MARIANNA, Arkansas — Arkansas State Parks and U.S. Forest Service officials took part in the dedication ceremony for Mississippi River State Park near Marianna on May 16.

The event also marked the grand opening of the park’s visitor center, a 12,208-square-foot information and education facility that will serve as an information and interpretive center for the state park and the St. Francis National Forest. A 930-square-foot exhibit gallery in the visitor center interprets the Delta, Crowley’s Ridge and the Mississippi River.

Several separate sites in the national forest compose the state park, which will be phased in over the next several years and eventually total 536 acres. The total development cost is estimated at $23 million.

The 22,600-acre St. Francis National Forest stretches along Crowley’s Ridge and borders the Mississippi River.

www.arkansas.com