no charge to swim at some Natural State beaches, others have fees. At Lake Sylvia, the price is $3 per car for day-use visitors. It's hardly possible to find less expensive fun -- 75 cents apiece for four visitors in a vehicle.
The list of "Great Arkansas Swimming Spots" can be found at arkansas.com/outdoors/water-activities/swim-beaches/.
Style on 07/25/2017