Lake Ouachita Vista Trail

Leg 1

This trail leg begins at Denby Bay where US Highway 270 crosses the southern end of Lake Ouachita's Denby Bay recreation area and terminates at the Tompkins Ben Campground entrance near Shangri La Resort. At a leisurely pace this five mile leg can be walked in two hours or biked in about an hour.

The trail is light to medium grade as it meanders through several miles of high-canopy, old-growth forest. Take the half mile spur out to Sunset Vista, sit on one of the many benches along the trail, and watch the sun slowly melt into the surface of the lake. Expect golden photo opportunities as well as quiet spots of solitude. If you are lucky, you may find the "Coon Tree Hotel", a large hollow oak where you can often see raccoons sleeping on large limbs some 50 feet above the trail. Look for Hush Hollow, a quiet little valley of streams covered with lush ferns and moss year round, Dogwood Draw, Lunch Log Vista, and Old Breathless Hill.

If you seek a shorter hike there is another trail head and parking area located on Shangri La road about 1.5 miles north of the US 270 turn off. From this trailhead you can hike 2.9 miles south to the Trail's End Rd (Denby Bay)) trailhead or 1.75 miles north to the Shangri La trailhead parking (Tompkins Bend Campground).

Leg 2

The second leg of the Vista Trail is approximately four miles of winding trail from the Shangri La (Tompkins Bend campground) trailhead parking area to the Mountain Harbor (Joplin campground) trailhead parking area on Mountain Harbor Rd. While this leg is designed for all age groups, expect more elevation and hills than Leg 1. The trail crosses many spring fed streams, winding past a number of old quartz crystal mines and many unusual rock formations. An amazing feature is a stand of very large (estimated 300-400 years old) short-leaf pine trees towering over 125 feet above the trail. A 1.5 mile loop out to Eagle Vista provides a spectacular view of the lake that, during the winter months, is home to several bald eagles. Look for the old natural cattle dip on Spring Creek and note the spring that feeds the creek at Spring Creek Bridge crossing. Here the trail wanders alongside the cool creek flowing over moss-covered stones through a narrow valley lined with hundreds of wood ferns.

Leg 3

Leg 3 of the LOViT extends 4 miles from the trailhead on Mountain Harbor Road to the picnic area on Hickory Nut Mountain. This is a challenging hike or ride with five bridgeless creek crossings and a mile of steep climbing with two sets of switchbacks. Once at the picnic trailhead, a short 1.1 mile hike on the mountaintop access road brings users to Hickory Nut Mountain Vista, which offers sweeping views on both the western half of the lake and the deep valley south on the Vista. A primitive restroom and picnic tables are available in the day use area.