Dates of Visit: 12-14 April 2024
Star City, AR
75º – 85º and sunny, in other words, perfection
Many things went into making my visit to Cane Creek, park 29, special, but the one that leapt out at me from the visitor center on my arrival was the fact that the park straddles two of Arkansas’ six geological divisions: the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. The ancient shores of the Gulf of Mexico once stretched into what is now southern Arkansas, creating the sandy loam which is home to pine trees for miles and miles. In the eastern portion of the state, the repeated course changes of the Mississippi River, and several major tributaries, cut through the sand over geologic time and deposited the fertile soil of the delta. The park land sits on the far eastern edge of the coastal plain, while Cane Creek Lake occupies the alluvial plain. This thrilled the landform geek inside me to no end.
On this visit, I tried out a new accommodation. I chose the Rent-an-RV for my two-night stay. While I did rattle around inside by myself (the permanent RV sleeps six), I also had access to an awesome wooden deck with a table and chairs. Given how beautiful the weather remained for my entire visit, I ate out there for every meal.
While the park mainly focuses on the lake, with fishing being a primary draw, the first night there, I walked out to the Delta View Trail (2.5 miles), which shares the first mile of the 15.5 mile multi-use Cane Creek trail. As with most of the parks I visited this past spring, a recent rain left the trail a bit muddy, but that didn’t deter me from stretching my legs. Along the way, I took in the swaths of red buckeye in bloom. The night ended with an interpreter-led frog call outing. We only heard one of the dozen-plus species that night, but when the green frog (lithobates clamitans) echo back the call the interpreter broadcasted, all of us jumped and shouted.
On day two, I got brave. I rented a kayak and took to the lake. I do have some limited experience kayaking, but I had never gone solo before. Cane Creek Lake proved to be a great place for this beginner. There was a slight wind, but nothing too strenuous, and I just made sure I paddled into the wind for the first hour I was out so that I’d get a little push headed home. I also hugged the shoreline and made sure I had my life jacket on. Really, with the number of people out fishing from their boats, even if I tipped, I’d have gotten help in no time. It took about 30 minutes of holding myself far too tensely before I relaxed and let the kayak and the water do their jobs. Once I did that, I had a blast. The view, so close to the water’s surface, can’t be beat!
While kayaking along the shore, I enjoyed skirting tons and tons of lily pads. Sadly, none were in bloom and many of them were pretty beat up by what looked like either paddles or trolling motors, but if thriving lily pads are any sign of good water, then Cane Creek Lake has nothing to fear. The one other kayaker I encountered, a man from Ohio, even commented on their numbers, swearing he’d never seen so many. When I wasn’t examining vegetation in the water, I was checking out birds and other winged things. The dragonflies showed up to escort me from time to time, and there was a group of coots bobbing on the water ahead of me. No matter how much I paddled, I couldn’t get close enough to get good photos with my cell phone, darn it. They kept swimming away from me. Imagine that!
I ended my paddle by cutting out to a stand of dead trees populated by cormorants. Again, I couldn’t get photographs that would do the sight justice so I just floated there and took it all in. Heading back to the boat launch, I did take no fewer than 35 pics of the shoreline, taking advantage of the change in perspective. Also, I know I’ll be kayaking more in the future!
Next up: Arkansas Post Museum