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Categories: Fun & Games; Sports & Recreation; Outdoor Adventures; History & Heritage; Local Highlights
The Ouachita National Forest is spread over 1.8 million acres of mountain and pine/hardwood forest territory in west-centralArkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. Lake Ouachita, Arkansas' largest mand-made lake, sits nestled in the National Forest, and the complex windings and curvings of its shores spread like an octopus of tributaries, creeks, and rivers into the surrounding woods.
Hernando de Soto, the Spanish conquistador who lead an epic -- and ultimately fruitless -- quest for gold that ranged from the Florida coast to eastern Texas, set up winter camp in the Ouachita region in 1541. Later, French explorers made their way into the area; it is a French rendering of the Indian term washita (which translates as "good hunting grounds") that gave the mountains that span here, the lake that sits here and the forest that sprawls here, their names.
Ouachita National Forest, the oldest and largest national forest in the South, was established in 1907 under a directive of President Theodore Roosevelt. Its massive acreage results in a wide variety of unique terrains and distinctive vistas. The forest's ecosystem management policy guarantees both healthy land now and careful use of the forest for the future.
The Arkansas section of Ouachita comprises the greater part of the National Forest and extends for about 100 miles from Hot Springs west to the Oklahoma border. The best way to introduce yourself to the beauty of the region is to drive along either the Talimena Scenic Byway, out of Mena, or the Arkabsas Scenic 7 Byway just north of Hot Springs. Once you're ready to settle in and enjoy the forest, you'll find a lot of places to relax and to play. Ouachita has numerous developed recreation areas spread throughout the forest. Many areas are located near a creek or river suitable for swimming, boating or lake fishing. Areas of note include the Robert S. Kerr Memorial Arboretum and Botanical Area, the East End Visitor Information Station, and the West End Visitor Information Station, all of which are located along the Talimena Scenic Byway. In addition there are designated wilderness areas which offer opportunities for rugged backcountry camping and solitude. The developed recreation areas feature campgrounds and picnic sites and most have trailheads leading into a system of more than 700 miles of trails suitable for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. Trails range in length from less than one mile to the 192-mile Ouachita National Recreation Trail which cuts along the towering peaks of the Ouachita Mountains and spans the entire forest from west to east.
The many lakes that dot the forest offer a wide variety of water-bound recreation. You can swim in secluded rivers and quiet forest lakes, or you can fish for bass, crappie, catfish and bluegill in the crystal-clean waters. You can canoe or white-water raft along the Caddo, Little Missouri, Cossatot or Ouachita Rivers, or you can spend a day boating on 40,000-acre Lake Ouachita. (Outfitters in Mount Ida will rent you a canoe or arrange a float trip on the Ouachita River.) Wild turkey, deer and squirrel abound in the Ouachita Mountains, and hunting is permitted within the National Forest in specially designated areas, during hunting seasons and with licenses. Ouachita also offers a unique opportunity to search for the quartz crystal that lies in abundance here and serves as the Arkansas state mineral.
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