FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Initial construction has begun on the second phase of improvements at Kessler Mountain Regional Park.
Work will include four new ballfields, parking, concession and restroom building and other related improvements.
Construction is expected to take about 15 months. The project is funded through the 2019 park bond approved by Fayetteville voters.
The trailhead in the existing baseball field parking area will be temporally closed. Visitors are asked to use the trailhead at the playground to access the new Fayetteville Traverse Trail which will provide access to several areas of the mountain.
Another access point is near the Southeast corner of the soccer fields across the park road. A new bench and boulder mark the entrance to a new trail, named “Saddle Up,” that brings users through the south side of the park and ties back into Last Call trail.
Note this trail is more impacted by wet conditions than the Fayetteville Traverse.
Signage and maps will be at the trailheads, key areas in the park, and on the City of Fayetteville website at www.fayetteville-ar.gov/kesslerpark to help direct park visitors.
Kessler Mountain Regional Park in southwest Fayetteville comprises some 620 acres on and around historic Kessler Mountain, which reaches 1,856 feet above sea level. The park serves as a regional sports park, with numerous soccer and baseball fields, a nearly 400-acre nature preserve, and as a popular area for mountain-bikers and hikers, with more than ten miles of natural-surface trails.