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Thursday, January 17, 2013

Lincoln Lake

Located in Lincoln, about 20 miles west of Fayetteville, Lincoln Lake is about as good as city parks get for outdoor enthusiasts, with trails for hiking and mountain biking, water for paddling, and widespread scrambling, bouldering, and roped climbing options for rock climbers.  As a novice climber and the only person in the park today, I stuck to hiking and followed the Lake Loop route with a short detour to add on the Lower Eagle Loop.  In addition to interesting rock formations and sheer 30-40' bluffs, the park has a variety of habitat types ranging from scrubby bottomland forest around the incoming streams to drier oak/hickory/cedar complexes on top of the bluffs.

The trails here are very well-marked and work is on-going to improve some sections for biking and easier hiking.  The Lake Loop trail varies from somewhat steep, rocky, and rough  to a flat gravel road.  There are great views all along the trail, but my favorites were from the dam and the Lake View Overlook.

I wrapped up my trip with a local favorite "Burrito Salad" (deep-fried burrito with tomato and lettuce on top) and a Pizza Burger at American Drive-In on the main drag in Lincoln.

I hope to return and cover some other trails and activities at this park, but until then, you can get more information at: http://www.lincolnarkansas.com/?page_id=290


Lincoln Lake, Lincoln Arkansas


Lincoln Lake Map, Lincoln Arkansas

Lincoln Lake, Lincoln Arkansas

Lincoln Lake Climbing, Lincoln Arkansas
Rock Climbing Route #23

Lincoln Lake, Lincoln Arkansas

Creek Crossing

Lincoln Lake, Lincoln Arkansas
My Pinky and Buddy Check Out Lake View Overlook


Lincoln Lake, Lincoln Arkansas

 


American Drive-in, Lincoln Arkansas



View Lincoln Lake in a larger map
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3 comments:

  1. SawyerBJanuary 27, 2013 at 7:07 PM

    Nice to see that you are still getting in some hiking around this chilly weather! I actually went up to Lincoln Lake and did the eastern side of the trail down and back a few weekends ago. I didn't realize that you could cross the creek and keep going. Did you just bushwack to the other trail? The map at the entrance makes it appear like the trails are separate and not connected.

    If you are ever in the Fort Smith/Van Buren area, I would suggest hitting up the Lee Creek Resevoir trails. I have been exploring those trails for a bit now and there are some cool features there. One trail has some real nice bluffs overlooking the resevoir, another has a big 'crack in the rock' which you can explore, and there is an old cemetery trail which has old tombstones from the early 1900s.

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  2. JohnnieCJanuary 27, 2013 at 8:37 PM

    Yeah, that old painted map is a little dated. You've just got to cross the creek and look for blazes, I don't think I had to look very far, but I did the loop clockwise from the parking area. Thanks for the Fort Smith info. I'd like to check those out soon and could use more info or a guide! Is there a way I could contact you or you could contact me? I'm not sure how to transmit that information on here in a way that won't get me spammed, but I'm on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

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  3. AnonymousNovember 4, 2014 at 8:07 PM

    Nov. 2, 2014 The trail is in around the lake and connected, and several loops done as well. Scenic and pleasant. Every time we stay at Devil's Den we will drive over and hike this one.

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