Arkansas Wild | Summer 2026 by Arkansas Times

ARKANSAS WILD KILN & KIN 50 YEARS OF FORM, FUNCTION, AND FAMILY AT FOX PASS POTTERY

PLUS!

CELEBRATE AMERICA'S 250TH GEAR

CAMPING NECCESITIES & MORE

CONSERVATION DOWN ON THE BAYOU

LAST CALL

STRAWBERRY MARTINI JULY 2026 arkansaswild.com

year-round feasting, hiking, cycling & fishing In one of the most productive trout fisheries in the world!

Oakridge Mountain Bike Trails at Bull Shoals. 2-mile ride from Gaston’s.

870-431-5202 1777 river road | lakeview, ar | lat 36 20’ 55” n | long 92 33’ 25” w GASTONS.COM

ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, HERITAGE, AND TOURISM

SUMMER 2026

Cave City Watermelon Festival

IN THIS ISSUE

PICTURESQUE POTTERY

BIG BIRTHDAY, BIG FUN

Photographer Brandon Markin spends a day with master potters Jim and Barbara Larkin.

10 GEAR GUIDE

Beat the heat — or at least beat it back — with a summertime hiking kit, the newest best cooler, and more in our trusty gear guide.

THE CONSERVATION REPORT

Phillip Powell takes a leisurely — but enlightening — trip down Bayou DeView.

CROSSWORD

END OF THE TRAIL

Find the cure for the summertime clues with our newest crossword.

Celebrate 250 years of the USA right here in Arkansas.

Roughing it is all relative.

16 LAST CALL

Copper Grill’s Kyle Hampton, Jr. shakes up summer with Arkansas strawberries and Rocktown vodka.

PLUS! 20 LIGHTNING SAFETY 22 DOG HIKING

ON THE COVER: Jim and Barbara Larkin with some of their work at Fox Pass Pottery.

Photography by Brandon Markin.

4 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

READERS

CHOICE

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ARKANSAS WILD BROOKE WALLACE Publisher brooke@arktimes.com

MANDY KEENER Creative Director mandy@arktimes.com

Matt McNair Editor wild@arktimes.com

KATIE HASSELL Art Director/Digital Manager

LESA THOMAS Senior Account Executive

LUIS GARCIAROSSI Senior Account Executive

WENDY HICKINGBOTHAM Senior Account Executive

MIKE SPAIN Advertising Art Director

ROLAND R. GLADDEN Advertising Traffic Manager

ANITRA LOVELACE Circulation Director

ROBERT CURFMAN IT Director

CHARLOTTE KEY Administration

ALAN LEVERITT President

CONTRIBUTORS

HEATHER IACOBACCI-MILLER

Heather Iacobacci-Miller, a Hot Springs native now rooted in Little Rock, is a freelance writer fueled by her love of healthy living and the outdoors. A dedicated runner and fitness enthusiast, she finds joy simply being outside and sharing her passion for wellness through her writing.

BRANDON MARKIN

Brandon Markin is a photographer who has spent his life exploring near and far, always compelled by what’s just around the bend.

PHILLIP POWELL

Phillip writes for the Arkansas Times as a Report for America Corps Member. He likes to learn about environmental issues and different kinds of farms in Arkansas, and is happy to be contributing to Arkansas Wild.

6 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

Pinnacle Mountain State Park

A SHORT DRIVE leaves the REAL WORLD BEHIND. When you’re that close to outdoor adventures this epic, you’ve got everything you need for the perfect getaway. You won’t just like your time here, you’ll love you some Little Rock.

SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

FROM the editor

Hello and well-met from the blessedly air-conditioned confines of Catfish Tower, where we’ve been huddled up in the sweet air for the last little bit to put the finishing touches on the Summer 2026 edition of Arkansas Wild. Speaking of summer editions, this is the 250th edition of summer in the United States of America, as you may have heard. Seems like a pretty big deal! Since this issue will hit stands just a couple of weeks before the 4th of July, by the time you see this you might've already had your fill of firecrackers and gotten to see the great big on-thenose celebrations of America’s first quarter-millennium, but that doesn’t mean you can’t keep the party going in other ways. To that end, we’ve put together a guide to summer fun that hits every corner of the state. There’s a lot of the usual-suspect activities on display— you can’t have too many mentions of fishing and hiking and the like in a state as fit for’em as ours, in my opinion—but we’ve got some things you might not have thought about. It being the 190th edition summertime in the state of Arkansas, we’ve tried to include plenty of ways to beat the heat, even if it means getting inside for a little bit (we’re Wild, not crazy), although we won’t get you too far from the great outdoors even then. Along with a grab bag of summertime fun, we’ve got a piece on hiking with your four-legged friends; turns out it’s not as simple as just leashing’em up and heading out, but a little bit of prep makes the The editor with his wardrobe consultant, Chester, seen here trip more fun for everybody, including other folks (and critters) that advising that it is no longer sweater weather are sharing the trail. Speaking of learning, I have learned from our conservation correspondent that, despite my strong suspicion to the contrary, paddling the Bayou DeView water trail in the summer will not end with your canoe filled to the brim with cottonmouths. Check out his story to confirm that happy fact and learn a little more about this great water trail tucked away in the Arkansas Delta. Another thing you’ll learn if you read closely: where the westernmost skirmish of the Revolutionary War occurred. (Hint: It’s Arkansas.) Considering it’s America’s 250th and all, I reckon it’s basically your patriotic duty to read through ’til you figure out exactly where that is. We’ve also got a photo essay, a first for me as editor. Contributor Brandon Markin paid a visit to Fox Pass Pottery, where Jim and Barbara Larkin have been creating functional art for five decades. He took me along for the ride, and I’ll just say you have to see it to believe it. So flip the pages and go see it, and then head down to Garland County and see it—and them—in person. All this and more await you in this summer’s Arkansas Wild. As always, we appreciate you picking up our little magazine. And honestly, if you need to, use it as a fan at the picnic. We won’t mind. It’s summertime in Arkansas, after all.

BRANDY McNAIR

Sunny outlook

See ya out that way,

Matt McNair

8 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

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arktimes.com arktimespubs.com SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

GEAR GUIDE

Traveling (in the sun)light GEAR TO KEEP YOU COVERED AND COOL THIS SUMMER

With no spring left to be sprung, it’s on to long days in the hot summer sun! While summertime in Arkansas can be a hot and humid slog if you let it, we here at Arkansas Wild contend that any time you can get more time in the sunshine is a good time…and that means summer time! So if you feel like those intrusive thoughts (e.g., lascivious daydreams of lusty air conditioners) are getting the better of you, fear not! We’re here to get you the gear that gets you out…uhhh, there. So here you go!

