Millwood State Park, State park in Ashdown, United States

Millwood State Park covers 824 acres around Millwood Lake, with submerged timber, extensive marshes, and varied habitats for wildlife. The lake is held back by one of Arkansas's longest earthen dams, creating a distinctive water landscape with shallow and deeper zones.

The park opened in 1976, following the creation of Millwood Lake by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1966 for flood management. The submerged landscape is the direct result of this dam construction, which reshaped the region.

The name Millwood comes from a frontier river landing used between 1845 and 1875. The park began as Cypress Slough, a Corps of Engineers recreation area at the southwestern end of Millwood Dam, leased to the state parks division on April 1, 1976. Today the park runs a marina with boat rentals and interpretive activities.

The park sits on the southern shore of Millwood Lake, nine miles east of Ashdown, reached by road from the Texarkana area. Camping and picnicking sites, hiking and bike trails, and a marina with boat rentals serve visitors; the lake's flooded timber holds bass in shallow water. The 3.3-mile earthen dam at the southwestern end is where Cypress Slough once lay.

The area supports one of the richest bird-watching regions in the nation, with roughly 300 recorded species that migrate through at different times of year. Many visitors overlook that the lake itself acts as a stopover point for migratory birds seeking rest along the shores.