View Article - Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

Waves of
Wildlife
Arkansas Water Trails Open
Doors to Adventure
Article and Photos by Jeff Williams
The Ouachita Trail and the Ozark
Highlands Trail are known across
the country as great examples of
projects built by volunteers and
partnerships. They’re also two of the
best trails between the Rocky and the
Appalachian mountains.
Volunteers and partners are behind
another kind of Arkansas trail project
that’s gaining speed.
The Arkansas Game and Fish
Commission’s Arkansas Water Trails
program began when the first trail was
dedicated in April 2009. Today, six
trails covering 63 miles are open and
more are in the works.
They are doors to places accessible via
canoe and kayak, not foot or wheels.
“This is a national treasure, just
like the Buffalo River is a national
treasure,” said Debbie Doss of the
Arkansas Canoe Club, speaking in
April at the opening of Bayou DeView
Water Trail. Doss is among many
dedicated volunteers who have spent
hundreds of hours installing trail signs,
leading float trips and doing whatever
it takes to draw people to these special
places. It’s not easy marking a path
through wetlands with trees so tight
that sometimes canoes barely slip
through.
“We strapped two canoes together
and built a platform to stand on so we
could put trail signs high enough on
trees,” Doss said. “I literally burned up
a drill.”
She enjoys being on any water
but Bayou DeView is her baby.
Individuals like her, and public and
private agencies, have made these trails
possible, led by Kirsten Bartlow, the
AGFC’s watchable wildlife coordinator.
Many of the access points on these
trails are marked by interpretive signs;
follow the links listed below for details.
This is a guide to Arkansas Water
Trails – so far – but it’s just a glimpse of
the adventures and discoveries waiting
for paddlers in The Natural State.
Cut-Off Creek Water Trail features surprising
landscapes in southeast Arkansas.
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Bayou DeView Water Trail
Location – Sheffield Nelson Dagmar
WMA, Benson Creek Natural Area
and Cache River National Wildlife
Refuge, Monroe County.
Length – 15.2 miles.
Camping – Primitive campsites available on Dagmar WMA.
Partners – Arkansas Canoe Club, Arkansas Natural
Heritage Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Details/Map – www.agfc.com/species/Pages/
SpeciesWatchableWildlifeDetails.aspx?Title=Bayou%20
DeView%20Water%20Trail
Picture a rocky mountain stream slipping through a lush
valley – with gravel bars, swimming holes and gurgling
shoals.
But that’s not what we’re talking about.
Arkansas’s Mississippi Delta is home to slower going
for paddlers. Bayou DeView Water Trail oozes 15.2 miles
through wetlands along Interstate 40 between Little Rock
and Memphis. The water is covered by a canopy of cypress
and tupelo trees, some up to 1,000 years old and more than
100 feet high. Although I-40 is sometimes within earshot,
the bayou is another world, a place where a paddler can get
lost in trees and lost in thought. It’s also a place where GPS
units or compasses are good friends to have.
At moderate water levels, Bayou DeView is a flat-water
float, free of rapids, although heavy rain and high water –
usually during spring – can create dangerous situations as
the bayou widens and rolls through the Big Woods. The
trail has five access points.
“When people experience it, they feel like they’re stepping
back in time,” Bartlow said. The AGFC manages Dagmar
Wildlife Management Area, which is on the Ramsar List
of Wetlands of International Importance. It has joined
the Arkansas Canoe Club, Arkansas Natural Heritage
Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to
create this eye-opening trail.
“Volunteers from the Arkansas Canoe Club blazed the
trail,” Bartlow said. “Keep in mind this means blazing
it downstream and upstream because it usually can be
paddled either way.”
There’s not much of the Big Woods left. These tracts of
oaks, sweetgum, cypress and tupelo cover about half a million
acres of Arkansas today, a shadow of the 24 million acres that
once spread across Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.
“This area is one of the best places for wildlife viewing
because you’re paddling through woods instead of hiking,”
Bartlow said. “You can do that so quietly – beavers sunning
on logs, great blue herons, prothonotary warblers, barred
owls, all kinds of woodpeckers. You usually don’t get to
see things like that if you’re walking through the woods.
Viewing from a boat is my favorite way to see wildlife.”