Would you rather slather? I got that hoodie, sun. There are many good reasons to avoid sunscreen— it can be bad for the environment, it’s totally icky, it makes you look like you’re about to fail out of mime college, etc.—but not one of them, according to your mother, is a good reason. Enter the “sun hoodie:” a marvel of modern clothing technology that combines the protection of sunscreen with the timeless cool-factor of a hooded sweatshirt. How a long-sleeved garment can be comfy in the Arkansas sun is certainly a mystery, but where to get your hands on one is not: your friends at Ozark Outdoor Supply have you covered, with brands ranging from Patagonia to Ozark Outdoor’s own in-store brand

Just put two feet in front of the other two…In this issue, intrepid contributor Heather Iacobocci-Miller walks us through the basics of turning a dog walk into a dog hike, and so the Gear Guide is doing our part by helping you get Fido properly kitted out and ready to hit the trail. First order of business in that regard is a proper doggy backpack and hiking leash from industry-leading Ruffwear, both of which—along with everything else you’ll need to head afield with your four-legged friend—can be found at Puppy Community, Little Rock’s newest locallyowned pet store. 10 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

Tow, tow, tow your Stroh’s

COURTESY VENDORS

Lightweight heavyweight helps you hydrate. Looking for a nigh-unbreakable cooler that doesn’t weigh as much as a mythical Himalayan snow monster? We might have found the best one yet: Rugged Road. Constructed from a lightweight, military-grade polymer, Rugged Road coolers combine fall-off-the-tailgateand-survive toughness with so-light-it-floats convenience. It also trucks in honesty: The coolers are measured not in quarts or gallons, but in “cans,” and while the fact they float comes in mighty handy in the event of a boat-tumping, the built-in tie-down on the sides make it clear that this floating cooler can go ahead and start the trip in the water. Check out this major advancement in summertime technology at Little Rock’s own Ozark Outdoor Supply.

Summertime camping set-up. One of the best things about summertime camping is the temperature: Presuming the forecast is clear of rain, the warm summer nights in Arkansas are perfect for sleeping completely under the stars. If you dare to ditch the tent and gaze up at the final frontier more or less unimpeded, a few fine Arkansas retailers can get you started: Mosquito sleeping net. Presuming the forecast looks good, the summertime Arkansas night is just about perfect for going tentless. It is not perfect, of course, on account of the mosquitoes. Get a leg up on those winged menaces without sacrificing your stargazing with a pyramid net from Sea to Summit. Perfect for covering a cot or sleeping pad, the Sea to Summit pyramid net sports an asymmetric peak to maximize headroom and an overlapping flap to achieve a bug-proof seal. This dandy summertime sleeping accessory is available at Uncle Sam’s Outfitters in Fayetteville.

Ultralight all-season sleeping pad. Regardless of your setup, a sleeping pad is a must, both for comfort (duh) and safety (seriously, check the lightning safety article in this issue). While any sleeping pad is better than no sleeping pad, if you’re ready to upgrade take a look at the Tensor sleeping pad from Nemo Equipment. Weighing in at less than a pound and with insulation graded for all seasons (which, to be fair, means you’re not going to be too hot during the summer and will not be much colder than usual in the winter), this next-generation minimalist sleeping pad is almost certainly better than the busted [brand name you are definitely thinking of right now] sleeping pad buried deep down in your gear box, so maybe get on down to Gearhead Outfitters (Little Rock, Jonesboro, Rogers: take your pick!) and check it out.

Mosquito bites? Nyet!

Put a tarp on it.

Ultralight tarp shelter. Because, stargazing or no, you should never fully trust a too-good-to-be-true weather forecast, consider topping off your summertime campsite with an ultralight tarp shelter. That extra bit of precaution can be found at Bass Pro Shop in Little Rock or, if you’ve just frequented one of our fine NWA outdoor retailers, the Bass Pro Shop just up US-71 in That State Up North.

SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

ThE CONSERVATION REPORT

A BAYOU WITH A VIEW

THE ARKANSAS WATER TRAILS PROGRAM SEEKS TO POPULARIZE AND PROTECT WATERWAYS LIKE BAYOU DEVIEW. By PHILLIP POWELL

Everyone who paddles down Bayou DeView will get a sense of what the Arkansas Delta looked like centuries ago: a huge, living swamp.

he meandering Bayou DeView in the heart of the Arkansas Delta transports you into a quieter time where you can be immersed in one of the last American swamps largely untouched by human development. My own journey into the “Big Woods”—a 47,000-acre bottomland hardwood forest managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—started with an unforgettable experience near Little Rock with a borrowed kayak from one of Arkansas’ foremost wandering conservationists. An initiative called the Arkansas Water Trails Program by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission aims to make this forbidding swamp as accessible an outdoor adventure for Little Rockers as a sunrise hike up the rocky slopes of Pinnacle Mountain. Once the site of the great hunt for the ivory-billed woodpecker, Bayou DeView is no stranger to the attention of outsiders. But from the days the nearby towns of Brinkley and Clarendon hosted hundreds of birdwatchers and scientists searching for that grand bird, the sleepy Delta towns haven’t seen much attention from anyone other than

12 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

Debbie Doss (left) and Kirsten Bartlow have been working to develop a tourist friendly water trail system on many of Arkansas' most iconic rivers and streams. The Bayou DeView trail was marked and plotted by Doss and a few other volunteers over hours of trips down the bayou.

