Exploring the Ozarks Outdoors: freshare.net

Trail Dedication Set for March 8 at Cane Creek State Park

First posted on 03-03-2008

Biking, Hiking and Backpacking Opportunities

A new trail has opened at Cane Creek State Park just in time to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Arkansas State Parks this year. A trail dedication will take place March 8 at 1 p.m. to unveil Cane Creek Lake Trail, the new multi-use 15.5 mile hiking, biking, and backpacking route, and also celebrate the anniversary. A luncheon to honor park volunteers will take place at noon.

Entering the 2,053 acre park, visitors find wooded hills only minimally tamed by pavement. Mature oak, pine and hickory forest covers 95 percent of the park, which sits on the dividing line between two different ecological and geological worlds. The new trail circles Cane Creek Lake and travels through two natural land divisions (the Delta and Timberlands) making it the only trail of its type in Southeast Arkansas.

“The trail was established to entice visitors to enjoy the vast differences between the Mississippi Alluvial Plain and West Gulf Coastal Plain“, said Mike Wilson, Superintendent of the park. “Before this trail there were virtually no trails in south Arkansas for outdoor enthusiasts to hike, bike, and backpack. This multi-use trail contributes greatly towards this recreational need.”

According to Wilson, the route offers excellent birding and wildlife watching opportunities and includes features such as three spectacular suspension bridges over creeks. Exploring the trail via foot or mountain bike, outdoor enthusiasts traverse a maze of small creeks that etch their way along deep draws between steeply sloping ridges of a thick forest interspersed with dogwoods. The route then bends around to open views of a lake filled with tall snags, water lilies, lotus blossoms and, bald cypress brakes.

The trail was constructed with the help of more than 550 volunteers and Arkansas State Park employees. The volunteers consisted solely of America’s youth, which included the Americorps and the Boy Scouts of America organizations. The project was a partnership between Arkansas State Parks, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, and the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. The park is located at 50 State Park Road, in southeast Arkansas, five miles east of Star City on Ark. 293. For more information, call 870- 628-4714 or visit http://www.ArkansasStateParks.com.

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