#outachitas
Harris Creek Trail Hike at the Cossatot River
I spent most of my adult life thinking the Cossatot River was so far away from my home in Central Arkansas. I also spent most of that time thinking that Cossatot River State Park was only a destination for whitewater paddlers. It turns out that neither of those things are true, as I found out in 2021. In my first visit to the park, I went to Cossatot Falls to watch the kayakers take on the Class IV whitewater. And while I didn’t see any paddlers hit the “Skull Crusher” that day, I did find a pretty great hiking area. I didn’t give myself enough time that day to explore all the trails there. But I saw enough to know I had to make a return trip to do the Harris Creek Trail hike. The Harris Creek Trail at Cossatot River State Park is one of the four main hiking trails ...
Ziplining at Adventureworks in Hot Springs
Hot Springs is one of Arkansas’ busiest areas for tourism. It is well-known for it’s historic downtown National Park area as well as Oaklawn Park Horse Racing and Casino. It is also an outdoors paradise. With three recreational lakes, several floating rivers, and lots of hiking and biking trails, there is plenty here for outdoors lovers. Did you know there is also a zipline canopy tour here? That’s right. Ziplining at Adventureworks in Hot Springs is one more thing you can add to your agenda when visiting the state’s first National Park. I first visited Adventureworks in 2015. Although I had been on a zipline before, I had never done a canopy tour like this. You might be asking, “what is a canopy tour?”. Well, it is a series of ziplines that takes riders...
Mountain Bike Trails at Mt. Nebo State Park
There has been a surge of new mountain bike trails constructed all over the state in the past few years. New trails are being finished faster than I can keep up with them. Not only is the quantity of trails in Arkansas increasing, but so is the quality. For years, I was used to riding on trails that basically amounted to hiking trails you could ride bikes on. But these new trails are professionally constructed specifically for mountain biking. The mountain bike trails at Mt. Nebo State Park are a great example. They are part of the Arkansas State Parks Monument trails collection, which you can read more about here. Much like the new trails around Bentonville, Hot Springs, and Pinnacle Mountain, these new trails make mountain biking more fun. That’s because they are designed for bikin...
Floating the Caddo River – Caddo Gap to Glenwood
The Caddo River is the premier floating river in the Ouachita region for casual paddlers. For those that don’t have the whitewater paddling skill to tackle the Cossatot or Little Missouri Rivers, the Caddo is the place to be. A good argument can be made for the Ouachita River, which has some very scenic stretches. But it doesn’t tend to keep a good flow for as long as the Caddo does. A good reliable flow is why floating the Caddo River from Caddo Gap to Glenwood is one of the most popular floats in the area. As someone that mostly floated the Buffalo and Mulberry Rivers for the longest time, I was late to the party on floating the Caddo. But once I finally floated it in 2013, I was pleasantly surprised at what a great float it is. In fact, it’s regular trip for me nearly ...