the duck hunters who have long hunted waterfowl among you are going to hear and see wildlife,” said Kirsten Bartlow, the cypress trees. The “Big Woods” of the Cache River watchable wildlife coordinator with Arkansas Game and National Wildlife Refuge were designated an internationally Fish. Bartlow’s puppy, Sunny, proved to be the life of the recognized wetland of importance by the Ramsar Convention bayou that day—though I was glad the adorable but very in 1971, hosting the only native population of black bears in finicky dog was writhing around in Bartlow’s canoe rather the largest contiguous bottomland hardwood forest left in than my little borrowed kayak. North America. That fact alone would make you think the Bartlow organized my excursion to Bayou DeView with tourists would flock, but the problem is that there are few conservationist and water trail expert Debbie Doss, who I businesses or amenities in the towns along the bayou that borrowed the kayak from. Even before we set off, I glimpsed could give tourists a fuller experience. the real potential of the bayou to become an outdoor recreation From its beginning point in Poinsett County, near the hub in a state that seems to want more of those. You won’t town of Weiner, Bayou DeView stretches over 83 miles find an exciting mountain biking trail or the rapids of the through much of the Big Woods, ultimately meandering into the Cossatot when you’re paddling down Bayou DeView. But you Cache River just a few miles southwest of Brinkley, in Monroe will find a quieter, more relaxed outdoor experience among County. The the cypress Cache then trees where flows into the you can almost swift White convince River near yourself you Clarendon, are one of those and the early Delta White meets explorers, the mighty hunting and Mississippi trapping your River in Desha way through County. At the swamp, all of these prospecting conf luence for timber points, little and battling Delta towns mosquitoes as shrinking by you hike up to the year dot higher ground the landscape. to set camp. It’s no secret Speaking of that the Delta mosqu itoes, has been that’s why depopulating. y o u ’ r e Bartlow's dog, Sunny, was our bright little companion on my tour through Bayou DeView. Sunny A region with could hardly contain her excitement sitting in Bartlow's canoe, and made the trip through the forbidrecommended some of the ding swamp a little more fun for everyone. to go during a most fertile nice, temperate farmland and most unique little towns in the world looks to day between January and April, though Bartlow and Doss are be increasingly abandoned even by people—like me—with quick to dispel any fears about snakes or gators. fond memories of the landscape. With a declining population, “The main thing that people are concerned about, and they an ailing farm economy, and people increasingly interested are trying to address that with the water trails, but the main in the amenities of suburbs and metro areas like Northwest thing that keeps people away is the fear of getting lost. And Arkansas, central Arkansas and even Jonesboro, the Delta that is a concern out here in the flooded timber, you can get needs a new identity in the 21st century. really turned around and not know where you are or how to Under the leadership of Governor Sarah Sanders and First get back,” Doss said before we set off. “And people do have Gentleman Bryan Sanders, Arkansas communities are racing some misconceptions that mosquitoes and insects are horrible, to embrace their own unique potential as outdoor recreation and they are really not. It’s excellent during the winter, spring hubs under our official nickname of The Natural State. Mena and fall. There is one season in the spring, where for about is building a state-of-the-art bike park in the Ouachitas, two weeks you get buffalo gnats. The mosquitoes are never outfitters continue to build upon the national draw of Buffalo terrible unless you come late in the summer and get in the River country, and both Two Rivers Park in Little Rock trees.” and nearby Pinnacle Mountain State Park are becoming We had to postpone our outing long after the ideal time for increasingly popular outings in central Arkansas with plenty a paddle through the Delta in January, as drought dropped the of amenities. Where does the Delta fit in? water level well below the necessary 14 feet until late February. “People don’t think to come to the Delta to paddle, they When we set off on March 12, we first met at the Apple associate the Buffalo River and the Ozarks with paddling. Lake access point, which is a straight shot east from Little We are still educating folks about coming to this part of the Rock, and where a waterfowl rest area has been cultivated by state to do a completely different style of paddling. Here, the Game and Fish Commission. We turned north toward SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

“I think when people get used to the idea and get past some of the myths about what a swamp is, a lot of people will enjoy it out here, And I have mixed feelings about that too, because I think this will always be a place where people who really appreciate nature can go. It’s not an adrenaline rush, it’s a quiet, contemplative ‘getting back to nature’ type of experience.” —DEBBIE Doss

14 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

the Hickson Lake access point in the middle of the Sheffield Nelson Dagmar wildlife management area, where Bartlow, Doss, and other volunteers have marked the choicest part of the water trail over the years. Doss has spent countless hours leading paddling tours through the Delta establishing the very water trail down Bayou DeView we would soon be paddling with her nonprofit, the Arkansas Watertrails Partnership. A few hours later, at the end of our journey, I had the outdoor experience I was looking for under my belt. But I also left with a foreboding sense that the remains of this ancient swamp might prefer to be left unbothered. Drawing People to the Big Woods The Arkansas Water Trail Program at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is only the beginning of making some of the Delta waterways accessible to the masses. And the trail program is run almost exclusively on the people power of committed volunteers. According to Bartlow, there are more than 20 water trails marked across the state, many of them in the Delta. The Bayou DeView trail is unique because at 15 miles of marked trail, it is one of the longest a paddler can find. As we glided across Hickson Lake toward the trail, the cypress trees started looking a little thicker. As we slipped on to the trail, it started widening and narrowing at parts. My jaw dropped as I spotted a bald cypress, submerged at its roots, that looked to be at least 15 feet in diameter if not much larger. I quickly derailed the tour and paddled over for a closer look. For those who have made it out to the California redwoods, you could easily relate to the comparison I made: That some of these great bald cypress, survivors of the Arkansas timber rush, deserve nothing less than the respect afforded the redwoods. We occasionally had to carefully guide our vessels through narrow gaps between trees or over fallen logs and limbs sticking out of the shallow water, adding some challenge and hustle to our lazy paddle. Doss said the trail can look different depending on the water level and the time of the year you paddle, giving the trail great potential for repeat trips. Bartlow cautioned that while the water never moves too fast, at high water levels the swamp can become dangerous. After a stop for lunch on a little island that Doss and Bartlow

said was rumored to be an old spot for moonshiners, we watched Sunny dash around while I pried them for insight on what they see as the future of the water trails program, and recreation in the Delta. The water trails will continue expanding, with AGFC dedicating the first trail on the Illinois River in Northwest Arkansas just a few days after our journey. As for the Delta, it will take a lot more investment for these trails to grow in popularity. Access points to Bayou DeView sit in pretty rural areas outside little towns; there are no outfitters and few hospitality establishments to offer the outdoor tourist much of an experience beyond the paddling itself. While the swamp is a totally unique resource, it’s so remote and foreboding that it appeals only to those nature and history lovers who like to pick up a paddle, and who are also comfortable in the backcountry. Several years ago, a group of serial paddling women adventurers from Missouri contacted Doss because they wanted to paddle through the Arkansas swamp. Now the group comes down every year, using the signs and markers Doss has installed to light their own way. “I think when people get used to the idea and get past some of the myths about what a swamp is, a lot of people will enjoy it out here,” Doss said. “And I have mixed feelings about that too, because I think this will always be a place where people who really appreciate nature can go. It’s not an adrenaline rush, it’s a quiet, contemplative ‘getting back to nature’ type of experience.” Doss uses that group as an example of how the bayou can become a regular destination for paddlers. With some more marketing, Bayou DeView and its access to the Big Woods could become a more central part of the Delta’s identity in the coming years, but can these ancient trees really draw the commercial activity the state envisions and promotes at bike trails in Bentonville? Perhaps the better question is: Should they? “State parks on the Delta Heritage Trail have made an opportunity zone around the trail for tax incentives and grants for small businesses that want to open, which is smart, because the Delta is a depressed community as far as someone having the funds to start,” Bartlow said. “This is an amazing resource but right now there aren’t the restaurants and Airbnbs and the things that people want.” Some ideas for future expansion of the trail could start with setting up little docks for people who want to overnight camp along the water trail, or setting up self-serving kayak rental machines. Periodic flooding and the unfortunate threat of vandalism, along with the fact that the trails are being maintained on the goodwill of volunteers like Doss, makes further development on Bayou DeView and other water trails a tricky prospect. As we made our way back toward Hickson Lake, Doss showed us a cypress with a rusted hook and chain buried into its bark a little higher than our heads. Her hypothesis is that because it’s hollow, it survived the timber rush of the 19th and early 20th centuries, when the Delta was initially deforested and converted to farmland. That hook is just a relic of the fate that almost befell it. And now, on this day—perhaps two hundred years later—it’s just the four of us quietly bearing witness to a swamp bearing the scars of the past, still trying to regrow. In the past, development interests were determined to strike the forest down. If development comes again, as some hope for, I can confidently say that most of us who paddled among the cypress hope for development that will preserve one of Arkansas’ hidden gems. SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

LAST CALL

Sweet, sweet summertime

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TOAST AMERICA WITH A TASTE OF ARKANSAS.

