Hitting a rock and going airborne while on a two-wheeled spiky metal contraption – even two inches high – is not my kind of adventure. After turning 40 my sense of mortality and broken bones has only grown. However, even though I’m not the biggest… Read More »Blue Bayou Trail, Iron Mountain
When people come together to protect nature, everyone wins. And that’s exactly what happened with Rattlesnake Ridge, near Little Rock. Just west of Pinnacle Mountain State Park, you’ll find this unique place, which I have always thought looked like the back scales of a dragon.… Read More »Rattlesnake Ridge Natural Area
While growing up in southwest Arkansas, floating the Caddo River was a mainstay in spring and early summertime. The most popular route for a Caddo River float is the 10.5 mile stretch of river between Caddo Gap and Glenwood. This float provides fun rapids that… Read More »Caddo River Float – a fun easy float
Are you a vista person or a valley person? Do you like to be up high looking over everything below you, or do you like to be in the thick of it, surrounded by mountains on all sides? I’m a little of both, but if… Read More »The Five Best Vistas in the Ouachita Mountains
Lake Sylvia Recreation Area offers a number of shorter interpretive trails, but for those who want a longer hike can extend the loops with the Ouachita Trail for a five-mile loop. The extended Lake Sylvia Loop shows off everything the Ouachita National Forest has to… Read More »Lake Sylvia Loop and Chinquapin Mountain Spur
Black Fork Mountain stretches from Arkansas into Oklahoma just north of Queen Wilhelmina State Park in the Ouachita National Forest. The trail offers spectacular views, unique forests, and historic places. Black Fork Mountain Trail is great for a long day hike or an overnight backpack.… Read More »Hiking Black Fork Mountain Trail
The Mountains in southwest Arkansas between Glenwood and Mena are my favorite on the entire planet. They are so rugged, remote, and beautiful, you simply cannot look at them without awe. Last month I hiked the Caney Creek/Buckeye Trail Loop in that area for the… Read More »Caney Creek/Buckeye Mountain Trail Loop
The phrase “a rainy” can have a negative connotation, but it’s all about perspective. I actually love to hike in the rain. The forest is quiet, calm, and enchanting. One great thing about spring in the South is it promises lots of rain. And in… Read More »The seven best waterfalls in Arkansas
The Caney Creek Wilderness area in the Ouachita National Forest in southwest Arkansas is one of the most beautiful and rugged areas in the state. It is 14,460 acres and is a backpackers paradise. Because it is a wilderness area, it is a great place… Read More »Tall Peak Trail – Caney Creek Wilderness Area
It’s spring time and in Arkansas that means it the rivers are at a great level to float! One of my favorite floats in southwest Arkansas is the a short day float on the Ouachita River. It has an odd name for a float. It’s… Read More »Dragover float on the Ouachita River
Arkansas has several long-distance trails, with the longest ones being the Ouachita Trail and the Ozark Highlands Trail. But if you cannot take two to three weeks off from work or simply don’t have the energy to thru-hike, there are many lovely trailheads along the… Read More »Ouachita Trail – Section Nine
If you are looking for an awesome day hike within a short distance of Hot Springs National Park, it is not hard to find a trail. You can narrow it down by what you want to see, like a waterfall, the lake, beautiful woods, or… Read More »Hiking the Charlton Trail
Last year I wrote a blog post called Hometown Hikes, where I wrote about trails inside or right outside Hot Springs, Ark. But if you are looking to expand a little further out of Hot Springs, here are three trails that are about an hour’s… Read More »Hot Springs hikes – about a one hour’s drive
The Little Missouri River in the Ouachita Mountains in southwest Arkansas is my favorite area – anywhere. Several trails snake through the area with spectacular scenery, but the Winding Stairs segment of the Little Missouri Trail is my favorite. The Little Missouri Trail is a… Read More »Winding Stairs – Little Missouri River
One of my favorite day hikes around Hot Springs is the Hunt’s Loop Trail in the Ouachita National Forest. The 4.3-mile-hike takes you straight up Short Mountain to a gorgeous vista and then through some of the most beautiful woods along the ridge of the… Read More »Hiking Hunt’s Loop Trail
Before hiking the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail, the furthest I had ever hiked continuously was about 20 miles, a one-night backpacking trip in Montana. I asked my brother, Jacob, who is a teacher, if he wanted to do a backpacking trip with me during spring… Read More »Gotta LOViT – the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail
A soggy socked start to the new year Last New Year’s Eve was the first holiday that I went to bed before midnight since I have been old enough to stay up to ring in the new year. Zach and I decided to spend the… Read More »Big Brushy Trail Complex
Brush Heap Mountain is located on the Athens-Big Fork Trail, which is one of the hardest trails to tackle in the Ouachita Mountains. Most trails follow the ridges of the Ouachitas, located in southwest Arkansas, which run east to west. The ABF, however, is a… Read More »Hiking Brush Heap Mountain
Hot Springs, a great place to take a hike One aspect of my hometown, Hot Springs, Ark., that I love so much is that we are so close to hiking trails. They vary in lengths and sites, provide a getaway for any mood. Some trails… Read More »Hometown hikes