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Petit Jean State Park and Petit Jean Mountain

 Cedar Fall in Petit Jean State park, Arkansas         See the 200+ photos in our Petit Jean Gallery  

Petit Jean State Park, situated on Arkansas's Petit Jean Mountain, which rises above the south bank of the Arkansas River between the Ozark and Ouachita mountain ranges, is 3,471 acres in size and was the first park in Arkansas's system of state parks.  Buildings of log and stone, constructed during the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), are found in many areas of the park and impart a rustic feel. Petit Jean, the "flagship" of the Arkansas state park system, is managed by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.  Petit Jean is Arkansas's only state park with its own airport.

Petit Jean - source of the name of the mountain

Petit Jean Mountain is said by many to have been named for the legend of Petit Jean – the story of a young French lady, Adrienne Dumont, who disguised herself as a cabin boy called Petit Jean (French for Little John) to secretly accompany her fiancé, a nobleman named Chavet traveling to America to explore, and claim, part of French Louisiana. The ship crossed the ocean and ascended the Mississippi and the Arkansas as far as the mountain.  After the expedition spent an entire summer on the mountain with friendly natives, Petit Jean fell gravely ill and, after her identity was discovered, asked to be buried on the mountain at a spot overlooking the river if she died. Long afterwards, a mound of earth was found on Stout's Point in a location now touted, and marked, as Petit Jean's Grave.  The legend of Petit Jean has several variations.

canoe on lake bailey, Petit Jean State Park, ArkansasPetit Jean Mountain was once known as Impassible Mountain because it blocked passage along the west bank of the river during periods of low water.  The mountain is called Petit Jean on maps created as early as 1844.  The name may have been derived from a half-French frontiersman and War of 1812 veteran named John Walker who settled in that area with his war land grant. When he filed his land grant petition to acquire land on the top of mountain, he identified himself as John Walker of Petit Jean Mountain.  However, John "Little John / Petit Jean" Walker isn't nearly as romantic an origin for the name as the legend is. 

"Petit Jean's Mountain: The Origin of the Legend," a book written by Dr. Lee W. Woodard provides historical evidence that suggest that the legend may be traceable to known historical records of the drowning of a young French noble called variously De Marne or De Marle. According to this account, seven survivors of the La Salle expedition were at what is now known as Petit Jean Mountain on June 24, 1687, when one of them, Petit Jean De Marne (Marle)  – or, possibly,  "Petite Jeanne" De Marne  – drowned while bathing and was subsequently buried at the east end of the mountain.

The true origin of the mountain's name, Petit Jean, may be lost to history.

Dr. T. W. Hardison, an early 20th century resident of the mountain described it this way:

A great flat-topped mountain rising 800 feet above the valley and river, 1,200 feet above the sea, reaching seven miles from point to base, and having on its summit 28 square miles of level or gently rolling land; its sweeping brow line, more than thirty miles in extent, rimmed with a continuous battlement of huge, gray boulders; a creek rising near the point, flowing down the center of the mountain finally to hurl itself over a sheer precipice 95 feet high, then winding its way on down the mountainside in a broad canyon from 200 to 400 feet deep; great fields of boulders, fifty to a hundred feet high, set in a primeval forest of pines, places where one stands and looks away to where mountain and sky blend their purple and blue; where one sweeps with a glance fifty or sixty miles of rolling hills and narrow valleys; such is the summit of Petit Jean Mountain.

Lodging

Mather Lodge, overlooking Cedar Creek Canyon and the Arkansas River Valley beyond, is a massive stone and log building constructed by the CCC in the 1930s.  Fully equipped and modernized, Mather Lodge has 24 guest rooms, 6 with 2 full size beds and 18 with 1 full size bed.  All rooms have satellite TV, clock radio, coffee pot, ironing board and iron.  There are no phones in any of the guest rooms.

Scattered in the woods near Mather Lodge are fully equipped cabins.  Nine are rustic and five are duplex, 2 units each with an adjoining door between them, and one, the honeymoon cabin, has a hot tub. All are heated and air-conditioned and have fireplaces and all electric kitchens with cooking utensils and tableware.    Six other duplexes (12 units) without kitchens, but with fireplaces, are located near the lodge.

Lodging on the mountain outside the state park is available to the public at the University of Arkansas's Winthrop Rockefeller Institute.

Camping  (Detailed Campground Map - 6.2 Mb pdf.)

Petit Jean State Park campgrounds are open year round and have both wooded and lake view sites.  There are 125 camp sites.  All have water and electrical hookups.  Thirty-five of the sites have sewer as well as 50 amp electrical service.  The campground is divided into 4 areas, each area having a modern bathhouse. A 44-unit rally style camping area available for group rallies is also designated as overflow camping for busy periods of the year.  A dump station is provided for RVers near the overflow/rally camping area. All sites are reservable year round.  Even during the fall and spring, on weekends, reservations are advised for the full hookup sites.

A reservable Group Camp Area available all year is located across the stone bridge over Cedar Creek downstream from Lake Bailey.  It has a bathhouse that is heated in winter.