16 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST Get the latest in Arkansas outdoors delieverd straight to your inbox.

hen we asked Kyle Hampton, Jr., ace bartender at downtown Little Rock’s Copper Grill, to come up with a signature cocktail for our “Last Call” feature, it didn’t take him long to come up with the answer. “How about a Rocktown Refresher?” Uhhhh, yes please. And what, pray tell, is a Rocktown Refresher? Kyle didn’t know exactly what it was in the moment, but the muse was afoot and Kyle was off to the mixin’ laboratory to fine tune his creation. The final result is just what the drink doctor ordered: It’s refreshing, celebratory, and jubilant—a chilled concoction in a chilled glass, shot through and garnished with vibrant greens and reds—and leans local, with vodka distilled in Little Rock and a strawberry garnish that all but screams “Holland Bottom Farm.” Topped with a tartsweet rim of lime juice and sugar that rhymes with the lime-and-guava body below, Kyle’s Rocktown Refresher is an invigorating take on a few familiar flavors, and a perfect way to ring in the summertime and raise a toast on America’s 250th birthday. And while we haven’t consulted with the Man Himself on this one, it is our considered editorial opinion that, should you wish to incorporate another of Arkansas’s finest products (and undisputed king of the summertime picnic), that Holland Bottom strawberry wouldn’t begrudge a Hope or Cave City watermelon taking a turn in the garnish spotlight. Welcome to the picnic, everybody, and have a great summer!

Kyle Hampton, Jr. Rocktown Refresher Strawberry Martini Ingredients: 1 tsp Superfine sugar 2 oz. Rocktown strawberry flavored vodka, chilled ½ oz. triple sec ½ oz. Guava juice (or nectar) ½ oz. Fresh lime juice For the rim: Superfine sugar 1 Lime wedge 1 Strawberry, sliced vertically (halfway up) Directions: Place the superfine sugar in a small, shallow bowl. Moisten the rim of a chilled martini glass with the lime wedge. Dip the rim in sugar, set aside. Combine sugar, triple sec, guava juice, and lime juice in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain into the prepared glass. Enjoy!

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arktimespubs.com Arkansas Wild | Bike Arkansas Central Arkansas Guide El Latino Arkansas Flavor & more! SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

https://puzzleme.amuselabs.com/pmm/crossword Crossword

ARKANSAN GRAFFITI CROONING, CANOODLING, AND CANOEING STATEWIDE WITH THE SUMMER CROSSWORD.

c for

8 9

ing

gn g ?

11 12 13

18 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

d-pdf ACROSS 1. Beloved Russellville burger joint that closed in 2026 5. The Kenda and The Stone are the only two left in Arkansas 6. Mountain _______ Spring (bottled water brand) 8. With 10 down, the so-called "largest Real Estate deal in history." 9. With 4 Down, Arkansas fruit prone to wishful thinking? 11. Scariest waterway in Arkansas? (tributary of the Sulphur River) 13. See 12 down 14. Old-timey knife game (that maybe needs to speak up?)

DOWN 2. With "to," a specific kind of trail known for being smooth and level 3. ______ Falls (aka "Skullcrusher") 4. See 9 across 7. Frontier lawman that could always smell something fishy going on? 8. Arkansas musician that carried a lot of "weight"? 10. See 8 across 12. With 13 across, sign the evening is going well at a #5 across? Hint: Some answers can be found in this issue.

Answers in the Fall 2026 issue of Arkansas Wild and online at arktimespubs.com. Spring 2026 issue's answers.

ACROSS: 1. The Simple Life 3. Arkansas 6. Paris 7. Lizards

10. Nuclear 13. Petit Jean 14. Magazine 15. Wonderboys

DOWN: 1. Turner Bend 2. Pig Trail 4. River 5. Wiederkehr

Conservation is our common ground.

8. Sand 9. Arkansas 11. Buzzards 12. Atkins

Here’s to the next hunt.

arfb.com WINTER 2025 ARKANSAS WILD

20 ARKANSAS WILD SPRING 2026

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), Arkansas experiences more than 835,000 lightning strikes per year, with the majority of lightning activity occurring during the months of June, July, and August. The NWS has a saying: “When thunder roars, go indoors.” Sound advice, but there aren’t many doors through which to go in the backcountry. With that in mind and lightning season at hand, Arkansas Wild is presenting the following diagram, produced by the NWS, showing what to do in the event you’re caught in a lightning storm away from shelter. It’s imperative to always check the latest weather forecast immediately before heading to the backcountry, but the summertime is notorious for pop-up storms and lightning can seemingly come out of nowhere. Committing an emergency protocol to memory will help you keep a cool head and make good choices in a an emergency. For more information about lighting statistics, go to weather.gov/ safety/lightning .

SAFTEY FIRST

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRING 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

NAVIGATING ARKANSAS TRAILS WITH YOUR DOG THIS SUMMER.

Have leash, will travel: Following a few simple steps can make your next hike dog-friendly.

22 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

BY HEATHER IACOBOCCI-MILLER

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ummer in Arkansas is unique. The outdoors are inviting, with lakes, rivers and hiking trails begging to be used, and the sound of cicadas signaling that summer has arrived. While Arkansas’ heat can be unrelenting, there’s a particular calm and tranquility that exists on a summer trail in the Natural State that calls to nature enthusiasts. While hiking in the spring surrounded by an abundance of new blooms or in the golden-hued fall are both delightful, hiking during the summer is something truly special. You have an abundance of sunshine, endless blue skies and days that stretch out just a bit longer; summer is simply a time to slow down and savor the natural world. Hiking is a wonderful way to do just that. And how can a summer day spent exploring one of Arkansas’ trails be even more rewarding? By sharing that time with your dog. It’s a wonderful way to spend the day together, strengthen your bond, and enjoy the beauty that Arkansas trails have to offer. When you’re out on a trail, you experience the hum of the cicadas in a more subdued way, the rustle of leaves underfoot and the steady rhythm of your four-legged friend beside you. Hiking with your dog can turn an ordinary outing into something richer, more grounding. Observe what they observe. Notice how they stop and take in the scents and surroundings. They can teach us to be more present, more aware. It’s more than getting to the summit or to the end of the trail. It’s about the surrounding nature. But summer in the Natural State brings its own set of challenges, and a good experience depends on preparation, awareness, and respect for the land, other hikers and the animals—other dogs hiking and wildlife—that share the trails with us. Keep your dogs on a leash One of the most important lessons I’ve learned on the trail came from a situation that could have gone very differently. We encountered an off-leash dog rounding a bend ahead of its owner. The owner was calling the dog’s name, but he was most decidedly ignoring him. The dog seemed friendly at first, but spooked one of mine, and for a moment everything tensed for the other dog, for our dogs and for us. You know the look when it happens: ears perked, bodies stiff, uncertainty hanging in the air. Thankfully, it diffused quickly. But it was a reminder that even friendly dogs can create unpredictable situations when SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD 23

