Rogers is a charming city in northwest Arkansas, nestled in the scenic Ozark Mountains. Home to the Walmart headquarters and popular attractions like Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Rogers also offers numerous lovely parks and green spaces. The city’s climate is mild, yet sees four distinct seasons.
This makes any time of year ideal for getting outdoors to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the parks, play a pickup game, or take in some live music or outdoor movies.
From major parks with lakeside beaches to small neighborhood playgrounds, Rogers has a wonderful selection to choose from. Here are twelve of the best parks showcasing the city’s natural beauty and recreation opportunities.
Lake Atalanta Park – A Rogers Favorite with Beach and Trail
The crown jewel of Rogers’ city parks is the 85-acre Lake Atalanta Park, which opened in 1969. The manmade lake offers a public beach and is the centerpiece of the grounds. Visitors love coming here to relax on the sandy beach and go wading, kayaking, paddleboarding, and fishing on the lake. A scenic 1.1 mile trail wraps around the lake, going through wooded areas and along the waterfront.
The expansive park also includes playground equipment, basketball and tennis courts, a splash pad, picnic shelters, food vendors, a concert pavilion hosting events, and more. Special amenities like the beachside wheelchair and fire pits for parties make Lake Atalanta a popular spot. Wildlife like ducks, geese, and turtles are abundant at the lake as well. The park has something for all ages to enjoy.
R.E.Baker Park – A Mid-Size Park with Lake Access
Another scenic Rogers park featuring a large fishing lake is the 25-acre R.E. Baker Park. It is part of the 40-acre R.E Baker Recreation Complex, which includes athletic fields as well. Visitors enjoy bass fishing on the park’s sizable pond, with boat ramp access.
Nature trails, a playground, swimming pool complex, basketball courts, picnic pavilions, and a skate park round out the park’s other offerings. The large, open, grassy space provides areas to relax or play catch, frisbee, and other lawn games like corn hole and ladder ball. R.E. Baker Park packs a lot of recreation into one area.
Veterans Park – Relaxing Park with Scenic Creekside Trail
Spanning 95 acres, Veterans Park balances outdoor recreation with open green space and land devoted to athletic fields. At the park’s center flows Little Sugar Creek. Visitors can walk the paved 1⁄2 mile Sugar Creek Trail paralleling the flowing stream. Benches allow stopping to relax and enjoy views of the creek valley corridor slicing through the landscape.
The park also offers playground equipment, a splash pad, basketball court, picnic tables, restrooms, walking paths, and open grassy space for pick-up sports games or simply tossing a flying disc. Seasonal twinkle lights in the trees add extra atmosphere in the evening. Veterans Park combines scenic nature with family-friendly recreation.
Frank Tillery Park – Sizable Neighborhood Park and Playground
At 16 acres, Frank Tillery Park provides one of the larger neighborhood parks while still primarily catering to its immediate residential vicinity. In addition to ample playground equipment, the park contains walking paths, a basketball court, two picnic pavilions, and open grass field space. Mature trees dot the landscape and provide shade. The features at Frank Tillery Park offer variety for all ages while serving its neighborhood with ease of access.
Haxton Park – West-Side Neighborhood Gathering Place
Tucked into a Rogers residential area on the west side, tiny 1.2-acre Haxton Park mainly serves its neighbors but provides nice playground equipment for all children nearby. The playground offers modern equipment including a large climbing piece with slides, swings, mini zipline, spinners, toddler section, and more set on a soft rubber surface. Park benches and a picnic table complete the space where families and kids gather as a community.
Though small, Haxton Park packs a lot of play opportunities into a confined neighborhood area. Its modern playground makes it popular with local families.
Rogers Athletic Complex – Sprawling Sports Complex with 12 Ball Fields
Baseball and softball players flock to the Rogers Athletic Complex spanning a whopping 145 acres on the east side of the city. As the largest sports complex in Northwest Arkansas, it contains twelve baseball/softball fields including a centerpiece stadium field with covered seating for 500. Multiple batting cages allow for warming up. The huge grounds provide ample parking and concessions stands are also on-site.
In addition to league and tournament play, the lit fields accommodate casual practices and scrimmages as schedules allow. Planning play time ahead via the facility calendar helps guarantee field access when visiting the Rogers Athletic Complex.
Frank Tillery Park – Sizable Neighborhood Park and Playground
At 16 acres, Frank Tillery Park provides one of the larger neighborhood parks while still primarily catering to its immediate residential vicinity. In addition to ample playground equipment, the park contains walking paths, a basketball court, two picnic pavilions, and open grass field space. Mature trees dot the landscape and provide shade. The features at Frank Tillery Park offer variety for all ages while serving its neighborhood with ease of access.
