Delta Heritage Trail South End: Watson to Yancopin

Watson Trailhead, located in the middle of the tiny town of Watson, Arkansas, is located about 3.5 miles south of the current terminus of the Desha County “rails-to-trails” portion of the Delta Heritage Trail at a location known as Yancopin just inside the Arkansas River Levee.

Watson Trailhead has two small parking lots, a full-service restroom with water fountains, trash cans, a bike repair station, and numerous picnic tables. A covered seating area, designed to resemble a rail depot from the early 1900s, contains interpretive panels describing Watson’s history and it's important role in rail operations. 

Right now, this section of trail ends abruptly at a bridge crossing Great River Rd. near one of the park’s maintenance complexes. A sign indicates that the trail does not continue on past the bridge but visitors can enjoy looking down the former rail line to see what it looked like before conversion to the Delta Heritage Trail. For now park visitors either have to backtrack to Watson or shuttle themselves from Watson to the terminus point at Yancopin. 

NOTE: Less than one mile north of Watson Trailhead visitors are required to reroute onto Yancopin Rd. because of a missing bridge, disrupting trail traffic. There is a barricade to prevent access to the bridge site and has signage describing the reroute. Visitors will clearly see the bridge remains from the barricade location. Visitors should reroute onto Yancopin Rd. (also known as Desha County Rd. 41), the gravel road that runs parallel to this stretch of trail. Visitors going north will ride just over a mile to the next road crossing (this road is called Robertson Loop). Get back onto the trail here and continue heading north towards Yancopin. The bridge repair project is slated for completion in 2022 at which time the reroute will no longer be necessary. Park visitors are forewarned that the gravel of Yancopin Rd. is significantly coarser than the crushed fines on the DHT surface. Vehicular traffic is light but can get moderate during harvest times. Contact the park with questions at 870-572-2352.