they’re not under control. Leashes aren’t just about rules— they’re about responsibility. They protect your dog from wildlife, from hazardous terrain and from encounters that can escalate in seconds. They also respect the comfort and safety of other hikers, not all of whom are eager to meet an unfamiliar dog on a narrow trail. Prevent tick bites Summer hiking also means dealing with one of Arkansas’ most persistent pests: ticks. Tall grass, shaded forests and damp environments create the perfect conditions for them to thrive. Prevention starts before you even leave home. Using a vetrecommended flea and tick preventative is a must. Your vet will share the ideal preventative, but there are also widely available year-round oral chews, topical treatments and tick collars. You can add additional protection using essential oils that can be found in pet supply stores. But tick prevention doesn’t end there. Staying on established trails, avoiding bushwhacking through dense undergrowth, and doing a thorough check for ticks after your hike can make all the difference. Pay close attention to your dog’s ears, underbelly and between their toes. It’s certainly not the most glamorous part of hiking, but it’s one of the most important. Leave no trace Another issue is one that no one really enjoys talking about, but everyone notices when it’s ignored: your pet’s waste. Carrying out your dog’s waste might feel inconvenient in the moment, but it’s a core part of responsible outdoor recreation; just like when camping, the goal while hiking is to leave no trace. While Leave No Trace guidelines have protocols for properly burying human waste, the same principle does not apply to dog waste. Why? Because dog waste introduces non-native harmful bacteria and parasites into the environment. It also negatively impacts water quality and disrupts local ecosystems. So, please bring extra bags and be prepared to carry them out. It’s a small effort that keeps trails enjoyable for everyone. Be heat aware Of course, the defining challenge of summer hiking in Arkansas is the heat and humidity. It’s not just uncomfortable— 24 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

it can be dangerous, especially for dogs. Again, if you’ve lived in Arkansas long, you understand how uncomfortable the humidity can be. But did you know that, unlike humans, dogs don’t sweat to cool down? Instead, they cool themselves by panting, which evaporates moisture from their lungs and tongue—a process that becomes less effective in high humidity. When the air is highly saturated, the moisture can’t evaporate as easily, making it harder for dogs to release heat. Be cognizant and take the trails slower. Bring extra water. It’s better to have more than not enough. There are a variety of collapsible bowls and portable water bottles for your pet that you can easily store in your backpack (along with the waste disposal bags). Also, knowing the signs of heat exhaustion is incredibly important. Excessive panting, drooling, lethargy, vomiting or a lack of coordination are all red flags. If you notice any of these, it’s time to stop, find shade, offer water and cool your dog down gradually. Planning hikes for early morning or late evening, bringing more water than you think you’ll need and taking frequent breaks can help prevent these situations—for your dog and for yourself. Don’t forget about the terrain The ground beneath your feet matters, too. Trails that feel warm to you can be scorching to your dog’s paws, especially exposed rock or packed dirt under direct sunlight. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that if you can’t comfortably hold your hand on the surface for several seconds, it’s too hot for your dog. Burned paw pads can turn a great hike into a painful ordeal, so choosing shaded trails and being mindful of surfaces is key. Aside from the hot ground, consider the terrain itself. Rocky trails can be painful on paws. Depending on your dog, you might consider booties to protect their paws. Remember post-hike necessities Don’t forget to pack some post-hike necessities such as towels, doggy wipes and even a brush. Depending on the trail, your dog might be muddy, wet or dusty at the very least. Having towels and wipes on hand helps you clean them up, lets you check for ticks at the same time and helps keep your vehicle clean. Additionally, if your dogs have longer hair, having a brush on hand is important for getting out any minor knots before they become a tangled mess. Despite these considerations—or even, I would argue, because of them—hiking with your dog in the summer can be incredibly rewarding. It slows you down in the best way, helping you notice more and be more focused on the shared experience rather than simply reaching a destination. At its best, hiking with your dog is a partnership. It asks you to be attentive, prepared and considerate…not just of your own experience, but of everything around you. When you approach it that way, the trails stay safer, cleaner and more enjoyable for everyone who follows, two-legged and four-legged alike.

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Who’s a good hiker? You! You’re a good hiker!

Finished pieces arrayed in the shop, ready to find their new homes.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRANDON MARKIN

n April of this year, I accompanied Brandon Markin to Fox Pass Pottery, where Jim and Barbara Larkin have lived and worked for more than 50 years. A friend of the Larkins, he insisted that these two artists would make a fine feature for Arkansas Wild. He was correct. Not because the Larkins make anything that pertains specifically to the out-of-doors, but because they embody a spirit and an ethos of connectivity that I believe resonates with everyone — hunters, anglers, hikers, birdwatchers, what have you — that finds joy and solace in nature. Pottery itself is an artform that lends itself to harmony, as the essence of it all is the blending of disparate materials to create a new form, each element contributing to the whole. It is also, of course, an artform based in dirt and clay, a material fraught with meaning in our own culture, as well as those throughout the world. Also filled with meaning are daily rituals, something that has always fascinated Jim. It is his contention that rituals need not be exotic or full of portent to be meaningful and important;

a cup of coffee in the morning, he says, is a ritual for himself and many others, and no less meaningful for being unpretentious. It is, in fact, coffee cups that are the Larkins’ biggest sellers, and a visit to their shop will find far more plates and saucers and other such useful items than one might expect. One is tempted to look at this commitment to functionality and say, dutifully, that form follows function, and congratulate oneself on being very practical. Perhaps, but I prefer the rejoinder to that axiom, delivered by a student — Frank Lloyd Wright — of the original aphorist: “Form follows function—that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.” The following pages, through Markin’s photographs, show a union between form and function — and between human beings and their world, both built and natural — better than these words. But even the pictures are no substitute for a visit to Fox Pass. Also, you can’t drink your morning coffee out a picture. — Matt McNair SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

A skylight provides the perfect illumination for molding the clay.

26 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

PHIL IACOBACCI

Matt McLeod in his Little Rock home studio.

The Larkins' cupboard, full of their friends' and family’s work, is full of beautiful pieces of utilitarian art. SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

An array of tools are used to add detail and decoration. 28 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

30 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

Clockwise from top left: The kilns where the fires are stoked in all seasons, requires a steady diet of fresh cut wood. The retail space that the Larkins built on to their home is nestled among the prolific spring greenery. Callie, the shop cat rests between greeting customers. Jim and Barbara are living legends in the Arkansas arts scene, careful stewards of the land at Fox Pass, and keepers of tradition and lore in the Hot Springs community.

SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

You’re how old?!

