OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST • P.O. Box 1270 • Hot Springs, AR 71902 • 501.321.5202 • http://www.fs.usda.gov/ouachita R8-RG 459 June 2016

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To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

LAK

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HITA VISTA TR

AIL

Trail Total Length: About 40 miles, one way (excluding loops and spurs).

Surface type: Unsurfaced. Trail Marking: White rectanglesDifficulty Level: The west end is

easy to moderate. The east end is moderate to difficult. See Trail Summary on next page.

Recommended Season: Fall through spring.

Safety: Treat water from springs, streams and lakes before drinking.Beware of traffic at road crossings.

For More Information: Womble Ranger Station

1523 Highway 270 EastMount Ida, AR 71957

(870) 867-2101 (1 mile east of Mount Ida on U.S. Highway 270.)

Trail Highlights: The Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT) travels up, down and along mountain slopes through a mixed hardwood and pine forest, opening up at several places to spectacular views of the lake before you.

Beautiful displays of wildflowers await hikers and bikers during the spring and summer months.

Along the trail, pits left by quartz speculators and the remains of a moonshiner’s still are evidence of the area’s colorful history.

Plans call for the trail to extend 35 to 40 miles along the shores of Lake Ouachita, running through private resorts and public campgrounds and ultimately to Blakely Dam to the east.

Surrounding Areas:• Lake Ouachita offers visitors a broad array of

water sports opportunities, restaurants, overnightaccommodations, and camping at various Corpsof Engineers campgrounds.

• Charlton Recreation Area (closed in winter)on Highway 270 also offers opportunities forcamping swimming and hiking. The CharltonTrail begins at Charlton Recreation Area andends at Crystal Springs Campground onLake Ouachita.

The Lake Ouachita Vista Trail is a joint project of the: ● Lake Ouachita Citizens Focus Committee● Montgomery County● Mount Ida Chamber of Commerce● Montgomery County Health Advisory Board● Lake Ouachita Resort Owners Association● Arkansas Game and Fish Commission● Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism● Arkansas State Highway and Transportation

Department● U.S. Army Corps of Engineers● Ouachita National Forest (U.S. Forest Service)

U.S. Army Corps of EngineersVicksburg District

U.S. Forest ServiceOuachita National Forest Hiking Biking

Lake Ouachita Vista (LOViT) TrailU.S Department of Agriculture

Forest ServiceSouthern Region

Hiking Biking U.S. Army Corps of EngineersVicksburg District

U.S. Forest ServiceOuachita National Forest Hiking Biking

Lake Ouachita Vista (LOViT) Trail

Watchable WildlifeThis portion of the LOViT trail is designed to bring all users, including those physically challenged, closer to nature. The entire trail segment is a 1.25 mile loop including a level paved area with benches and an ADA elevated walkway allowing users to access a wild wetland area at the south end of the Denby Bay area.

Denby BayThis light to medium grade trail leg begins at Denby Bay Trailhead where US Highway 270 crosses the southern end of Lake Ouachita’s Denby Bay recre-ation area. There are two possible termination points: it is 3 miles to Homestead trailhead, or you can hike an additional 2 miles to the Tompkins Bend trailhead and campground near Shangri-La Resort.

HomesteadNamed for an old homestead, the Homestead Trail-head is a takeout point with a parking area between the Denby Bay and Tompkins Bend trailheads. The difficulty level is considered “easy”, but the trail is rocky on the segment between the trailhead and Tompkins Bend.

Tompkins BendThis leg of the Vista Trail is approximately five miles of winding trail from the Tompkins Bend Trailhead parking area to the Joplin Trailhead park-ing area off Mountain Harbor Rd. While designed

for all age groups, expect more elevation and hills than Leg 2. The trail crosses many spring fed streams, winding past a number of old quartz crystal mines and many unusual rock formations.

JoplinLOViT’s Joplin trail segment includes several un-bridged creek crossings along Irons Creek, waterfalls, old growth hardwoods, and a strenuous climb up Hickory Nut Mountain.

Hickory Nut MountainThe Hickory Nut Mountain trail segment begins at the picnic area atop Hickory Nut Mountain and ends at a take-out on FS47A road. The trail follows the south side of the mountain along the top of a rock bluff before dropping onto an old logging road that parallels Hickory Nut Creek. A canopy of old and new growth trees provide shade in the summer heat.

Forest Service Road 47A (FS47A)The Hickory Nut Mountain Trail segment drops sharply down off Hickory Nut Mountain to the FS47A trail segment, a takeout at Forest Service Rd. (FS) 47A. Forest Service Road 47A is itself a short road that turns north off FS47; FS47 runs between Hickory Nut Mountain Road on the west and Crys-tal Springs Road on the east. The FS47A trail segment crisscrosses FS47 several times as it moves east to the Pipe Spring trail segment. This short trail segment is easy with a few low hills.

Pipe SpringThe LOViT overlaps with the Charlton Trail at Pipe Spring for a 1.9 miles trek to the Crystal Springs trailhead. At Pipe Spring there is, indeed, a pipe spring with an uninterrupted flow of cold water. This trail segment is 40 years old and travels north along the western flank of an unnamed mountain, over the mountain, and then down into The Crystal Springs Recreational Area.

Crystal SpringsThis dual trailhead, Charlton & LOViT Trails, is set in the deep valley between the East terminus of Hickory Nut Mountain and the western slopes of Big Bear Mountain adjacent to the Crystal Springs Campground. The LOViT Crystal Springs trail segment begins at the Crystal Springs Campground pavilion on Crystal Springs Rd., travels across Little Bear Mountain, and terminates, at least for 2011, at Little Bear Creek at the base of Big Bear Mountain. There are no accommodations along the way. Little Bear Mountain is very, very steep making this trail segment the most challenging section of the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail.

LOViT – THE TRAILS: Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT) consists of a number of trail segments, along with some short out-and-back or loop spurs leading off a trail segment. This page contains a

short introduction to each segment. Trail segments run generally west to east along the southern shore of Arkansas’ Lake Ouachita and are named accord-ing to the location of the trailhead.*

* Trail descriptions courtesy of the Lake Ouachita Vista Traildogs, a group of volunteers dedicated to theconstruction and maintenance of the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail. http://lakeouachitavistatrail.org/WP/

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