Hollow hides nature's bounty at Beaver Lake

There's a long arm of Beaver Lake where paddlers can nose their boats into a mysterious cave entrance, visit an historic trail and glide along beautiful shoreline all from the seat of a kayak.

Those attractions and more await in the Van Winkle Hollow arm of the lake east of Rocky Branch park. The arm stretches about three miles north to south about one mile east of the park by water.

Here quiet coves and inlets welcome the skippers of any watercraft, from kayaks to cabin cruisers. Clean beaches of bright gravel are perfect for a shoreline picnic and a cool swim.

When the water level of Beaver Lake is high, as it is now, the far back end of the hollow is transformed into a wonderful, woolly swamp. Tall hardwoods reach high into the sky beside flowering bushes of this flooded realm. Kingfishers cackle in flight and graceful herons snatch fish from the shallow water. It's the experience of paddling in one of the grand swamps of the Arkansas Delta without the six hour drive.

The back half of Van Winkle Hollow is undisturbed Ozark beauty, with no docks nor houses, because it's totally surrounded by 12,000-acre Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area, Arkansas' largest state park.

Two sites offer easy launching for kayaks and canoes. One is reached by traveling east from Rogers on Arkansas 12 into Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area. Turn left on Arkansas 303. Go about one-quarter mile to the first gravel road on the right. Follow this road for about one-half mile to the lake.

Another launch area is easily reached from the Hobbs State Park visitor center. From there, drive east on Arkansas 12 to Rambo Road. Turn sharply left on Rambo Road. Follow it downhill for about a mile until the pavement makes a sharp right turn. Continue straight on gravel Paige Sawmill Road for about one-half mile to the lake.

Or, launch kayaks at Rocky Branch park and paddle about a mile east to the large Point 6 sign. The mouth of Van Winkle Hollow is right of the sign. The mouth of the lake's Rambo arm is on the left.

Paddlers heading out from the Paige Sawmill launch site pass the big entrance of Eagle Hollow Cave on the right shoreline. In high water, it's possible to paddle into the cave entrance a few feet -- if you dare. Some say it's spooky, even though a kayak can't go much farther than the entrance.

Eagle Hollow Cave, also called Paige Sawmill Cave, is one of the longest in the park, twisting and turning underground for hundreds of yards. Professional spelunkers who mapped the cave years ago said it's full of mud, muck and thousands of bats.

Each watery finger of Van Winkle Hollow offers its own beauty. Taking in each and every secluded inlet can fill an entire day of paddling.

Paddle far enough back in the swamp and kayaks can be beached at the edge of the Historic Van Winkle Trail, a good spot for a leg stretch and history lesson.

The one-half-mile level trail visits the remnants of a once-thriving sawmill community that buzzed with activity in the late 19th century. Peter Van Winkle operated the steam-powered sawmill. Visitors see the foundation of the mill along the trail.

Interpretive signs along the way tell visitors that during the 1870s the Van Winkle sawmill churned out lumber used to build Old Main at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and many of the Victorian homes seen today in Eureka Springs.

There was a blacksmith shop, outbuildings, ornate gardens and a large home where Van Winkle and his family lived.

The Van Winkle Hollow arm is where Hobbs State Park holds its kayaking classes and popular full-moon paddling trips. Those are all on hold for now, said Jay Schneider, assistant superintendent at Hobbs.

Paddlers in Van Winkle Hollow will also note the round volleyball-sized buoys of a water ski slalom course that has been in the hollow for decades. Afternoons are when the course gets most use by power boats and skiers.

That makes morning an ideal time to explore Van Winkle Hollow. The water is usually smooth as glass, the weather is coolest and birds tweet their morning melodies that delight paddlers along their way.