In case you haven’t heard (you’ve definitely heard), 2026 marks 250 years since the most famous collection of wigs this side of Dolly Parton’s dressing room told Jolly Olde England to take this exploitative system of non-representative colonial government and shove it; and while they ultimately managed, in the process, to set forth on this here continent a new nation, in reality what they had done is pick a fight with the world’s most powerful empire. This was a fight that, on paper, they should’ve lost, but that in reality they did not, and so now we get to have a yearlong celebration dated from the signing of history’s most famous and consequential Dear John letter, rather than…well, to not get to do that. Which is to say that while the deal wasn’t sealed for several (very bitter and nasty and bloodsoaked) years, it did get settled, which means the clock started just as soon as the ink was dry: July 4, 1776. We won the war, after all; those are our years. We get to keep those. And while good ol’ Arkansas isn’t celebrating everyone’s new favorite word this year (we’re a spry 190 years old this year, a number for which there is not, so far as we know, a specific word), in a nice little bit of synergy for editors and bloggers and boosters all across The Natural State, Arkansas just so happens to be the 25th of the 50 states admitted to the Union. How surprisingly Zen of us. At any rate, in light of that very nice and very round numerical coincidence, in this issue we’re foregoing our usual practice of homing in on a single region of the state in favor of an Arkansas-wide borderto-border bit of hey-lookit-this-over-here, and in the process hip you to… 25 (give or take) things to do (in Arkansas) for (America’s) 250th

BY MATTHEW MCNAIR

32 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

The 25th on the 250th

ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, HERITAGE, AND TOURISM

Seeing as how it’s the year of America’s sestercentennial, let’s take a look at Arkansas’s past in the context of United States history. (Don’t worry…book-learnin’ doesn’t always have to be indoors.) And while we’re proud of Arkansas’s part in the big picture, we’re also particular to those stories that are themselves particular to our somewhat peculiar, out-of-the-way state; there’s a few of those, too. This is just a primer though, so do yourself a favor and wander off the beaten path this summer…there’s always a little more wonder to be found in The Wonder State.

Arkansas Post National Memorial

Arkansas Post National Memorial tells the story of Arkansas Post, the first permanent European outpost in Louisiana Territory and also site of the westernmost engagement of the Revolutionary War. The memorial offers self-guided walking tours of the settlement and a Civil War battlefield, an indoor history installment, and plenty of spots to have a picnic or wet a hook.

Bonus! For a look at the less-distant past, check out Arkansas Post State Park, conveniently located on U.S. Highway 165 at the turnoff for the national memorial.

Louisiana Purchase State Park

When Thomas Jefferson arranged for the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, he also arranged for the new country known as the United States of America to double in geographic size. For all that land to be managed, it would have to be surveyed; it was, of course, and the starting point for that daunting task began in what is now Monroe County, Arkansas. Head to Louisiana Purchase State Park to see where the first stake was sunk.

Fort Smith

From the real-world court of Isaac C. “Hanging Judge” Parker to countless Hollywood oaters, Fort Smith has held pride of place in the Old West of American imagination. And while it was almost always just “Fort Smith” and not “Fort Smith, Arkansas,” Arkansas was in fact the bleeding edge of the western frontier of the United States during the period we know and mythologize as “The Wild West.” That makes Fort Smith a fine place for a rootin’ tootin’ history lesson.

Louisiana Purchase State Park Start with the fort itself, where the National Park Service maintains the garrison, courthouse, outbuildings, and even the old gallows where so much frontier justice, just or not, was meted out; after that, take in the newly-completed U.S. Marshals Museum, where the same complicated tableau plays out amidst real history, presumably-real legends, and the larger-than-life true tale of Bass Reeves, the only lawman so overwhelmingly bad that his loyal hound dog got a spot in the statuary. Apropos of the 250th go-round of the United States of America, you can end the day in Fort Smith engaging in quiet contemplation at the Fort Smith National Cemetery... before partaking in the other national contemplative pastime at Fort Smith Brewing Company.

International Hoo-Hoo Headquarters and Museum

Don’t let the whimsical name fool you; the Concatenated [sic] Order of Hoo-Hoo was formed for and by lumbermen, a group not generally thought of as given to whimsy overmuch. (One of the founding members was just really into Lewis Carroll.) While formerly based in Boston, Massachusetts, multiple founding members were Arkansas timbermen, and the headquarters has been in Gurdon since 1981. To find the Hoo-Hoo, go to Gurdon and look for the big black cat (with a tail shaped like a “9”). That’s it!

Buffalo River Historic Jail and Museum The restored Searcy County jail in downtown Marshall tells the story of the Buffalo’s natural and cultural history, as well as Searcy County’s rough and tumble past. First meal after jail? The Daisy Queen. SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

On Land While geographers and biologists and other such science folk like to split the land up into all manner of biomes or ecoregions or whatnot, we here at Arkansas Wild have decided it’s too hot for all that and — in contrast to “water,” below — it’s all just land. As Thoreau said: “Simplify, simplify, simplify.”

Can’t talk land in Arkansas — or having fun on it — without talking about the Ozark Mountains, and these days, that means talking about mountain biking. Even Eureka Springs, one of the Ozark Mountain old guard, play-spot wise, has a rapidly-developing bicycle trail system that will take you down into the holler and up into the clouds, where even the Eureka Springs Passion Play has switched its holy rolling to downhill rolling. If you’re tired of hearing about the Fayetteville part of NWA, well, sorry. It’s hard to discount things like the Razorback Greenway, a 40+ mile trail system that links the major urban areas of NWA through a pathway encompassing green canopies, creeksides, and city parks, all the while granting bicycle access to downtowns, shops, and pubs…not to mention the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which, yes, also has trails. Want to actually get all the way out of town this summer? Then head to Horsheshoe Canyon Ranch. Along with nationally-recognized rock climbing, Horseshoe Canyon offers opportunities for mountain biking, zip-lining, and just plain old exploring. Also, there are several very cool dogs, but they’re working so please admire them from a distance. The Ozarks are cool, but don't miss out on the Ouachitas. Less built-up than their NWA cousins, the Ouachitas (and the 1.8 million-acre Ouachita National Forest) offer boundless opportunities for free-range adventure, including a slew of recreation areas with camping, hiking, fishing, and just about everything else under the summertime sun. Need a little creature comfort with your adventure? Check out the lodge at Queen Wilhelmina State Park, site of the greatest back porch in mid-America. 34 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, HERITAGE, AND TOURISM

Queen Wilhelmina State Park

Sulphur River region

If it seems like your favorite outdoor spot is getting crowded, and if you’re looking for some outdoor activity that’s more about tube jigs than tubing, think about drifting down to the Sulphur River country. Anchored by the 18,000-acre Sulphur River Wildlife Management Area, this large chunk of southwest Arkansas boasts some of the most remote wildlands in Arkansas. Smaller but no less spectacular is the Miller County Sandhills Natural Area, a rare example of undisturbed sandhills vegetation. Set up base camp at 300-acre Alex Smith Park in nearby Doddridge, which offers camping without crowding and enough amenities to ease a youngster or a camping rookie into proper outdoor pursuits without cramping a veteran camper’s style.

