Date of Visit: 20 February 2024
Bluff City, AR
55º and glorious sun filtered through loblolly pine
Park 16, White Oak Lake took me back to my expected park experience, wandering around out in nature. While a smallish state, Arkansas contains six distinct natural divisions, and this park gave me the opportunity to explore the one I knew the least about: the west gulf coastal plain. In all my years in Arkansas, most of my travels have occurred in the northern and eastern parts of the state, leaving the south central and southwestern areas a bit of unexplored territory. Reading about the ancient ocean bed that created this plain gave me a bit of a foundation to build on. Walking on that very land opened up even more wonder and imagination.
Like most of the “lake” parks, White Oak Lake draws the majority of its visitors from those who want to fish, boat, kayak, or camp. Having left my fishing days in my youth and being a body that tends to sink if de-boated, I’m always glad to find some hiking within eyeshot of the water. This park offers three hikes of varying length, and I went with the middle range of 3 miles on the Coastal Plain Trail. The very first thing I noticed? Walking the trail felt like walking on a springy mattress. Wide without being over-groomed, a sandy soil makes up the trail bed with a covering of pine straw. Going back to that ancient ocean bed, within the park, the land is largely made of sand! In fact, the trail brochure tells me, “Most of the soils consist of 90% sand and contain only .5% organic matter.” Wow. Growing up in northeast Iowa with our dense, black loam, my brain did some gymnastics to rearrange my expectation of “soil.” Because of this sand, water runs all throughout the ground, making a somewhat limited environment for trees. Loblolly pine (or swamp pine) dominate. I did also see American holly, beech, sweetgum, and water oak, among other hardwoods I couldn’t name. Given the time of year and the time of day, I only saw squirrels, but the pine warblers were singing and singing and singing, everywhere I went. My overall note on the trails reads, “So quiet out here. So much room to think.”
After my walk (hard to call it a hike as the ground remained level and smooth for the entirety), I headed back to the visitor center to refill my water bottle and bumped into the park interpreter I’d met earlier on my arrival. She proceeded to do what park staff do, she added to my trip. She asked, “Now, do you know about the Arkansas Little Grand Canyon?” I shook my head, and she proceeded to give me a handout that contained directions. Housed just outside the park on Arkansas Game and Fish land, this geological wonder stopped me in my tracks. I may have taken an excessive number of photos here. In the picture, this looks like rock eroded by water. The erosion is correct; however, that ground is, in many places, densely compacted sand. On returning home, I discovered that I could have made my way down to the creek bed. Alas, I was hesitant to disturb anything. Perhaps on a return visit, I’ll explore the lowest elevations.
Overall, my time at White Oak Lake left a sizable impression of natural wonder.
Next up: Poison Springs Battleground