The Caney Creek Wilderness is a rugged 14,460-acre (58.5 km²) segment of the

Ouachita National Forest The Ouachita National Forest is a vast congressionally-designated National Forest that lies in the western portion of Arkansas and portions of extreme-eastern Oklahoma, USA. History The Ouachita National Forest is the oldest National Forest in t ...

just outside of the mountain town of

Mena MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...

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 ...

. It was designated by Congress in 1975 as the first

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

in Arkansas. The wilderness' main drainage and namesake, Caney Creek, winds through old-growth bottomland forest and is surrounded by tall, steep ridges, with the clear

Cossatot River The Cossatot River is an river in Howard, Polk and Sevier counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Cossatot begins in the Ouachita Mountains southeast of Mena, Arkansas. The river flows through the Ouachita National Forest and then in a ...

bordering the wilderness on the west side. The wilderness is known for exceptional air and water quality as well as virgin forest and excellent vistas.

Scenery and description

The Caney Creek Wilderness is located in the south-central range of the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma, an area characterized by swift flowing, clear mountain streams, dense and biodiverse forestland, sharp mountain peaks, and the most rainfall of anywhere in Arkansas. This rainfall contributes to high levels of biodiversity in the area, which was a major factor contributing to the protection of Caney Creek. The area is often covered in a mist that encourages high levels of moss and lichen growth on trees and bluffs. There are many waterfalls, side drainages, and springs within the area, including the 12-foot-tall Katy Falls which the Caney Creek Trail passes near. Wildlife is abundant in the area.

Forest composition and significance

The forests of the Wilderness Area are characterized by disjuncts of

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests The Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests is an ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund. It consists of mesophytic plants west of the Appalachian Mountains in the Southeastern United Sta ...

. The Wilderness Area contains extensive reserves of very old, unlogged virgin forest, quite rare in Arkansas. As such, there are many species uncommon to Arkansas within the forest composition, such as basswood,

sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prim ...

, beech, mountain azalea, cucumber magnolia,

bigleaf magnolia ''Magnolia macrophylla'', the bigleaf magnolia, is a deciduous magnolia native to the southeastern United States and eastern Mexico. This species boasts the largest simple leaf and single flower of any native plant in North America. Classificat ...

and umbrella magnolia. The bottomland forests around the creeks and rivers of the area are extremely biodiverse and contain 29 endangered species. The mountaintop forest consists of stunted, extremely old oak and hickory forests and vast sections of unlogged forest, with some trees upwards of 300 years old.

Trails and access

Access is free and open to all, however, visitors should expect near-complete solitude and very rugged, rough terrain. There are three trails within the wilderness: the Caney Creek Trail, the Buckeye Vista Trail, and the Tall Peak Trail.https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm9_039458.pdf The Caney Creek Trail is a 9.6 mile out and back trail that generally follows the Caney Creek drainage and visits many biodiverse and old-growth forested areas. Water is abundant on this trail, but it often floods after heavy rains. The Buckeye Vista Trail is a shorter 4.7 mile trail that rises from the center of the Caney Creek drainage up to the top of Buckeye Mountain for views of the forest and surrounding landscape. The top of this ridge has reserves of old-growth oak and hickory forest. Half of the Caney Creek Trail, the Buckeye Vista Trail, and a short section of forest road can be combined to form a 10.5 mile loop. The Tall Peak Trail climbs 1,500 feet over 3.2 miles to visit a high mountain CCC tower outside of the wilderness. The tower overlooks the surrounding watersheds and wilderness. As with most

s, all trails are very secluded and offer no emergency services. They are rugged and only those prepared and physically fit should attempt them.

References

{{Authority control Wilderness areas of Arkansas Ouachita Mountains Ouachita National Forest Protected areas of Howard County, Arkansas Protected areas of Pike County, Arkansas Protected areas of Polk County, Arkansas Protected areas of Montgomery County, Arkansas 1975 establishments in Arkansas Protected areas established in 1975

Scenery and description

Forest composition and significance

Trails and access

See also

References