Bonus! Before setting up camp at Alex Smith Park,

stop off at nearby Fouke, where you can pick up supplies and also get some tips for seeing (or fleeing) the legendary Fouke Monster at the downtown Fouke Monster Mart. And when it’s time to really head back to civilization, do it by passing through Texarkana, where you can buy an Arkansas watermelon (the watermelon mecca of Hope is only 30 miles away), split it open, and spit the seeds at an ornery Texan across Stateline Avenue.

Try something new

Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge

Encompassing approximately 65,000 acres across Ashley, Bradley, and Union counties in southeastern Arkansas, the Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge is one of Arkansas’s more breathtaking public land holdings. The relative lack of facilities (camping is primitive, trails are few, development is nil) coupled with sheer size (the 65,000 acres in Arkansas abut the more than 41,000 acres of the Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana) make Felsenthal an ideal destination for hunters, anglers, birders, and anyone else who wants to experience the wilderness.

ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, HERITAGE, AND TOURISM

Delta Heritage Trail State Park

Bonus! As noted, there are no facilities in Felsenthal,

and the backcountry isn’t advisable for inexperienced nature lovers. For a day of enjoying Felsenthal with access to a few amenities—not to mention natural splendor in the same extended biome—make your basecamp at Moro Bay State Park, just 30 miles to the northwest.

Delta Heritage Trail State Park

Except for a visitors center and a few trailheads, this state park is made up entirely of its namesake trail, which is itself a converted rail line that dates back to when rail transportation was the primary means of getting both commodities and travelers from the remote reaches of southeastern Arkansas to the bright lights of Memphis and beyond. The first section of the Delta Heritage Trail was dedicated in 2002, and as of 2026 there are close to 80 miles of completed trail. Stretching through Phillips, Arkansas, and Desha counties, the Delta Heritage Trail makes use not only of the level, smooth, elevated rail bed, but also its canopy of trees; along most of the line, these trees were the only ones spared during the Delta’s agriculture-spurred deforestation, and the result is both a respite from the Delta sun and also a vibrant wildlife corridor.

The only time you want to stay in a rut (or the ruts) is when you’re driving down a dirt road (which, come to think of it, is a pretty good summertime activity in its own right), so maybe go ahead and shake things up this summer. We’ve got a few suggestions below, some from right in the middle of Arkansas Wild ’s wheelhouse and some from a bit outside…but even if it's not way out in the woods, rest assured that we won’t get you too far from far afield!

Go to a drive-in movie

Okay, maybe not new: For folks of a certain vintage, the drive-in movie theater is on par with Mom and apple pie in the “it’s-as-American-as” category. But with the heyday of the drive-in well in the rearview, we’re blessed here in Arkansas to still have two of these American institutions alive and well: the Kenda Drive-In at Marshall and the Stone Drive-In at Mountain View. To add some extra Arkansas-ness to this quintessential American experience, toss some camp chairs into the truck bed and catch a flick in the open air. Speaking of open air: It’s worth noting our state’s two drive-ins are situated up in the Ozarks, which should tamp down the summer humidity at least a little bit.

Get some fast food

No, not from the drive-thru. We’re talking about the National Championship Chuckwagon Races, where contestants take a page from the real Wild West: where the cowboys had to eat and the food had to be towed along the cattle drive, and when everybody had to jump up and light out—sometimes in a mighty big hurry—everybody had to take off, Cookie included. A total revelation to some people, a yearly tradition for many others (they began in 1986, and now attract upwards of 20,000 attendees) the National Championship Chuckwagon Races are something every Arkansawyer should make it a point to see.

Bonus! Once the races wind down—or if they’re

too crowded for you—head north out of Clinton on U.S. Highway 65 and take in the decidedly-slower beauty of Bluffton Preserve, a Nature Conservancy property (open to the public) that protects 4 miles of the Archey Fork and nearly 1,000 acres of the Ozark Mountains. The Delta Heritage Trail is accessible from multiple trailheads, but we suggest the visitors center outside of Helena-West Helena, where information and amenities are available.

Bonus! Before you stroll onto the Delta Heritage

Trail, roll into Marvell, just 10 miles west on U.S. Highway 49, where you’ll find the boyhood cabin of music legend Levon Helm, who was born in nearby Turkey Scratch. The cabin, which was moved to Marvell and restored, is open to visitors. And just a few miles west of Marvell is Louisiana Purchase State Park. SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

On the water

Lake Ouachita Lakes

Sure, Minnesota is the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” but it’s also the 12th largest state, which is a lot of room for lakes, and at some point you’re going to run into the law of diminishing returns. Arkansas, on the other hand, is only the 29th largest state, with a lake situation that leans heavily into the qualityover-quantity idea. If you’re into lakes — for fishing, for swimming, for whatever — and you’re in Arkansas, well, you’re also in luck. So slather on some sunscreen and slip on some shades, and head out to one of Arkansas’s several fine lakes … because you don’t need 10,000 of ’em if each one is 1 in 1,000,000.

The Diamond Lakes

“Diamond Lakes” refers to five lakes in the eastern Ouachita Mountains: Lakes Catherine, DeGray, Greeson, Hamilton, and Ouachita. With surface areas that range from a little less than 2,000 acres (Lake Catherine) to more than 40,000 (Lake Ouachita) and shorelines that offer varying amounts of public access (the smaller lakes contain pockets of private ownership, while practically all of Lake Ouachita’s 900+ miles of shoreline are on public land), the Diamond Lakes Region has something for just about every lake lover out there. Along with their natural splendor, one of the draws of the Diamond Lakes is their proximity to Hot Springs, one of Arkansas’s premier vacation towns. If you’re looking to get in a good-time triathlon, check out Electric Island on Lake Hamilton. From the Lake Hamilton Public Boat Ramp, launch your canoe (or kayak, or paddle board, or whatever you’ve got) and head toward Electric Island. Once you’re there, beach the craft and circle the island using the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Electric Island Nature Trail, then shove off and head back to the ramp. Don’t worry if the sun is going down by the time you make it back to the rig … the third component of this triathlon consists of exploring downtown Hot Springs, which is only about 10 miles or so from the boat ramp. 36 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, HERITAGE, AND TOURISM

Arkansas is blessed — embarrassingly so — with an abundance of water. There is no shortage of things to do on the water in this state, with options appealing to any and all abilities, demographics, and levels of orneriness. Take your pick, we say … you just about can’t go wrong.

