Delta Heritage Trail State Park provides an interesting and active route for experiencing the Delta region of Arkansas.   

“Delta Heritage Trail State Park offers an unparalleled outdoor recreation experience,” said Ryan Smith, park interpreter at Delta Heritage Trail State Park and Louisiana Purchase State Park. 

When finished the trail, which has been developed in phases by Arkansas State Parks, will offer over 80 miles of trail for hiking and cycling through the Delta landscape. 

For details on the trail as well as maps of it, visit arkansasstateparks.com/parks/delta-heritage-trail-state-park.

“You can travel along the Mississippi River levee, through small communities, across a farming landscape, and when finished across the White and Arkansas rivers and through the primeval bottomland forest in the river's lower reaches,” Smith said. 

The visitor center for Delta Heritage Trail State Park is located near the northern end of the trail at the Barton Trailhead. The trail, which offers a good outlet for birding, passes through a variety of rural landscapes. 

“The north and south ends of the park are connected directly by the two former railroad bridges that are not open for public vehicle traffic,” said Smith. “On the north end of the park, the public highway does not go south of Snow Lake and between here and Yancopin the trail will be the main way to access the area. It is going to offer access to some of the remotest parts of Arkansas that many people have not travelled since rail service was stopped.”

The scope of the trail is large and a trip to this state park can be done in various ways, including on multiple trips. At the moment, among the overnight options available are five primitive walk-in campsites at the Delta Heritage Trail State Park visitor center and options at nearby Lake Chicot State Park and Mississippi River State Park. Further accommodations for trail users at the park are also planned.

Bikes can be rented at the park’s visitor center and the park also has guided bike tours where bikes are provided. 

Regardless of whether you rent or have your own ride, a note to keep in mind is the type of bike to use. 

“The section between Rohwer and Arkansas City is paved and runs primarily on the Mississippi River levee,” said Smith. “Road bikes are perfect for this section. The former rail section of the trail is better for mountain bikes or even Cruiser style. I personally have ridden a lot of the trail with a Cruiser style bike.” 

At the southern end of the trail, the Arkansas City Trailhead has the John H. Johnson Commemorative Plaza. 

The trail, which is nearly level over its route, goes across a good swath of Delta landscape with many points of interest to check out along the way. 

“One is the Rohwer Heritage Site that is just off the trail near the Rohwer Trailhead,” said Smith. “There was a large Japanese American relocation center where today there are some interpretive panels, monuments, and cemetery of people interned there in World War II. The World War II Japanese American Internment Museum in McGehee is a good addition to a visit to the Rohwer Heritage Site. If you are visiting the north end of the trail, Louisiana Purchase State Park is a must stop. Here you can go into a headwater swamp on an elevated boardwalk to a monument commemorating the initial point created in the 1815 survey of lands in the Louisiana Purchase. Arkansas Post Museum is another good stop that is a short distance from the Watson Trailhead.”

Speaking of the Watson Trailhead, when complete, the nearby Yancopin Trailhead will be about one mile from the Yancopin Bridge and then one can travel a few more miles to the Benzal Bridge. Smith mentioned this trailhead will eventually make for a good starting point to explore Delta Heritage Trail State Park from. 

The trail is level, marking its historic connection as a former railroad and one seeped in regional history.

“The impact the former rail line had on this region cannot be underestimated,” said Smith. “Virtually every community along it was born shortly after rail service began. When the line opened suddenly it was feasible to transport harvested timber from the remote Delta forests. Numerous cotton gins were along the line where bales grown in newly established fields cleared of trees were loaded onto trains. Even fish caught in the White River was loaded onto distant markets at the Benzal Bridge. In the early years the rail line brought virtually every product to communities along its course. Passenger service was offered along this line until 1960. By far the most famous train was the diesel-powered Delta Eagle that at its peak left Tallulah, Louisiana in the early morning and got to Memphis mid-day. It left Memphis late in the afternoon and arrived in Tallulah late in the evening. The train offered a way for residents along its route to travel to Memphis and back in one day. Even before the Delta Eagle, steam powered passenger trains travelled the route. Mail was delivered along this route by train. During this era the Railway Post Office operated on many passenger trains across the nation. Mail was picked up, sorted, and delivered while the train was running. There were many locations on the trail where a mail bag was “kicked” or thrown off a train and a bag picked up with a hook all while the train was moving. This rail line is similar to others in Arkansas in that development along its course was fueled by its establishment. Before the establishment of rail lines, transportation relied on riverboats and rail lines brought commerce to the interior sections of Arkansas away from rivers. A unique aspect of this line was it is routed through the deep Delta forests and was an engineering challenge crossing the White and Arkansas rivers through the swampy lowlands.”

Along with hiking and biking the trail, the park also has a way to experience the natural landscape via water with their pedal and paddle tour. “It is a unique experience where you get to take part in two quality outdoor recreation activities,” said Smith. “The journey begins as a guided bike tour by a park interpreter on the trail that runs between 6 and 10 miles. After we bike, we then transfer to kayaking on Old Town Lake that is located near the trail for another guided tour. Old Town Lake is a former channel of the Mississippi River that features calm, easy flat-water kayaking. We journey through a maze of bald cypress trees as we explore the historical and natural heritage of the lake.” These events are usually scheduled in the spring and fall and if a group potentially wants to schedule their own event, they can contact the park and they will try to accommodate them.

Several guided kayak floats are also scheduled each year on Old Town Lake. “Some of these are in the early evening and conclude as the sun is setting while we are on the lake,” said Smith. “It is an easy lake to kayak and is the perfect choice for your first kayak tour. Like the pedal and paddle tours, groups can also contact the park about setting up a private tour.” 

For more details on Delta Heritage Trail State Park as well as other available interpretive programs, visit arkansasstateparks.com/parks/delta-heritage-trail-state-park.