Burns Park’s disc golf course reopens following tornado damage

Little Rock, Arkansas – Burns Park in North Little Rock has reinstated disc golf after the tornadoes on March 31 damaged the courses.

Players are excited to return to their favorite disc golf course at one of the biggest city parks in the nation, as there is a sizable disc golf community in the state, particularly in Central Arkansas.

The newly reopened Disc Golf facility is drawing crowds of friends, family, and neighbors.

“Burns Park is a destination where people from all parts of our city and state come to play and these people, we were talking to right here were saying thank you very much… No, I have to say thank you to them. It really needs to have them come out and play,” North Little Rock, Mayor, Terry Hartwick said.

The courses, which were built in the 1980s, have drawn a lot of people in the last 15 years, but they suffered greatly after the local calamity.

“It made us feel really sad as a community. Just because it was kind of… It was a lot of it our hands, but it not only took out Burns Park. It took out reservoir park as well, so it left us with choices of parks that are a little bit further away, however this is one of the oldest parks here in Arkansas and the fact that the tornado just kind of wiped it out has been a learning curve for a lot of us,” Disc Golfer, Justin Yates said.

Disc golfers are at last getting back in touch with their community eight months later.

“It’s been closed for so long. They’ve been doing so much good work around here. Pulling out dead trees, making it look really pretty again. The feeling was just happiness overall. The ability to come back and come to this park that’s really close to my home and a lot of other people’s, And just be together again in the same place were a lot of us started playing disc golf. It feels really good,” Yates said.

There are eighteen disc golf holes on the Funland Drive course, which is situated between Funland and the dog park.

“I would suggest that if you haven’t tried it. You better get out here and try. I think you’d enjoy it,” Hartwick said.

Hartwick continued, “We’re eager to keep letting the public use more areas of the park.”

The Dog Park, Equestrian Trail, One Heart Park, Rocket Slide, Pavilions, DeJanis Boys High School Baseball Field, Girls High School Softball Field, Softball Complex, and Baseball Complex are among the additional attractions that are open on Funland Drive/Joe K. Poch Drive in Burns Park.