Any good wheellin close to Little Rock?

28431 Views 94 Replies 14 Participants Last post by 95ZeeJay, Apr 2, 2014

cjsanford8623

Discussion Starter · Jun 13, 2012

Live just north of Little Rock and am wondering if there's any legal places to wheel around here. I've headed up to superlift in hot springs a few times but it gets expensive. Anywhere closer would be awesome.

1 - 20 of 95 Posts

Caish

· #2 · Jun 19, 2012

Theres the Ozark National Forest.
The unmantained roads are a little harder to find there, but they're there.
I get my CJ lined out I'll take you up there sometime.
I typically explore the Forest on a dual sport bike but the CJ will make a nice
change.

cjsanford8623

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 19, 2012

Sounds good to me! just pm me when you want to get a trip set up. Im free most weekends and some weekdays if I know in advance.

OleBlue73

· #4 · Jul 1, 2012

Ouachita National Forest is closer than Ozark. Head out highway 10 west for about 20 minutes and you are there. Some great jeep riding around Lake Winona and Lake Sylvia and west from there. Get yourself an Arkansas Gazetteer that shows all the forest boundaries and roads. Also, check the Ouachita forest website as not all roads are open to jeeps and atvs, etc anymore.

Caish

· #5 · Jul 1, 2012

The Ozarks is larger and has more roads and trails to explore if you know where to start looking.
The Rangers in the Ozarks are easier to deal with too. IMHO.
Both are great.

ItCantBeStephen

· #6 · Jul 9, 2012

6

I ride around in the Ouachitas pretty frequently. Best way to get there is straight west on Hwy 10 then hang a right at William's Junction onto Hwy 9 and you'll see the entrance for the Lake Winona WMA on the right. From there just drive around and see what you can find. Most of the roads around this area are maintained pretty well, but there are some nice trails if you look around. There are quite a few unmaintained/poorly maintained trails past the Lake Winona spillway.

If you have a GPS bring that so you can keep track of where you're at, some of the roads are actually listed in my Garmin. It's easy to get lost and find yourself a long way away from where you entered. I was riding around in my Yukon once for hours and ended up popping out of the forest onto a highway just north of Jessieville, haha.

Flatside Wilderness area isn't far from Winona (about 15min by the dirt roads from the entrance to the Winona WMA) and just past Flatside Pinnacle going towards Forked Mtn. are a bunch of logging clear cuts with trails you can drive on (and some nice views). Not sure exactly how legal it is to drive on these clearcut trails, but most of them aren't posted and there's never anyone out there, at least on the weekends anyway.

Figure a few pics I've snapped over the years out there couldn't hurt...

Couldn't resist posting up one with my Yukon in it

I don't make it out there as often as I used to because of work, but it's only about 35-40 minutes west of LR.

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OleBlue73

· #7 · Jul 10, 2012

As I recall after you get to Williams Jct, turn left (south) on 9 to head toward Lake Winona and right (north) to head toward Lake Sylvia. Both lakes are in the same area. That entire area you mention is nice. Doing anything but hiking inside the flatside wilderness boundary is illegal. The clearcuts you mention I'm sure are outside the boundary because a wilderness area is set aside to preserve the land and trees as they originally were. Always check a map for the boundaries before riding.

ItCantBeStephen

· #8 · Jul 10, 2012

bcreekfarms said:
As I recall after you get to Williams Jct, turn left (south) on 9 to head toward Lake Winona and right (north) to head toward Lake Sylvia. Both lakes are in the same area. That entire area you mention is nice. Doing anything but hiking inside the flatside wilderness boundary is illegal. The clearcuts you mention I'm sure are outside the boundary because a wilderness area is set aside to preserve the land and trees as they originally were. Always check a map for the boundaries before riding.

Yeah, you really aren't supposed to go bombing out through the woods anywhere in the forest, but I guess it's more strictly reinforced in Flatside. The clearcuts are probably 3 or 4 miles past Flatside Pinnacle though in the big valley with Forked Mtn.

