Mountain View
Arkansas Outside
The Mayor of Sandtown – Report from the Sandtown Shuffle
Rain and flash flood warnings greeted us as we rolled up on The Dirt Church in Sandtown, Arkansas. Sandtown was a boomtown twice, first, in the late 1800s and again after World War II, both times as a source for Manganese used in steel-making. The remnants of the mining operations can be found throughout the area.
Registration Opens for 2023 Northwoods Mullet Trail Run And Party on Hot Springs’ Trail System
HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, Arkansas — Registration is now open for the 2023 Northwoods Mullet: Trail Run & Beaver Bash on April 22 on the Northwoods Trail System in Hot Springs. The 2023 Northwoods Mullet Trail Run, which offers a 25-kilometer (15-mile) option and a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) option, will...
Update on Mena Trail Project
Lining up so many government agencies and private partners takes time. The trails project near Mena, Arkansas is moving forward but at a slow pace. Some of the players include Federal, State, and City land agencies plus a couple of private foundations. Still, the movement is forward and the next phase starts on March 24, 2023, and runs until April 24, 2023. During this one-month period, the public has the opportunity to make comments within the scope of the project. According to the US Forest Service, “[this] will help identify issues that will be used to focus the analysis of the Environmental Assessment (EA) and generate additional action alternatives, if needed.”
Spring Rides at Camp Robinson
Spring in Arkansas is one of the best times of the year to get out into the woods. We’ve already seen the Redbuds blooming and the Dogwoods will be popping soon. For mountain bikers, all the internet talk is about which trails are dry. If you’re into cross-country riding, Camp Robinson is the destination for many central Arkansas mountain bikers.
Support for Legislation Designed to Improve Outdoor Recreation Opportunities
First-of-its-kind bipartisan policy package focuses on upgrading and expanding sustainable outdoor recreation on public lands and waters. Washington, D.C. (March 17, 2023) — This week, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) reintroduced America’s Outdoor Recreation Act (AORA), a first-of-its-kind policy package that aims to improve outdoor recreation on America’s public lands and waters. Public support for AORA will be crucial to its passage in Congress, according to Outdoor Alliance, a non-profit that works on behalf of the human-powered outdoor recreation community to protect public lands and waters.
Man Sentenced for Illegally Guiding Hikers at Buffalo National River
Harrison, Arkansas – On March 7, 2023, Mr. Jeffrey Johnson, was sentenced to two years probation, a two-year ban from Buffalo National River, $600 in fines, $80 in processing fees, and ordered to pay $2,686.27 in restitution. The amount of restitution equals the cost of both search and rescue operations performed for members of his hiking groups by the National Park Service in the spring of 2022.
Special Places – Your Arkansas State Parks
This year, Arkansans are celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Arkansas State Parks. There is a lot of history in those 100 years. In 2008, we celebrated the 75th Anniversary (the math doesn’t work because at the time, state parks celebrated their beginning in 1933 vs. now in 1923). As part of that celebration, a video was created that tells the story of the park’s early beginnings. As part of the celebration, we wanted to share that history. This video was played on Arkansas PBS as the lead-in to Ken Burns, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. Below the video is a written history of the state parks from the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
Arklahoma Ozark Watershed Restoration Project Awarded Funds
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest more than $48.6 million this year through the Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership for projects that mitigate wildfire risk, improve water quality, restore forest ecosystems, and ultimately contribute to USDA’s efforts to combat climate change. This year, the USDA Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will invest in projects, including 14 new projects, bringing together agricultural producers, forest landowners, and National Forest System lands to improve forest health using available Farm Bill conservation programs and other authorities.
Ozark Society Selects Letters To Dan: A Philosophical Guide to the Ozarks as Sassafras Award Winner
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Ozark Society has selected Letters to Dan: A Philosophical Guide to the Ozarks by Fayetteville, Arkansas-based writer, and photographer Don House as the recipient of the Sassafras Award for Excellence in Environmental Writing. The award was established to encourage innovative writing and new perspectives on conservation by empowering new voices and expressions of contemporary experiences with the natural world we inhabit. The award includes a $3,000 prize and the publication of the new book.
Aerial feral hog eradication efforts to temporarily close access to WMAs
MONTICELLO – Six Arkansas Game and Fish Commission wildlife management areas will be temporarily closed for short periods in March in cooperation with the Arkansas Feral Hog Task Force to fight the spread of invasive feral swine in Arkansas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services will be conducting aerial operations aimed at reducing feral hog populations in the areas. The flights will be dependent on the weather.
