A 2,000-acre state park around twenty minutes east of Hot Springs, set on the smallest and least developed of the chain of lakes in the area. The Falls Branch Trail (1.7 miles return) leads to a genuinely pretty cascade tumbling over a horseshoe of layered rock — easy walking, magic in the spring after rain.
Cabins and a campground sit right on the water; canoe and pedal-boat rentals are available at the marina. This is the right pick if Lake Hamilton feels too suburban — the shoreline here is mostly forest, the marinas smaller, and the trails worth a day on their own.