Arkansas trails · Ouachita National Recreation Trail
Ouachita National Recreation Trail
A 136.4-mile point-to-point in Arkansas, with 2,013 ft of climbing. Reaches Foran Gap and other pass/spring/summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 21,246 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Foran Gap (pass)
- Curtis Mountain (summit)
- Sandlick Mountain (summit)
- Ouachita Pinnacle (summit)
- Rocky Creek Mountain (summit)
- Chalybeate Spring (spring)
- Blue Mountain (summit)
- White Oak Mountain (summit)
- McGill Mountain (summit)
- Big Round Top Mountain (summit)
Heads up
Getting there
Ouachita National Recreation Trail access — parking nearby. 34.69325, -94.45560 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:24 a.m., the sun rises at 6:49 a.m. and sets at 7:45 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:11 p.m. (CDT) — 12 h 56 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 136.4-mile route works out to roughly 51 h 32 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Hunts Loop + Ouachita National Recreation Trail — 4.2 mi loop, 907 ft gain
- Brushy Mountain + Ouachita National Recreation Trail — 3.0 mi loop, 714 ft gain
- Brushy Mountain + Ouachita National Recreation Trail + Ouachita Trail — 4.6 mi loop, 1,052 ft gain
Across the border
- Continues into OK as Ouachita National Recreation Trail — view on the map
Nearby trails
- Rich Mountain — 7.9 mi
- Poteau Mtn Multi-Use Trail — 18.8 mi
- Fourche Mountain Trail — 26.0 mi
- Wolf Pen Gap 6 — 29.5 mi