The lake offers many opportunities to see wintering and migrating geese, ducks, loons grebes, gulls and terns. Check for these along the lakeshore from the Visitors Center to the boat ramp at the Campground. Many rarities have been seen in the area. The trails and park area offer leisurely birding with Brown-headed Nuthatches often found in the many pine trees on the park grounds. 

During winter months, numerous Gull, Duck, and Grebe species are present, as well as an influx of Bald Eagles. In the summer months there are Least Terns, Green Herons, and Egrets.  There are also Nuthatches, Warblers, and Orioles. 

This park is located in two areas on Lake Dardanelle. The main site is in Russellville where you’ll find the Sport Fishing Weigh-in Pavilion, a fishing pier, swimming beach, boardwalk, trail, and visitor center with five aquariums, and the Lakeview Room meeting facility. Park interpreters lead a variety of programs and lake tours. There are 57 campsites in the Russellville area of the park (16 Class AAA, 14 Class AA, and 27 Class B) with 18 Class B sites in the Dardanelle area of the park.

The Visitor Center is open 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. The park is open 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. Restrooms are available in the visitor center and the weigh in pavilion

Lake Dardanelle (34,300 acres) was formed by a dam on the Arkansas River. It is managed as a navigable waterway by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The 240-acre Lake Dardanelle State Park, managed by Arkansas State Parks, offers various recreational opportunities. Much of the area is interspersed by river channels of the Arkansas & Piney Rivers and the Illinois Bayou. Shoreline, island, and upland habitats vary from pine to hardwood forest. The dam, state park, Piney Point, and Delaware Recreation Area are among the often used viewing areas.

The theme of the Meadowbrook Self-Guided Trail is about the succession of plants, man's influence on the environment, and the variety of flowers, plants, and trees in the Arkansas River Valley. The trail begins and ends near the park amphitheater.