Sugarloaf Mountain is a hiking and mountain biking destination located in

Cleburne County, Arkansas Cleburne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,970. The county seat and most populous city is Heber Springs. The county was formed on February 20, 1883, as the last of Arkansas's ...

, east of the city of Heber Springs,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, in the foothills of the

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

. It is a 690 feet (210 m) erosional remnant beside

Little Red River (Arkansas) The Little Red River is a river in White, Van Buren, Searcy, Stone and Cleburne counties of north-central Arkansas. History During the American Civil War, the Battle of Whitney's Lane took place near Searcy on the banks of the Little Red Rive ...

. The mountain is topped by an Atoka formation, a

geologic formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics (lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock expo ...

sequence of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, ...

, and

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especiall ...

History

The Osage Tribe called the mountain Tonawanda or Ton-Wan-Dah (swift water). The name was that of a family of

arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...

makers. The earliest settlers called the mountain 'Sugarloaf' because of the resemblance in shape to the loaves of unrefined sugar in use at that time. The

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...

survey party in 1819 noted the feature as "encountered Sugar Lofe , a well-known landmark". Natives and travelers on the nearby Little Red River used the mountain as a landmark. The name of the landmark became the name of the springs to the west and the community, Sugarloaf, that developed there. The community's name was later changed to Heber Springs, Arkansas. Sugarloaf Mountain is located on a section line, and consequently, land transactions have always been conducted in two parcels. For several years, beginning in 1901, the Lucas brothers, Creighton and Richard, maintained a

mining claim Mineral rights are property rights to exploit an area for the minerals it harbors. Mineral rights can be separate from property ownership (see Split estate). Mineral rights can refer to sedentary minerals that do not move below the Earth's surfac ...

on the north side of Sugarloaf Mountain, but no ore or oil was discovered. In 1922 L.E. Robbins of Heber Springs, Arkansas purchased on the south of the mountain along with other land from Richard R. Lucas. In 1951 he acquired a clear title to the on the north side by patent from the United States government. In the same year of the patent, Robbins and his wife Dotte dedicated to the town of Heber Springs in a 99-year lease. The lease specified that the land was to be used as a public park and picnic ground, and that the town should have the right to build barbecue grills, tables and benches; it also specified that no lumber should be cut except as prescribed by the Arkansas Forestry Commission, and then only by the grantors or their heirs. ASU-Beebe and Sugarloaf

Beginning in March 2002,

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osa ...

, ASU-Beebe, purchased 249 acres on the east side of the city of Heber Springs which included Sugarloaf Mountain. Construction on the ASU-Heber Springs campus at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain was completed in 2007, which consists of the Academic Center and Student Services/Administration Building. The first phase of construction of the campus was completed in 2007. At the same time, working with Arkansas State University (ASU), the Sugarloaf Heritage Council was established to remove graffiti, restore, enhance, and make additions to the existing trails. Environmentally safe solvents were used to remove the graffiti. Workers suspended by ropes from the side of the mountain used the solvents to clean the graffiti. The trail work took 10 years to complete.

Points of interest

The trails on Sugarloaf Mountain: * Tonawanda - 1.3 miles around the summit * Summit - 0.66 miles up 690' to the top * Hidden Pond - 1 mile paved, ADA compliant * Wildlife - 1 mile (along Sulphur Creek, looping around Waterfowl Lake) * Vanguard - 2.6 mile

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

and

trail running Trail running is a sport-activity which combines running, and, where there are steep gradients, hiking, that is run "on any unpaved surface". It is similar to both mountain and fell running (also known as hill running). Mountain running may, h ...

Gallery

Sugarloaf_Snow_Covered.jpg, Sugarloaf Mountain in Winter Sugarloaf_-_The_Original_Hard_Rock.jpg, The Original Hard Rock: Sugarloaf Mountain Map_of_Sugarloaf_Mountain_Trails.png, Map of Sugarloaf Trails

References

{{reflist Mountains of Arkansas