Lake Chicot and the Delta Heritage Trail State Parks (2021) 

When Louisiana residents consider an Arkansas weekend or vacation outing, it’s more likely to Hot Springs, Little Rock, or places in the Ozarks.  These scenic areas offer so many great attractions that I’ve long neglected revisiting the river delta country of southeastern Arkansas.    

Towns such as Eudora, Montrose, and McGehee are far from what most people would consider prime tourist destinations.  One exception is Lake Village on Lake Chicot and on the other side of the great river from Greenville, Mississippi.  Greenville and its sister river cities of Vicksburg and Natchez have many parks and outdoor venues that are well worth visiting.  Perhaps the best recreational draw in the Greenville area though is Lake Chicot and the Lake Chicot State Park located on its north shore.    

As a child and teenager, I remember many weekend trips from north Louisiana to Greenville and then north to Cleveland, Mississippi and the home of my aunt and uncle there.  The three-hour car ride was a bit boring except for the stretch along Lake Chicot and the bridge across the Mississippi River.  Lake Village was a half-way, pit stop for us to get out of the car and possibly purchase gasoline or snacks.  I would observe many pleasure and fishing boats cruising on part of Lake Chicot.  The small town of Lake Village and Lake Chicot seemed to me to be more interesting places to explore than our eventual destination, but I was too young to break free from family interests and obligations.  It took a very long while, but I finally headed on a hot, summer weekend recently toward Lake Village and Lake Chicot.       

The history of the small towns and settlements in the Lake Village area has been greatly impacted by major river floods in the last two centuries.  The high levee continues to protect Lake Chicot from being reclaimed by the Mississippi River that once created the lake.  Lake Chicot is Arkansas’ largest natural lake and our country’s largest oxbow lake.  Driving the perimeter of the lake allows tourists many chances to see older and still beautiful homes of residents having property on the lake.    

For nature buffs, the interpretive center within the state park has appealing displays and information, including a brochure for a self-guided 30-mile auto tour of the big levee and lake.  Guided lake and levee tours are also available.  The park ranger or the interpreter there can provide details on timing.  Bird watchers can schedule barge and field trips to try to spot diverse species along this key North American migratory flyway. 

 

The state park has many cabins and campsites available year-round, as well as a marina and small general store.  Bikes, fishing boats, and gas-powered carts can be rented for reasonable rates.   The park has a nice pool facility that is normally open from Memorial Day through Labor Day. When I visited, though, it was temporarily closed for repair.  Cabin guests receive free pool admission, while others pay a small fee for using the pool.  More park information and a map are available on the park’s website. 

Scouting for additional outdoor attractions on my trip to Lake Chicot and southeast Arkansas, I discovered that the Delta Heritage Trail State Park and its southern trailhead started at Arkansas City.  The Delta Heritage Trail State Park is an example of a national trend that is having larger impact in other parts of our country.  The Delta Heritage Trail is a conversion of a north-to-south rail route of the Union Pacific Railroad.  “Rail-trails” are hiking, biking, and multipurpose public paths created from former railroad routes.  The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy reports that there are over 2000 rail-trails in the USA and over 24,000 miles of these rail-trails. 

When the Delta Heritage Trail is completed, it will be over 84 miles.  Currently about 44 miles of the Delta Heritage Trail are finished.  Its southern corridor is almost 24 miles from Watson south to Arkansas City, but that includes 14 miles of shared-use roadway on the Mississippi River Mainline Levee.  The trail surface otherwise is compacted crushed rock with some short stretches that are paved.   

I brought my old hybrid bike along on my trip to sample one of the more attractive parts of the Delta Heritage Trail.  This trail section is slightly less than ten miles from the village of Rohwer north to the village of Watson.  Both ends of this part of the trail have nice shelters with tables, water fountains, and restrooms.  Shade trees lined almost all of this section of the trail, usually on both sides of the trail. The shade was welcome as the temperature was 90 degrees when I started north at 5:30pm.  A couple of hours later, I was more than a little tired from the almost twenty-mile roundtrip ride.  Perhaps only mad dogs and those of English descent were foolish enough to be on that section of the trail on that Sunday.  I saw not one human or dog along the trail, but observed an abundance of butterflies, doves, blue jays and other song birds. 

I wish that there were more of these longer rail-trails in and closer to north and central Louisiana.  Although certain cities in the state have revitalized downtown and riverside areas with walking and biking paths, rail-trails provide elevated views of the bordering countryside.  These rail-trails seem to me to make leisure hiking or biking excursions even richer and more memorable experiences.  

Photo 1:  Lake Chicot State Park Main Building   

Photo 2: Delta Heritage Trail between Rohwer and Watson