Posted on Tue, Jun. 24, 2008

Opportunities galore on this beautiful land

If the Texas heat is getting you down, check out some of the really cool places in Arkansas.

Arkansas is well-known for its sparkling, cool rivers and lakes, beautiful mountains, dense woodlands and valleys and abundance of fish and wildlife.

You can fish for trout in mountain lakes and streams, canoe and kayak on crystal-clear water, find breathtaking scenery on mountains and in caves, and hike and camp in 52 state parks.

Here are five of our favorite places to enjoy the outdoors in Arkansas:

Fishing

White River

Access: There are many access points but here's one of the most popular:

From Little Rock, take I-40 west to U.S. 65. Go north on U.S. 65 to Clinton. Turn northeast on Highway 16 and continue to Mountain View then continue on Highway 5 into Mountain Home where access to the river is numerous.

This beautiful river provides more than 100 miles of tailrace fishing for rainbow trout, huge brown trout and smallmouth bass below such major impoundments as Bull Shoals, Table Rock and Beaver and long and slender Lake Taneycomo.

The river courses through miles of low-slung mountains and dense forests and is perhaps the most famous southern trout river dotted with docks, resorts and many other fishing, camping and boating-related establishments.

Fish habitat in the river is abundant and includes islands, backwater eddies, narrow runs, underwater rock piles and long pools. Rainbow trout averaging 15 inches in length are common and brown trout weighing up to 20 pounds and larger are caught annually.

Canoeing and kayaking

Ouachita River

Access: The most popular access points include the U.S. 270 crossing, the Arkansas 379 bridge, several county road crossings off Arkansas 88 and a few U.S. Forest Service campgrounds.

The Ouchita River is a fast-moving stream with Class I and sometimes Class II rapids in its upper reaches and shallow shoals mixed with deep pools on its lower reaches. The scenery includes high bluffs overlooking clear pools of waters occasionally surrounded by interesting rock formations.

The river can be floated year-round but during the summer months you can expect to have to walk and drag your canoe or kayak through some shallow areas.

One of the most popular trips is a 10-mile journey from Pine Ridge to the Arkansas Highway 379 bridge south of Oden along noisy shoals and through a tunnel made by overhanging trees.

Another popular course is from Oden to Rocky Shoals Campground at the U.S. 270 crossing, another 10-mile trip that features some of the most beautiful scenery on the river. From Rocky Shoals, canoeists can continue to travel (or put in and go) four miles downriver to the Sims Campground or another three miles to the Fulton Branch Campground.

More information is available by calling 501-682-7777 or e-mailing info@arkansas.com.

Sightseeing

Cedar Falls

Access: at Petit Jean State Park atop Petit Jean Mountain off Arkansas Highway 154 southwest of Morrilton.

This is the best-known natural waterfall in Arkansas and one absorbed in history about a French girl who in the 1700s disguised herself as a boy to journey from France to America and who later died here. The gusher spills 95 feet into Cedar Creek and can be accessed by the Cedar Falls Trail that winds through Cedar Creek Canyon to the falls' "splash down." The journey is 2 1/4 miles round trip and is classified as moderate to strenuous.

Whether at the top of the falls or below, the view is spectacular. Once you have seen it you won't forget it. If you are on the search for other Arkansas waterfowls you might want to check out these: Little Missouri Falls, Cossalot River State Park Natural Area, The Falls at Lake Catherine State Park, Eden Falls, Falling Water Falls, Haw Creek Falls, Richland Falls-Twin Falls and Hemmed-In Hollow Falls.

More information is available by calling 501-727-5441 or by going to www.ArkansasStateParks.com.

Hiking-backpacking

Ozark Highlands Trail

Access: Western terminus: Dockery Gap, south of Mountainburg on U.S. 71. Turn east on Highway 348 and travel through Locke to Dockery Gap. Look for parking lot and trail sign. Eastern terminus: Tyler Bend Campground on the Buffalo National River; U.S. 65 at Silver Hill.

The Ozark Highlands Trail covers 209.6 miles and has been rated as one of the most scenic trails in the U.S. From the Ozark National Forest, the trail travels northward across the Gene Rush-Buffalo River Wildlife Management Area and ends up at the Buffalo National River in the Richland Valley near Woolum Campground. At that point, the trail joins the Buffalo River Trail, which heads downstream another 13 miles to the Tyler Bend Campground.

The trail is considered by many as one of the most spectacular trails in the southeastern U.S. Unique rock outcroppings, thick stands of oaks and hickory, lush forest vegetation and clear mountain streams follow its path through the Ozark Mountains.

More information is available at www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ozark or by calling 479-968-2354.

Caves

Blanchard Springs Caverns

Access: The caverns are located 15 miles northwest of Mountain View off Arkansas Highway 14 in the southwestern part of Ozark National Forest. The caverns are administered by the U.S. Forest Service.

Blanchard Springs Caverns have been called one of the most extraordinary finds of the century. It is a living cave that constantly is in the process of formation. Also nearby is Mirror Lake, a small trout pond fed by Blanchard Springs and open to fishing.

There are three tours available on two of the three levels of caverns open to guided tours -- The Dripstone Trail, Discovery Trail and Wild Cave Tour.

The Dripstone and Discovery tours are limited to about 30 people and the Wild Cave Tour is limited for 12 people. The Wild Cave tour is the newest of the caverns' tours and takes visitors to an undeveloped area of the middle section of the three-level caverns. Visitors should be prepared to get down and dirty, crawling on hands and knees through some areas, climbing steep slopes and passing under low ceilings.

More information available by calling 888-757-2246 or at www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ozark/recreation/caverns.html.