Norfork Lake and Bull Shoals Lake

ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, HERITAGE, AND TOURISM

Since their creation in 1944 and 1951, respectfully, these two enormous lakes in northern Arkansas have come to define the culture and economy of that portion of the state, and also inspire such classic bumper stickers as “I Love the Whole Dam Area,” much to the delight of 7-year-olds across Marion and Baxter counties (their mothers, less so). While power generation is their primary reason for being, it is recreation for which they are most known and, to locals and tourists alike, revered. For a slower pace and slightly off-kilter, “what-year-is-this-again?” vibe, check out Bull Shoals, the area’s quintessential lake town. There’s plenty of lake access, including swim beaches, as well as Bull Shoals-White River State Park, which offers camping, walking trails, and a visitors center. One of the major draws of these lakes isn’t the lakes themselves: It’s the tailwaters coming out the other side, the cold water of which — along with the diligent efforts of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission — has created a trout fishery to rival any in the world. Just down the road from Bull Shoals-White River State Park is Gaston's White River Resort, one of the area’s first such establishments; along with access to world-class fishing spots and the guides to get you there, Gaston’s is also home to one of Arkansas’s true destination restaurants, complete with a river view and — as salad bars are for weenies — a salad boat. For a little hipper take on the trout-fishing scene in the Northcentral Arkansas Dam Area, slip off to the little town of Norfork, where the change and growth have come a little slower, but has arrived in the form of, among other things, Norfork Brewing Company, one of the darlings of Arkansas’s microbrewing scene and favorite of trout-crazed hop-heads all over the place.

White River

Paddlin’ Posse…REPRESENT

Nobody is saying you have to choose between lakes and streams, but we’ve found that folks do tend to sort themselves out that way much of the time. Either way you go you’re going to be fine in our water-rich wonderland…though we’re inclined to give the edge to the creeks. To celebrate America’s 250th birthday, take a trip down the Buffalo, America’s first national river. For more than 150 miles from its rise in the most remote reaches of the Ozarks to its confluence with the White River near Buffalo City (Baxter County), Arkansas’s most iconic natural feature offers innumerable opportunities for fun. All of them are great, but newcomers to the river—or those with younger kids in tow— might opt for a stay at Buffalo Point, the river’s largest campground. Buffalo Point is crisscrossed with trails, including one to the famous and fascinating Indian Rockhouse. Arkansas has too many creeks to list, but exemplar streams Big Piney Creek and the Mulberry River are both top-tier canoe runs, and both offer the services of a legendary outfitter: Turner Bend on the Mulberry and Moore Outdoors on the Piney. While those creeks can get a little gnarly in high water, they’re suitable for most any paddler. Not so the Cossatot River, Arkansas’s truest whitewater run…this one is for experienced paddlers only, especially the infamous Cossatot Falls. No water? No worries. If you show up to paddle and only find a puddle, just swap your paddle for a pole and do a little wade fishing, our other favorite creektime activity.

Watermelon brawl It’s hard to beat a cold watermelon on a hot summer day, and it’s hard to beat Arkansas for a good watermelon. To get an idea of just how good we’ve got it around here, celebrate the king of the summertime fruits not once, but twice this summer, as both Hope and Cave City roll out another set of dueling watermelon festivals. The two towns on opposite ends of the state — Hope in the southwest, Cave City the northeast — both grow a top-shelf melon and both throw a fine festival, but it is our editorial opinion that, while you should definitely attend both, you should only have one favorite: whichever one you’re at when the subject comes up. We don’t want any seeds spit in anger, after all, and folks ‘round those parts take their watermelons seriously. SUMMER 2026 ARKANSAS WILD

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

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END OF THE TRAIL

By MATT McNAIR

or most of us, wanting to take a break from the modern world for a few days doesn’t mean we intend to do so without some of its perks, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Regardless, being out in the woods for an extended period of time can make you uncomfortable no matter your gear, and this gives rise to one of the more subtle, less-evident pleasures of outdoor pursuits: Stay out long enough and rough enough, and you’ll get to appreciating how comfortable you actually are most of the time. The house is pleasantly warm or cool. The lights don’t need batteries. The couch is soft, the bed softer. And the food? Oh, the food. It’s always there, and it is so, so good. I had always liked the first meal out of the field, but it was a through-hike of the Ozark Highlands Trail — undertaken after my buddy and I, both new to hiking, had done a grand total of two overnight hikes and figured sure, why not, let’s just do the whole thing … how hard can it be? — that really drove home the reality of how good I really had it out there in the real world, particularly in the food department. We allotted 21 days for the trip, and lemme tell ya: The talk turned to food out there pretty quick. If you’ve never done a trip like that, you might think that it’s the food itself—the taste of it—that gets you thinking about food out in the real world, on account that backpacking food is mostly just dehydrated meals that can’t possibly taste good. They can, actually, but it wouldn’t matter anyway because on a trip like that any food will taste good by dint of how ravenously, existentially hungry you are. You’d happily eat another full backpacker meal, in fact, but you can’t because you have to ration. So then you talk about food in the real world, and how plentiful it is. You can have seconds if you want! That’s hard to imagine while you’ve got your entire face in a plastic soup bowl, breathing in fumes after licking the thing clean. The other thing is that it’s kind of a pain to get yourself fed at the end of the day. Sure, it’s just boiling water and your (precious, precious) soup powder—and anyway, it’s an adventure!—but when you’re that hungry and that tired (plus blistered and chafed, and maybe rethinking your choice of hobby) the novelty wears off and you’ve just got a chore to do. Now it becomes the ease with which you can consume as much food as you want back there in civilization that gets you to thinking maybe civilization’s

38 ARKANSAS WILD SUMMER 2026

not that bad after all. In our case, the lack of enough food — plenty enough to be just fine, not near enough to be sated — combined with the maddening necessity of doing a bunch of little chores after a full day of pushing oneself to the brink of physical collapse made us fixate on the few little treats we had managed to fit into our packs: some miniature candy bars and a big bag of trail mix. It was food, first off, and we were always hungry. Further, it was ready to eat, and could be eaten right then, on the trail, with no attendant chore. Those snacks became the primary driver of conversation after a while. We would negotiate when to eat the snacks, the type of snack to eat and how much, and then meticulously divide the ration. Toward the end of the trip we got to gambling for extra snacks, risking our rations on, say, how many pushups I could do while wearing my pack, or whether he could hit a particular tree with a rock. We gambled snacks on increasingly-nervy games of mumblety-peg. And when we weren’t planning our break schedule around the snacks or putting them at the center of our weirdly degenerate gambling, we’d talk about what food we’d eat when we got back, and where it’d come from, and how swell it was that, out there in the hurly-burly modern world we’d haughtily shunned, you could just waltz out and get some food whenever you wanted. Turns out we didn’t have far to go for that first frontcountry meal; my mother, who had agreed to drop our shuttle vehicle on our projected end date — Lewis and Clark, we were not — had actually just sat there and waited on us, absolute bucketfuls of homecooked food in tow. I don’t remember what all she brought, but I do remember it was the best meal I’d ever had, hands down. Actually, I do remember that some of it was fried chicken, because that’s what I was wolfing down when I bit my own hand hard enough to draw blood. Such a mishap makes an impression. Anyway, we got done eating all that and took Mom back to my folks’ house, where it turns out she’d cooked a brisket, and so we ate that. And she wanted us to just spend the night instead of heading back to Russellville, where we lived, so we could have another big batch of food come morning. We had to decline, though. We were young fellas back then, after all, and the bright lights of town — after we’d been shut of them for three weeks — had begun to look pretty inviting.

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