SAME TRAIL, NEW LOOK

BIKING, HIKING TRAIL IS EVER EVOLVING

Tim Scott, assistant superintendent at Devil’s Den State Park pedals in October along the Fossil Flats Trail. Parts of the trail have been rerouted for easier riding. The project added about one-half mile to the trail.

Tim Scott, assistant superintendent at Devil’s Den State Park pedals in October along the Fossil Flats Trail. Parts of the trail have been rerouted for easier riding. The project added about one-half mile to the trail.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

DEVIL’S DEN STATE PARK Hikers and mountain bikers circling the Fossil Flats Trail at Devil’s Den State Park do some head scratching these days.

Some of the path looks, well, different.

It’s not the brain playing tricks, but the result of improvements hard-working volunteers have made to the loop. Two sections of the trail have been rerouted to make for better riding and to prevent erosion.

The new routes make Fossil Flats Trail a tad longer, about five and onehalf miles now instead of an even fi ve.

Volunteers with the Ozark Off Road Cyclists and some individual riders did the work. Bikers and hikers have enjoyed the results since summer.

Fear not, ye cyclists who like the trail just fi ne the way it was. You’d have to pay pretty close attention to even notice the reroutes amidst the Ozarks beauty that Fossil Flats visits.

There are still two crossings of Lee Creek that are wet most of the time. Racer’s Hill remains a wheezer of a climb, but more manageable for ascent-challenged riders.

Tim Scott, the mountain-biking assistant superintendent at Devil’s Den, offered a guided tour to show off the Fossil Flats Trail improvement. We hopped on our bikes in October for a ride around the loop.

Riders navigate the Fossil Flats Trail in October.
Riders navigate the Fossil Flats Trail in October.

SMOOTHER GOING

Imagine Lee Creek as a line that cuts right down the middle of the oval-shaped Fossil Flats Trail. The trailhead is in Campground A, where it’s always been. From there the path meanders up and down through the woods on the west side of Lee Creek.

Ours was a seamless entry into the first reroute on the west side of the stream. The forest just seemed, well, diff erent. We stopped our bikes for a swig of water and Scott explained.

This new section bypasses a old piece of rough, rocky trail that’ll shake your molars. This new way is smoother and curves nicely to and fro.

The foundation of the old Hale home place is nearby, but most riders nevernoticed the rows of native stone until now. This new route goes right by it.

Bikers or hikers can stop, as we did, to explore this early 20th-century foundation of native stone.

A 1908 map says a claim was filed by the Hale family in 1894 to homestead the property. The foundation likely supported a fairly large home, the map information says.

“Several people lived in Lee Creek valley back then,” Scott said. “They did subsistence farming and raised livestock.”

A lot of this reroute was done by mountain bikers who take part in the Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship Series, Scott said.

Riders get points for volunteer trail work as well as placing high in races.

The new route reduces erosion so less maintenance has to be done later, Scott added.

Riders sometimes cross Lee Creek in knee-deep water on the Fossil Flats Trail. The stream, seen in October, has been nearly dry since spring.
Riders sometimes cross Lee Creek in knee-deep water on the Fossil Flats Trail. The stream, seen in October, has been nearly dry since spring.

CROSS THE CREEK

We pedaled north from the Hale place toward the first crossing of Lee Creek.

In moister times, this is a wet crossing. The creek here has been bone dry since spring so no worries about wet feet.

There’s nary a drop of water in sight, but it’s good to drink from your water bottle because Racer’s Hill is dead ahead.

Just when the heavy breathing begins, the trail up Racer’s Hill goes off to the right on a reroute that makes the climb a tad longer, but less steep.

Most riders like this. A few bike racers who are good climbers don’t, Scott said. Racer’s Hill is where they pull ahead of the competition.

The Ozark Off Road Cyclists built this reroute.

It’s one in a long list of volunteer projects these bikers are working on, including improvements to the Lake Fayetteville Trail.

Racer’s Hill remains the toughest climb on the Fossil Flats Trail. Not much for uphill? It’s easy to walk your bike up the hill, or take an optional spur trail to bypass Racer’s Hill.

This and other shortcuts along Fossil Flats mean riders can cover three, four or five and one-half miles of trail.

The joy of reaching the summit is a zig-zagging downhill run through hardwoods and cedars to the bottom.

Beyond that, daring bikers can still fl y down the Gravity Cavity, a 15-foot deep chasm that drops straight down then shoots back up. It looks mean, but some bikers say the Gravity Cavity looks more wicked than it really is.

From here, the route is over familiar turf to the second Lee Creek crossing.

This, too, has been a dry crossing for months.

Scott checks out a stone house foundation at what’s known as the Hale Place. A rerouted section of the Fossil Flats Trail takes mountain bikers and hikers close to the foundation.
Scott checks out a stone house foundation at what’s known as the Hale Place. A rerouted section of the Fossil Flats Trail takes mountain bikers and hikers close to the foundation.

LONG HISTORY

Fossil Flats Trail has been a premier mountain biking spot since it was built in phases as a three-mile trail in the late 1980s. It gets its name from tiny fossils that can be seen a stretch of bedrock along Lee Creek.

The trail is always changing. Other reroutes have been done over the years because of flood damage when Lee Creek roars out of its banks.

Scott’s advice is to allow two hours for an easy trip around the Fossil Flats Trail. We spent three, stopping to smell the wildflowers, explore the homestead and take in the long views up and down Lee Creek.

The trail ends where it began at Campground A. Here, Scott pointed out another feature that only a ranger would know.

The start of the Fossil Flats Trail is on what looks like an old railroad bed or some kind of odd rise.

“This was going to be anearthen dam to back up a lake on Lee Creek,” Scott said. Cabins were planned around this new lake. Then World War II broke out and the lake was never built.

The dam is another sight to see during a bike ride or hike on the Fossil Flats Trail.

Outdoor, Pages 7 on 12/13/2012