Wetlands hold water and improve the health of rivers
and streams, supply drinking water, and help agriculture
A paddler on Bayou DeView Water Trail passes one of many markers that
keep boats on course.
and industry. They also support diverse wildlife, fishing,
hunting and other recreational activities.
“One of the coolest things about the trail is you can
paddle about half of it, take a spur to Lake Hickson and
camp for the night, then paddle the rest of the trail,”
Bartlow said.
The bayou includes underwater wildlife, too. Fishing is
good, especially for crappie, bream and catfish. The area is
popular with hunters seeking waterfowl and other game,
especially during winter migrations; check agfc.com for
hunting dates before you visit.
Robe Bayou Water Trail
Location – Sheffield Nelson Dagmar
WMA, Monroe County.
Length – 4.5 miles.
Camping – Primitive campsites
available along Dagmar Road.
Partners – Arkansas Canoe Club, Arkansas Natural
Heritage Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Details/Map – www.agfc.com/species/Pages/
SpeciesWatchableWildlifeDetails.aspx?Title=Robe%20
Bayou%20Water%20Trail
Consider this a little brother to Bayou DeView Water Trail.
It’s on the western side of Sheffield Nelson Dagmar WMA,
with a channel that’s much easier to follow than Bayou
DeView’s.
It’s also easy to access – there are five boat ramps spaced
along the trail, as well as a footbridge that blocks the
channel. Portage around the footbridge or plan your trip to
the north or south.
Camping is easy, too. Numerous primitive campsites are
available along the trail. They are free and may be occupied
on a first-come, first-served basis.
This trail is a wise choice for wildlife watchers and birders.
Look for red-headed and pileated woodpeckers, barred owls,
prothonotary warblers and, of course, great blue and green
herons. In winter, bald eagles and an assortment of waterfowl
drop by. Beavers, deer, raccoons and muskrats are common.
Some of the towering cypress trees and their mammoth
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trunks are hundreds of years old. Tupelo, sweetgum and
oaks – overcup, water and Nuttall – make up the forest.
Crooked Creek Water Trail
Location – Marion County.
Length – 22.1 miles.
Camping – Brooksher Crooked Creek
Preserve (about mid-point of trail) and
Snow Access.
Partners – Arkansas Canoe Club, The Nature Conservancy.
Details/Map – www.agfc.com/resources/wildlifeviewing/
crookedcreek-watertrailmap.pdf
So far, this is the longest water trail the AGFC has
designated. It’s 22.1 miles from Upper Pyatt Access in
western Marion County to Yellville Access near
downtown Yellville.
A quick look at a map reveals how Crooked Creek got its
name. It folds back on itself as it cuts through rock. Some
paddlers like to call it a miniature version of the Buffalo
River, and that makes sense, but Crooked Creek is not
protected by public property. Almost all of it flows through
private forests and farms.
It sets a quick pace when spring rains hit but most of
the year it’s a gentle float. Smallmouth bass fishing is a
major draw. The creek’s clean, fast water, a rocky bottom,
and scattered boulders and logs give brownies all the
hiding and spawning spots they need. They can be caught
with soft-plastic lures, crank baits, spinners and other
contraptions. They love crayfish.
Camping is available at Brooksher Crooked Creek Preserve,
owned by The Nature Conservancy, at the trail’s mid-point,
and Snow Access. Except for Fred Berry Conservation
Education Center on Crooked Creek, the trail passes through
private property.
Upper Pyatt Access is the westernmost public put-in
place. Lower Pyatt Access is little more than half a mile
downstream, and an easier access. Next is Snow Access, 6.7
miles below Lower Pyatt. Kelley’s Slab Access, about 12
Set Your Course
The Arkansas Game and Fish
Commission designates trails that
are part of the Arkansas Water
Trails system. But make no mistake
– partners power the development of
the trails and there’s room for more.
The AGFC welcomes anyone or any organization
that would like to suggest a water trail, although a few
criteria must be met.
To find out how to become a partner and create a
water trail in your area, view the application form
at www.agfc.com/education/Documents/AWT%20
Application%20for%20Assistance.pdf.
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Debbie Doss navigates Crooked Creek Water Trail near Yellville.
miles from Snow, is at Fred Berry Conservation Education
Center on Crooked Creek. The AGFC owns almost 3 miles
of frontage along the creek. The trail reaches the boat ramp
at Yellville City Park 3.5 miles below Kelley’s Slab.