Two Rent-A-Camps (sleeps up to 4) and two Rent-A-Tepees (sleeps up to 6) are available from March through November for those who do not own their own camping equipment. Besides sleeping mats, camp stove and other camping gear, a canoe, paddles, life jackets and seat cushions are also provided with each.

Fly-in camping is available at the Petit Jean State Park Airport with five tent sites with water and electric hookups, picnic tables, grills, lantern holders, and tent pads.  One site is barrier-free for handicap accessibility and there is a modern bathhouse with flush toilets and hot showers.  Call the Petit Jean State Park Airport (501-374-5022) for more details and to make reservations at Arkansas's only fly-in campground.  The airport is open for daytime use only.

Hiking

The Petit Jean State Park trail system provides over 20 miles of interconnected hiking trails.  Constructed mainly by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, the trails range in difficulty from easy to strenuous.  Three of the trails – Cedar Falls, Seven Hollows, and Cedar Creek – are designated as National Recreation Trails.

Cedar Falls Trail (2 miles, 2 hours to the falls and back) is the most popular trail in the park.  The trail begins through the Mather Lodge breezeway and returns to the same point.  Rated as moderate to strenuous, in its first half mile, this hiking trail descends over 200 feet into Cedar Creek Canyon over switchbacks and steps cut from rock by the CCC over 65 years ago.  Those considering taking this trail should take into consideration that the trail returns back up the same steps and switchbacks.  The park staff recommends shoes and boots that provide good ankle support and a firm grip and only those in good shape should take this hike.  The last half mile follows Cedar Creek to one of the state's most impressive sights, Cedar Falls, which cascades more that 90 into the canyon.  During the wet times of the year, the flow over the falls can be very spectacular, often dwindling to a trickle in the hottest and driest part of the year.  Cedar Creek was added to the register of Arkansas Natural Areas in 1977.

Seven Hollows Trail (loop trail: 4.5 miles, 4 hours; to Natural Bridge: 1.3 miles; to Grotto: 2.25 miles) actually only goes through the four most interesting hollows. rated as moderate to hard, this trail passes through open areas, immense rock formations, rock fields with near dessert-like conditions and the lush moss and fern understory of a hardwood forest. The trail passes through areas that are successfully recovering from an August 2000 wildfire. The trailhead begins 1 mile west of Mather Lodge on highway 154. 

Cedar Creek Trail (1.25 miles, 1.5 hours) is a moderately difficult loop trail that begins and ends at the Pioneer Cabin, 1 mile west if the park's visitor center on highway 154. Constructed by the CCC in the early 1930s, the trail meanders along a scenic section of the rocky Cedar Creek above Cedar Falls, sometimes just above the level of the creek and other times climbing high above it.  One section of the trail has two branches – one that climbs above the stream in the wetter months and one that follows the stream bed during the dry months when the creek has dwindled to little more than a trickle.

Canyon Trail (1 mile, 2 miles if backtracking to Cedar Falls Trail, 2 hours) begins from the Cedar Falls Trail after it crosses Cedar Creek, turning left to go downstream away from the falls.  Some sections of the trail are on terraces of rocks built up by the CCC.  The trail follows Cedar Creek and its many small falls and deep pools.  Large boulders, some the size of boxcars, fallen from the canyon's cliffs partially block the stream in places.  Along the trail are large old growth sycamore and pine trees.  Canyon Trail was once part of Boy Scout Trail.  The two trails join near a long deep pool called Blue Hole.  From here, hikers can backtrack to Cedar Falls Trail or loop back to Mather Lodge on the Boy Scout Trail via Seven Hollows Trail and Bear Cave Trail. Canyon Trail is rated as easy, though it is accessed by way of trails of higher difficulty.

Boy Scout Trail (12 miles, eight hours) starts across from the Group Camp at the north side of the CCC bridge over Cedar Creek and loops back to the starting point.  Hikers planning to hike the entire trail should register at the visitor center.

Rock House Cave Trail (.25 mi., .5 hr.) starts 1 mile west on Red Bluff Drive.  Rated as easy, this trail crosses a broad rocky area where "turtle rocks" are s dominant feature. Rock House Cave is a large rock bluff shelter, not a true cave.  High on the roof of the shelter can be seen the remnants of ancient pictographs – protected by antiquities and archeological heritage statutes.

Bear Cave Trail (.25 mi., .5 hr), a short loop trail, is located 1 mile west of Mather Lodge on highway 154.  While there is no true cave, huge sandstone rocks in the area form rock shelters and narrow passageways that visitors can explore. A tall narrow passage running down the center of the trail, called "The Eye of The Needle," is thought to have been cut by Cedar Creek long ago.