Orienteering USA Welcomes OCAR – Orienteering USA
(Learn more about Orienteering at the end of the article) Orienteering USA is pleased to welcome Orienteering Central Arkansas (OCAR) as its newest affiliate member club. Club founder Rachel Furman states that the club will be primarily focused on the central Arkansas area parks – both city parks and state parks.
Is she in this race? Ironman Hawaii – 1979
(This article first ran in Arkansas Outside on March 14, 2012) “That morning 15 people, including a woman, had ignored the boundaries of sanity and started the contest.” Barry McDermott. Many amateur athletes believe that the Ironman World Championship Triathlon Hawaii is the pinnacle achievement in athleticism. It would...
Bill for Long-Distance Bike Trails Introduced in Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. /OUTDOOR SPORTSWIRE/ – On March 3, 2023, leaders in Congress reintroduced the Biking on Long Distance Trails (BOLT) Act (H.R. 1319/S. 605). PeopleForBikes applauds this move from a bipartisan group of recreation champions seeking to identify potential long-distance bike trails across the United States. “The BOLT Act...
Your Favorite Arkansas Rivers
The river system in Arkansas is extensive and includes several major rivers, as well as numerous smaller streams and tributaries. The largest river in Arkansas is the Mississippi River, which forms the state’s eastern border and is a major commercial shipping route. Other significant rivers in Arkansas include the...
Keep Arkansas Beautiful Announces Kick Off of the 2023 Great American Cleanup
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (March 1, 2023) — The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission (KAB) announced the kickoff of the 2023 Keep America Beautiful™ Great American Cleanup® (GAmC) in Arkansas. This year’s GAmC runs from March 1 through May 31. Arkansans interested in doing their part to help keep Arkansas beautiful can recruit volunteers and host their own cleanup or sign up to volunteer at an event near them.
Life Time and OZ Brands Announce $65,000 Prize Purse for Little Sugar MTB
Life Time, the nation’s premier healthy lifestyle brand and owner and producer of 30 premier athletic events announces a $65,000 total prize purse for the Life Time Little Sugar MTB presented by Mazda, set to debut Oct. 15 in Northwest Arkansas. Life Time and OZ Brands have combined efforts...
100 Years of Outdoor Recreation and The Natural State Initiative
The Governor praises Arkansas State Parks and lays out her vision for The Natural State Initiative. Today, Arkansans celebrate what some consider to be the catalyst for branding Arkansas, The Natural State. But that moniker would not be adopted for over 60 years. In 1923 the state not only reserved its first state park land, but it also became The Wonder State.
Norfork and Bull Shoals Lakes automate day use fee collection
MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mountain Home Project Office would like to remind visitors that many of their parks and day-use areas have transitioned to automated fee collection machines. Visitors can use a credit or debit card to purchase an annual pass or pay...
What does the Mountain Biking Capital of the World™ Look Like?
I remember being told back around 2005 or 2006 that I needed to get up to Bentonville, Arkansas to ride a new mountain bike trail system called Slaughter Pen. I thought it was a cool name for a trail system, but when I realized this was only about 5 miles of singletrack trail, I decided it wasn’t worth the 3-hour drive from Little Rock. I did eventually get up there over the years for several Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship Series races and the Slaughter Pen Jam. In 2016, about ten years after my first invitation, Bentonville hosted the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) World Summit and I was there again, both to speak at one of the sessions and to represent Arkansas State Parks with a booth in the vendor area. Trails in Bentonville had changed.
Spring Break is Only a Month Away
Spring break for most Arkansas schools will be the week of March 20-24 but to be honest, it’ll start Friday the 17th at 5 pm and end sometime on Sunday the 26th. Ansley Watson and I were joined on KATV Good Morning Arkansas by Robin Gabe, Park Interpreter at Plum Bayou Mounds State Park. Robin gave a lot of great information on activities available in the state parks for spring break, some inside information on where to still find campsites and cabins available, and the new Club 52 Park Passport Program.
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Outdoor Recreation News from Arkansas with coverage of events and destinations mainly in the state. We cover Hiking, Camping, Mountain Biking, Road Cycling, Kayaking, Canoeing, Trail Running, Backpacking, Rock Climbing, and more.
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