PULASKI COUNTY, Ark. – State Park leaders are getting ready to open the doors on a new visitor center at Pinnacle Mountain State Park.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is expected to be held next Tuesday, and park leaders like Pinnacle Mountain State Park Assistant Superintendent Cade Davenport said this has been a long time coming.

“We had a lot of visitors [who] have lived in the area for their entire lives and weren’t aware that we had a visitor center,” Davenport said.

The park’s old visitor center was built back in the late 1970s. Over the years, Davenport said it has slipped beyond the trees.

“I think it was pretty clear to everyone, it was time for an update and a fresh look,” Davenport said.

The newest building has been moved down the road, and it may have caught some eyes on Highway 300.

This week, KARK 4 News got to go past the stone and glass doors to give viewers a look inside.

“They kept saying, ‘We want it to be iconic. We want it to be something that welcomes people into the park,’” Amanda Sturgell from Polk, Stanley, and Wilcox Architects said.

“We want a place where [hikers] can fill up their water bottles, they could prepare for their hikes, they could relax,” Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism Secretary Shea Lewis said.

The building is designed much like the mountain itself, with a low entry that opens to the peak.

“The thoughts of climbing in between rocks, and over rocks, and through rocks, we wanted this to be a monumental, iconic building,” Reese Rowland with Polk, Stanley, and Wilcox Architects said.

Park leaders said this will be a stepping stone to a park everyone should call home, whether you’re on your first climb or your 50th.

The visitor center will have a trail entrance to the base of the West Summit Trail. It will also have a concession stand where families can grab a scoop of ice cream after their long-awaited journey.

The visitor center will open Tuesday, Nov. 28.