Having now completed all 223 miles of the Ouachita Trail, I have been asked by a number of people what I plan to do next.
The short answer is that I don't know for sure where I will go in the immediate future, but there are several other trails here in Arkansas that I would like to hike in sections. So far, I have hiked all of the Eagle Rock Loop and Ouachita Trail. Here is a short list of other trails I am eyeing (in no particular order).
- LOViT
- North Sylamore Creek Trail
- Ozark Highland Trail
- Buffalo River Trail
- Womble Trail
- Little Blakely Loops
- Eye of the Needle ...?
I will give a brief overview of each of these.
LOViT
LOViT stands for Lake Ouachita Vista Trail. Here is a link to the US Forest Service trail information document. That PDF document is the most detailed written information about the trail.
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| Western-most LOViT section map. |
LOViT is a 40 mile trail that runs east and west along the south shoreline of Lake Ouachita in the Ouachita National Forest. There are some dry stretches of the trail closer to the eastern end. You can hike it in either direction. Most of the people I have seen post videos about the trail seem to be hiking west to east. I wish this trail was in the FarOut app trail catalogue, but it's not there yet. I believe it is available on the AllTrails app.
The fact that this trail can be completed in a single weekend, and being that it's located relatively close to where we live, I expect I will knock this trail out sometime in the near future.
North Sylamore Creek Trail
North Sylamore Creek is a 23.5 mile trail located near the Buffalo River in the St. Francis Ozark National Forest. This trail runs roughly east and west, though it starts a bit more north on the western end and dips to the south on the eastern end.
Here is a link to Forest Service information for North Sylamore Creek. From what I gather, this trail is not super challenging with regard to rugged terrain or climbing elevation, yet offers beautiful views of bluffs, water falls, and rock formations.
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The North Sylamore Creek trail also connects to the Ozark Highlands Trail at the Cripple Turkey trailhead at the western terminus.
This trail is not included in the FarOut app catalog. AllTrails does have it. The drawback with AllTrails, as always is that if you do not have service when you open the app, the app cannot track your position relative to the trail. This is not the case with FarOut. FarOut just needs to expand their trail catalog!
Ozark Highlands Trail
The Ozark Highlands Trail (OHT) is a 164 mile trail, mainly running east and west, just south of the Buffalo River. The OHT intersects with the Buffalo River Trail as well as the Sylamore Creek Trail. The trail runs through the Ozark St. Francis National Forest as well as parts of the Buffalo Wilderness.
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| Trail overview in FarOut |
There are sections of the Ouachita Trail that are particularly scenic, but the OHT is renowned for its beauty from start to finish. Tim Ernst has written a detailed guide for this trail and he breaks the trail into 11 sections (plus Sylamore Creek). Ernst also adds in some additional adjacent and connecting loop trails.
The OHT is included in the FarOut Arkansas Hiker pack, so that is also great. I will likely take this trail in sections.
Here is a link to the Ozark Highlands Trail Association. They do trail maintenance and planning. According to the Tim Ernst guide, the long term plan is to connect the OHT with the Ozark Trail, which runs from northeast Arkansas to just outside St Louis in Missouri. If these trails eventually get connected, it will be close to 700 miles of trail.
The OHT, Ouachita Trail, and Ozark Trail are considered by many to be the "triple crown" of the southern thru hiking trails.
Buffalo River Trail
The Buffalo River is probably the most famous natural area in the state. The Buffalo was designated a National River in 1972. There are many loops and side trails in the Buffalo River park boundaries, but there is a 37 mile trail that is called the Buffalo River Trail (BRT). Here is a link to information about the trail from the National Park Service.
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| Triple Falls |
Some of my first hiking and backpacking experiences were on Buffalo River trails. It is a beautiful area with bluffs, historic homesteads, caves, rivers and creeks, and falls. I have to say, I thought the actual BRT itself was longer than 37 miles. Writing this article has been a good exercise for me to refresh my memory and learn more about each of these trails. Tim Ernst has written a trail guide for the Buffalo River. While Ernst does detail the BRT itself, the bulk of the book is about other trails in the Buffalo National River national park.
The BRT is also part of the Arkansas Hiker package in the FarOut app. Here is the overview of the whole trail. As you can see it runs southwest to northeast, roughly following the course of the river.
I have a draft post about my very first backpacking adventure, more than twenty years ago. My plan was to hike Cecil Cove Loop in the national park. Things did not go as planned. I had no clue what I was doing back then. To be fair, quality resources on the Internet were harder to find, and we didn't have Google Maps or apps like FarOut. Those resources make a huge difference.
Womble Trail
The Womble Trail is another 37 mile trail. Womble is located in the Ouachita National Forest, south of the Ouachita Trail and north of Mount Ida. Womble Trail connects to the Ouachita Trail on the eastern end. Here is a link to information from the US Forestry Service.
Looking at this map, it seems like a missed opportunity that there is no trail link between the west end of the Womble trail and the Ouachita Trail to form a loop.
This trail can be hiked in a weekend. It's not a particularly high priority for me, but I am interested in doing it at some point.
Little Blakely Loops
The Little Blakely Loops Trails (LBL) are located in the Ouachita National Forest on Lake Ouachita near Lake Ouachita State Park. Here is a link to the US Forest Service information.
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| Me watching a partial eclipse on one of our LBL day hikes 2023 |
The LBL trails are a series of connected loops on a peninsula on Lake Ouachita. There is no way to hike the whole trail system without some overlapping, but the total mileage for all the trails combined is 17.6. I have hiked the south loop as a day hike with Mrs. Gavagai a couple of times, but I would like to return to do some of the loops we have not hiked and to do some camping.
Eye of the Needle
The Eye of the Needle trail is notoriously the "most dangerous hike in Arkansas". It's a straight trail, about 4.3 miles total out and back, but it is also famous for it's raw natural beauty. It is located in the Buffalo National River park. Here is a link to trail information on AllTrails.
This is one I would not do alone. I would probably also not do it as a backpacking trip, but more of a day hike. It's also lower on my priority list because it's further away from where we live and it's a higher risk trip. Having said that, I am interested in going at some point.
Revisiting Places I've Been
Even though I have completed the Ouachita Trail and Eagle Rock Loop, there are a number of places on the OT where I would like to revisit, and I would also love to go back and hike the ERL and also to explore around various places beyond the immediate trails in the national forests that those trails run through.
One trip I hope to get to in the semi-near future is to start at Flatside Pinnacle and hike east on the OT toward Crystal Prong creek to get to the Moccasin Springs area. Part of a hike on the Womble trail might also include a night camped at Story Creek Shelter on the OT on my way to Hwy 27.
Beyond Arkansas
All of those trails are located within the borders of the state of Arkansas. Do I have an interest in backpacking in other states/countries? Possibly, but until Mrs. Gavagai become interested in backpacking and camping herself, I'm less interested in traveling far from home for these adventures. And for that reason, I am also inclined toward trips that I can either complete in a weekend or an extended weekend.
With that said, I have looked at some options in east Tennessee in the Smoky Mountains, and also the Superior Trail up north (as I'm originally from Wisconsin and still have family up that way).
I think that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by.
Gavagai
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