Arkansas Post Water Trail
Location – Arkansas Post National
Memorial, Arkansas County.
Length – 5 miles.
Camping – Pendleton Bend Recreation
Area (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers),
primitive campsites on Trusten Holder WMA.
Partners – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Park
Service, Arkansas Canoe Club.
Details/Map – www.agfc.com/species/Pages/
SpeciesWatchableWildlifeDetails.aspx?Title=Arkansas Post
Water Trail
This trail, with access at Moore Bayou Recreation Area,
skirts the big, open water of the Arkansas River. Currents in
the river can be dangerous, but there’s plenty to explore
in the sheltered areas of Moore Bayou, Post Bayou and
Post Lake.
The trail wraps around the historic peninsula where
Arkansas Post National Memorial is situated (the post has
moved several times over the years). This strategic position on
the river was a major trading port, a fort, a town and the site
of skirmishes in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and
battles between Europeans and American Indians. French
explorers created a trading post with the Quapaw tribe on
the river in 1686. There’s plenty to learn by walking the
grounds of the memorial and touring the visitors center.
Except for windy days, this is a flat-water float. Look for
alligators, beavers, muskrats, songbirds, white pelicans, egrets
and bald eagles. Enjoy a variety of trees such as cottonwood,
sycamore, cypress and persimmon. American lotus blooms
cover the water during summer.
Fish for crappie and bream with live bait and jigs, or pursue
largemouth bass that lurk in vegetation. Fish the bottom for
catfish with stink bait or worms.
Do not launch or land on Arkansas Post National
Memorial grounds.
Wattensaw Bayou Water Trail
Location – Mike Freeze Wattensaw
WMA, Prairie County.
Length – 7.8 miles.
Camping – Primitive campsites
available on Wattensaw WMA.
Partners – Arkansas Canoe Club.
Details/Map –www.agfc.com/species/Pages/
SpeciesWatchableWildlifeDetails.aspx?Title=Wattensaw
Bayou Water Trail
Wattensaw Bayou takes a scenic route across the northern
edge of Wattensaw Wildlife Management Area, heaving
and twisting toward the White River. The trail includes
three access points. North Road Access is on the western
end. Robinwood Road Access is downstream 3.5 miles,
and Fire Tower Road Access is 4.3 miles from Robinwood
Road.
This was the first Arkansas Water Trail, dedicated in
April 2009. It’s a bayou, although heavy rains can push
the current, which carries logs and other debris through
standing timber. It usually is a float that can be made
upstream or downstream. The channel is easy to follow,
except for the first mile or so at North Road Access where
it’s small and zigzags through trees; keep a trail marker
in sight. A train trestle 0.3 miles upstream of Robinwood
Road Access can create a logjam.
Birders will enjoy several kinds of woodpeckers, as well as
prothonotary warblers, herons, eagles and waterfowl during
the winter migration. Giant, old cypress trees mark the
channel; oaks and sweetgums make up much of the forest.
Wattensaw WMA is popular with turkey, deer and small
game hunters. Be aware of hunting seasons and wear hunter
orange when appropriate.
Cut-Off Creek Water Trail
Location – Cut-Off Creek WMA,
Drew County.
Length – 8.3 miles.
Camping – Primitive campsites
available on Cut-Off Creek WMA.
Partners – Arkansas Canoe Club, Arkansas Natural
Heritage Commission.
Details/Map – Coming to AGFC website soon.
Just 25 miles from Louisiana and less than that from the
Mississippi River, this stretch of creek doesn’t look like what
might be expected in southeastern Arkansas. Cut-Off Creek
Ravines Natural Area, at the Lower Weir Access, features
rolling hills that look more like parts of the Ouachita
Mountains than the Mississippi Delta.
A few miles north, Ravines Natural Area gives way to
flatter ground. Paddlers will notice white oaks, shortleaf
pines and overcup oaks. The channel is obvious, although
it’s littered with cypress trees that will keep your attention
when the water’s moving at a good clip.
Look for eagles, warblers, fulvous whistling ducks, wood
ducks and owls. The WMA is popular with waterfowl
hunters, and includes a greentree reservoir and a waterfowl
rest area.
Paddlers should be aware of two weirs, one just above
Upper Weir Access and one just below Lower Weir Access. AW
Crooked Creek Water Trail is the longest of the Arkansas Water Trails.
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