C0mbatChris

· #9 · Aug 16, 2012

I'm in Jacksonville. I'd be down to go down some trails with anyone willing to go with. I have a stock '11 Grand Cherokee 4x4 so nothing too sketchy lol

cjsanford8623

Discussion Starter · #10 · Aug 18, 2012

C0mbatChris said:
I'm in Jacksonville. I'd be down to go down some trails with anyone willing to go with. I have a stock '11 Grand Cherokee 4x4 so nothing too sketchy lol

I've been told there's a couple places kind of close, I go up hot springs quite a bit but it gets expensive. I'll try and find out where and post it.

Caish

· #11 · Aug 19, 2012

http://goo.gl/maps/0gehR
I'm not going to give you turn by turn directions.
Our Ozark National Forest has all the wheeling you could want if you know where to look.
At each one of the points here except E is a trail head.
Expect mud holes, atv type trails that was typically wide enough.
There is a road/trail up the side of the mountain that connects the last two points.
H. turn north into the ditch and follow down to creek. From there turn north.
There is an old Wagon Trail road there that goes into the Forest.

Stop in Hector at the Forest Office and buy a $9 map of the Ozark National
Forest and start exploring.
I do all of this typically on a big Dual Sport bike, but I had an XJ and CJ.
Just money is tight right now and the CJ is mostly ready except it needs
a windshield and wiper arms before I am ready to drive it. A winch would
be nice too. But all in good time.

Traveling around Brock Creek Lake on the map is an ATV area and north of the lake a mile or two keep looking to the right and you will find an old jeep trail that connects to other road up there.

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C0mbatChris

· #12 · Aug 19, 2012

Awesome info. I'll check it out for sure! Thanks!!

cjsanford8623

Discussion Starter · #13 · Aug 19, 2012

Thanks for the info! We're gonna go exploring up there today of Anyone is interested!

Caish

· #14 · Aug 19, 2012

Anyone make it up there today or back?!?
If you have serious issues with the map I can toss together a few gps waypoints.
Another good way to find some of those trails is the old USGS Topo maps.
They always add stuff but never delete anything and its been 30 years since
they was last updated but you'd be surprised how many of the Jeep Trails are
still there mostly cause of bikes and ATV's.
Then there is literally 1000's of roads/trails that are not on the Forest maps
but are in the Forest db of roads. They have it on a google earth overlay.

cjsanford8623

Discussion Starter · #15 · Aug 26, 2012

Hey we are gonna try to find some of these trails, if y'all wanna head up there give me a call. 501-837-6596 my name is Caleb

Caish

· #16 · Sep 27, 2012

see my new thread, all goes right I'm going to the Ozarks Saturday.
You can meet me in Greenbrier or in Hector...
There will be some low branches so scratches could happen.

arkabilly

· #17 · Oct 31, 2012

Caish said:
see my new thread, all goes right I'm going to the Ozarks Saturday.
You can meet me in Greenbrier or in Hector...
There will be some low branches so scratches could happen.

how was it I've been wanting to go up there some time.

Wrench2-3

· #18 · Nov 1, 2012

If you get ready to go again, and don't mind a little company, I live in Heber and have been looking to get out and do some trail riding.

cjsanford8623

Discussion Starter · #19 · Nov 2, 2012

It's a good time. There is around 2800 miles of trails. As long as you don't mind getting some scratches on your jeep. Some of the trails are pretty tight. I'm used to superlift in hot springs so I was looking for a little more extreme obstacles, there are a couple that I went on that had some fun parts but mostly it's small trails that are relatively easy. I don't go up there enough to know the "good" trails , if there is anyone that knows the trails let me know! I would love to go up there up there and know where I'm goin.

cjsanford8623

Discussion Starter · #20 · Nov 2, 2012

Wrench2-3 if I go I'll let you know for sure!

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