Ouachita National Recreation Trail

Ouachita National Recreation Trail is a 223 mile (359 km) long, continuous hiking trail through the Ouachita Mountains
of Oklahoma and Arkansas. It is the longest backpacking trail in the Ouachita National Forest, spanning 192 miles across its length. Approximately 177 miles of the trail is in Arkansas and 46 miles of the trail is in Oklahoma. The trail is used by hikers, backpackers, hunters, and mountain bikers. It is a non motorized single track trail open only to foot traffic and partially open to mountain bicycles. Segments opened to mountain bikes are from the western terminus of the Ouachita Trail at Talimena State Park to the Big Cedar trailhead on US Highway 259 at approximately Mile Marker (MM) 30.5 in Oklahoma, and from the Talimena Scenic Drive Trailhead at MM 54.1, east to Highway 7 at mile 160.4, north of Jessieville, Arkansas.

In the 1920s, a one lane truss bridge was built on the old Highway 300 to cross the Big Maumelle River It is on the list of Historic Bridges of the United States (Maumelle River AR 300 Bridge) for Pulaski County, Arkansas. The bridge still stands in the shadow of Pinnacle Mountain, but was made obsolete by a new bridge in 1981. Today, it is only open to pedestrians for fishing and is part of the 223 mile (359 km) long Ouachita National Recreation Trail.

The Title of "Father of the Ouachita Trail" is given to Mr. Arthur P. Cowley, a former Public Information Officer of the Ouachita National Forest. Mr. Cowley graduated from the University of Missouri with a BS degree in Forestry and began working for the US Forest Service in 1954. Also he received a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Arkansas in 1978. In the early 1970s Mr. Cowley was instrumental in developing the Forest Service's plan for the Ouachita Trail. As a Recreation Staff Specialist with the US Forest Service in Hot Springs, he assisted in the first phases of construction of the Ouachita Trail. He handled trail planning and coordination of trail construction on the forest from 1965 until 1979 when he moved to California as Public Information Officer and later became the Big Tree Coordinator for the Sequoia National Forest. During his time in Arkansas, Mr. Cowley served as President of the Society of American Foresters, 1977 78 President of the Arkansas Recreation and Parks Association and Vice Chairman of the Arkansas Trails Council. He also helped formulate Training Resources in Environmental Education (TREE) and received numerous awards, including the 1974 Arkansas Wildlife Federation's "Forester of the Year" award. He retired from the US Forest Service in 1988. Mr. Cowley died on Mar 4, 2010, just one year prior to the 40th anniversary of the completion of the initial sections and opening of the trail. An Arkansas Trails Day event was held at the original Eastern Terminus at Lake Sylvia Trailhead in Perry County, Arkansas on Saturday, May 7, 2011. Mr. Cowley's contributions were honored with a bench and plaque. His surviving wife Maureen and numerous family members were in attendance. Construction of the trail began in May 1971 and was completed by 1981. Mr. Jim Rawlins completed the first documented through hike of the Ouachita Trail in 1983. He also authored the first trail guide "A Hiker's Guide to the Ouachita National Recreation Trail. ".

The nine original shelters along the eastern portion of the trail were built by the United States Forest Service (USFS) in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2013, Friends of the Ouachita Trail (FoOT) embarked on a program to build additional shelters along the remainder of the trail, with a goal of having shelters evenly spaced throughout. Shelter Name MM(Mile Marker) Coordinates Originalbuilder Originalopen dateRemarks Rock Garden 9.4 FoOT 2013 Holson Valley Vista 16.8 FoOT 2013 Winding Stairs Mountain 25.0 FoOT 2013 Pashubbe 34.0 FoOT 2013 State Line 46.4 FoOT 2014 Black Fork Mountain 57.8 FoOT 2015 Foran Gap 68.9 FoOT 2013 Turner Gap 79.9 FoOT 2016 Brushy Creek Mountain 90.6 FoOT 2015 Fiddler Creek 100.9 FoOT 2014 Suck Mountain 108.6 FoOT 2016 Story Creek 116.7 FoOT 2016 John Archer 122.6 USFS Uncle Bill Potter 127.5 USFS Short hike downhillto Iron Forks Creekbottom. Big Branch 134.0 USFS Short hike downhill. Blue Mountain 143.2 USFS Big Bear 150.8 USFS Moonshine 158.4 USFS Oak Mountain 167.4 USFS Brown's Creek 182.5 USFS Nancy Mountain 189.5 USFS