The Museum of Automobiles, located east of the main part of the Petit Jean State park on Petit Jean Mountain, includes a permanent collection of 30 automobiles donated by supporters from Arkansas and surrounding states.  The museum was founded in 1964 by the late Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, housing his collection of antique and classic automobiles until the collection was sold in 1975, with building and grounds donated to the Arkansas Department of Parks.  In 1976, a non-profit corporation was formed and reopened the museum with cars loaned from collectors around the country.  The national headquarters of the Mid-America Old Time Automobile Association is located in the museum.  The museum co-hosts with MOTAA in June the annual Petit Jean Antique Car Show and Swap Meet.  The museum also hosts a Fall Swap Meet and Military Vehicle Show.  Hours are 10 am to 5 pm daily.

Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, part of the University of Arkansas system, is a non-profit educational center with conference and lodging facilities. Lodging is open to the public and facilities are available for special events, meetings, conferences, and retreats. Registered guests have access to activities including the fitness center, indoor tennis and basketball courts, bicycles, and paddle boats and fishing on Lake Abby.  The grounds have demonstration gardens, water features, and walking and jogging trails.  Originally part of the farm and home of Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, the 188 acres on which the Institute now stands was the home of Winrock International for over 3 decades. In 2005, Winrock relocated to Little Rock and Washington, D.C. and the property reverted to the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust.  Together with the University of Arkansas, the Trust decided to develop an educational conference center.

Lutheran Camp on Petit Jean Mountain, an associate member of the National Lutheran Outdoors Ministry Association, is open year-round and is available for use by children, teens, adults, families, church groups, and other organizations. (Lutheran Camp)

The concept of a public park on Petit Jean Mountain had its beginnings in the first decade of the twentieth century.  With 80 acres of land around Cedar Falls initially set aside in 1923 as public land, Petit Jean became the first park in the Arkansas state park system. 

Besides hiking and camping, other activities in the park include fishing, picnicking, swimming, tennis or volleyball. Pedal boats, water bikes and flat bottom boats are available for rental on Lake Bailey.

The lodge restaurant provides a good selection of reasonably priced food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a very friendly wait staff.

The Numbers:

80 acres (0.3 km²) - original size of park in 1923
3,471 acres (14.05 km²) - size of park today
1,207 feet - elevation above sea level
65 miles - park's approximate distance northwest of the state capitol, Little Rock
24 rooms in rustic Mather Lodge
20 cabins with kitchens
12 cabins without kitchens
126 camping sites
37 RV pull-through sites
170 acre (69 ha) - size of Lake Bailey
95 feet (21 m) - Cedar Creek's drop over Cedar Falls
20 plus  - number of miles of trails
7 - number of trails:

  • Cedar Falls - 2 miles, 2 hours
  • Boy Scout - 12 miles, 8 hours
  • Cedar Creek - 1.25 miles, 1.5 hours
  • Seven Hollows - 4.5 miles, 4 hours
  • Canyon Trail - 1 mile, 2 hours
  • Rock House Cave - .25 mile, .5 hour
  • Bear Cave Trail - .25 mile, .5 hour

80 plus - things built in the park during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps, including buildings, bridges, roads and hiking trails
30 plus - number of automobiles donated by private collectors to the Museum of Automobiles near the park

Time Line

before c. 1000 A.D. - Rock House Cave home to Native Americans

1700s - according to legend, a French girl, who had been disguised as a cabin boy known to the crew as "Petit Jean" (Little Jean or John), was buried atop the mountain at what is now Stout's Point.

1840s - John Walker family makes their home on the mountain

1854 - Walker Family moves to Carden Bottoms at the foot of the mountain on the west

1856 - Owen West moves into the Walker cabin

1891 - Nelson family builds a large two story home near the Petit Jean "grave" site; planted apple orchard; successful in apple business for several years

abt. 1897 - William Cummings Stout and his wife buy the Nelson land; open Hotel Petit Jean in what had been the Nelson's home; supposedly had a copy of the "original" legend of Petit Jean written in French that was kept in the back of an old bible. Land in area of "grave" becomes known as Stout's Point

1907 - inception of the idea of a national park on the mountain

1920s - Mr. Stout sold the hotel property. Later property was donated to YMCA, who operated it as a children's summer camp, constructing several more buildings including College Lodge, used as an administration and meeting facility.

1921 - Ft. Smith Lumber Company offers to deed their land to the federal government for use as a national park;  Petit Jean National Park bill introduced in Congress

1933 to 1938 - Civilian Conservation Core Company 1781, a company of mostly World War 1 veterans with construction work experience, builds structures, roads, and trails on the mountain that are still in use today.  Walker cabin is moved to present location at head of Cedar Creek trail.

1940s - College Lodge is destroyed by fire.

1955 - Marguerite Turner wrote "Petit Jean," embellishing the legend, giving the French Captain the name "Chavet" and  Petit Jean the name "Adrienne Dumont."

1964 - Winthrop Rockefeller establishes the Museum of Automobiles on Petit Jean Mountain near the park. After his death, his private collection of automobiles is sold and the building an grounds are donated to the state of Arkansas

1976 - The Museum of Automobiles is reopened by a non-profit organization with the collection restocked

1985 - renovation and upgrade of camping area A (50 amp electrical, water and sewer hookup)

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