Rogers Skate Park at R.E. Baker Park – Concrete Skating Haven
Part of the R.E. Baker Recreation Complex, the Rogers Skate Park offers 13,000 square feet of smooth concrete sculpted into bowls, ramps, rails, steps, and central arena. Skaters ride the contours to catch air or finesse technical street style moves. The park provides pads and helmets to use free of charge for safety. Visitors give Rogers Skate Park high marks for its ample size, smooth riding surfaces, variety of terrain, and plentiful seating for spectators. From novice street skaters to more advanced vert ramp riders, the park welcomes all ages to ride.
Marion Orton Westside Dog Park – Riverside Small Dog Park
Located adjacent namesake Marion Orton Park, the westside dog park spans just over half an acre. What it lacks in size though, it makes up for with personality and ample amenities. The Shelter Insurance Canine Recreation Area contains obstacles like hurdles, tunnels, mini-stairs, and balance equipment dogs delight in playing on. It also provides poop bags, trash bins, and seating for humans.
Situated alongside a stream tributary, the dog park’s west fence allows playful pups to stand up for a drink of refreshing running water flowing along its edge, containing it safely inside. The westside dog park packs a lot of wagging tails into its cozy confines. Visitors praise this park for its friendly regulars and fun vibe.
Beaver Lake Dog Park – Lakeside Off-Leash Playground
Spanning five acres, Beaver Lake Dog Park located on the west side provides the largest off-leash playground in Rogers for precious pups. The ample space situated alongside scenic Beaver Lake allows dogs room to roam and swim while taking in the fresh air. Separate areas accommodate both large and small breeds to minimize risks.
Other amenities include waste stations, water access, picnic table, walking trail access and scenic lake views. Visitors frequently remark how much their high-energy dogs delight in having such a large area to spend their boundless playful energy while socializing with other canines.
Downtown Rogers Parking Lot Concerts and Events Grounds
Smack in the heart of quaint downtown Rogers across the street from city hall lies a landscaped public parking lot and pedestrian grounds that transforms into a lively events hub during the warmer months. Surrounded by historic brick buildings with ornate architecture knitting together the city’s center, the space brings community gatherings alive through art fairs, food festivals, farmers markets, car shows, holiday events, and frequent free summer evening concerts.
Visitors bring lawn chairs and blankets to set up amid the decorative concrete and trees or relax at the variety of dining patios bordering the street edge while listening to live local music performers rock the intimate outdoor stage. For experiencing downtown vibrancy and community togetherness, Rogers’ downtown parking lot events venue delivers ample annual enchanting entertainment.
Railyard Live Concerts and Events
Another parking lot venue in downtown Rogers supporting events, markets, and concerts is the Railyard parking lot sectioned off specifically for public use as a venue. The Railyard Live space contains a covered performance pavilion with professional sound system. Surrounding pedestrian areas accommodate food trucks and vendor markets to complement events with shopping and eats.
From May through October on weekends, Railyard Live comes alive with free concerts featuring local and regional musicians across genres from rock, indie, folk and soul to jazz and blues. Patrons bring lawn chairs and beverages to set up around the pavilion for enjoying melodic tunes together under the stars. Railyard Live provides downtown Rogers a dedicated public space to unite around live music and events.
Rogers Convention Center & Auditorium Park
Located south of downtown neighboring city hall and the Rogers Historical Museum rests Auditorium Park and the Rogers Convention Center complex. The sizeable brick convention center and event venue contains over 30,000 square feet of flexible meeting and ballroom space used heavily for conferences, trade shows, banquets and theater performances year-round.
Fronting the modern center, Auditorium Park provides a public green space with a scenic pond, lighted fountain, walking paths and ample trees. Visitors enjoy strolling through the well-landscaped park when taking breaks from conventions and events happening inside. For both locals and visitors, Auditorium Park combines relaxation in nature with a major community gathering place hosting Rogers’ largest happenings.
Crystal Bridges Museum Trails
Beyond public city parks, the wildly popular Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art provides over 5 miles of scenic paved and natural surface trails weaving through their 120 heavily wooded acres dotted with outdoor sculpture exhibits. Access is free for visitors who delight in meandering along the peaceful trails encountering flora, fauna and art while taking breaks on one of the many benches tucked under shade trees along paths.
Connecting the museum grounds with downtown Rogers and the Razorback Greenway regional trail network beyond, the trails at Crystal Bridges serve as both museum enhancement and valued community recreation resource enjoyed by many.
Conclusion
Boasting nearly 30 public parks plus a wealth of tree-lined trails at Crystal Bridges, Rogers lives up to its adopted nickname “The City of Parks”. From the lively Lake Atalanta beach park to tiny neighborhood playground havens, Rogers provides an abundance of open green spaces and recreation variety suiting all interests.
The parks of Rogers offer play equipment, athletic fields, walking paths, dog parks, concert venues, water recreation and access to nature. Locals and visitors delight in utilizing these many stellar parks across the seasons to connect with community and surround themselves with natural beauty enhanced through thoughtful design. When getting outdoors for play or relaxation is the order of the day, Rogers’ charming city parks deliver on all fronts.