We arrived in time to make a stop at the visitor’s center to check in for camping as well as look around in the gift center. The staff was extremely helpful and welcoming. They let us know what activities we might want to participate in while we were there and asked if we had any questions about the park. We looked through the shop, found a few things we liked and we even found a DeGray Lake frisbee for DJ!

Settling in for the night, we discovered one of the nicest things about the campsite we had chosen…the cooling breeze coming across the lake and the tranquil sounds of the waves lapping at the shore. We slept through the night.

After a quick drive around the lake the next morning, we picked a boat ramp that would give us easy access to a cove where we had seen both deer and several birds the night before. We were hoping to ease into the cove with the kayaks and get some good photos for the site. Alas, even though we were out and about before all of the water sports had time to get started, the water was so choppy and the wind was so high that we were barely able to get around. As you can see from the map above, we weren’t able to cover much water. Granted, we did see some fish and a few birds, but we were planning to stay out for a couple of hours that morning.

Between the 94 degree heat at 8am in the morning and rough water, we decided to call it a day. After making it back to the boat ramp, we loaded the boats and headed for the swim area right down the road. We snorkeled and swam for a couple of hours before heading back to camp for lunch.

So, my question to the readers is this: Is DeGray Lake suitable for kayaking? If so, where are some good areas? We look forward to visiting the lake again, but we’re going to need some direction as to where to go to make the most of it.

Any suggestions are welcome!

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We packed our tiny, little red Nissan(see photo below). We had some doubts about being able to carry general supplies for traveling, camping, swimming, hiking and the three boats, but we soon came up with a system that works perfectly for our truck.

A layer of plastic containers that are the same height as the walls of the truck bed held everything we would need for several days travel. Once stacked in place, these formed a flat surface on which we strapped our three 10 foot kayaks. The two Pelicans were placed upside down and the Old Town was placed upright on top of the others. Across the bow and stern of the Old town, two ratchet straps secured everything so that we didn’t have to worry about anything shifting or falling out while driving at high speeds for over 5 hours.

The Cossatot River State Park is in Wickes, AR, which is around 5.5 hours from Jonesboro. We set out around 2pm with hopes of reaching the park by nightfall so that we could setup camp in one of the several primitive campsites at Cossatot Falls. We missed it by about half an hour though, both because of sight-seeing along the way and also because we didn’t anticipate how dark it would be in the river valley. The river bed itself was nicely lit by the bright moon overhead, but the campsites were pitch black underneath the thick trees that grow along the banks of the river.

Once camp was set up, we ventured down to the water’s edge to check out the scenery. We’d heard from friends how beautiful the area was and they were right. It really is breath-taking. The river curves in and out of the trees with small pools of water amongst the large rocks that form large rapids after a storm rolls through. The contrast of the grey stones against the tree-covered hillsides is gorgeous.

After a few photos and almost stepping on a Copperhead, we decided to crash for the night. It turns out camping at Cossatot Falls in July is not ideal if you are accustomed to air conditioned offices for the majority of the Summer months. It never dipped far below 90 degrees that night and the trees, while stunningly beautiful, block every ounce of breeze that might help with the heat. We were up very late just sitting in the tent…sweating. The heat eventually subsided and we all fell asleep. Morning arrived in a record amount of time, though. It was 6am before we knew it and it was time to get everything packed up so that we could head to the Visitor’s Center. We had a bit of time to spare so we walked down to the falls again to take some photos and soak in the scenery.

Once at the Visitor’s center we met our guide and Park Interpreter, Shelley Flanary. We also met Tim and Sybil. Tim helped with the kayak instruction and Sybil was our snorkeling guide. We also found out that not only would we be kayaking and snorkeling all day, we were also taking part in an American Canoe Association Level 1 Kayak Certification course. We hadn’t anticipated this, but it was a welcome surprise! Shelley explained that the certification we would receive would let kayak rental and shuttle service providers know what level of kayaking we were comfortable with, as well as qualify us for possible discounts with these providers and some outdoor outfitters.

After introductions to the twelve participants in the day’s activities, the first task of the day was to watch a couple of videos produced by the American Canoe Association. They contained your standard safety info for canoeing/kayaking. Shelley then quizzed us to make sure we were all paying attention. We passed with flying colors, of course.

Next up, we all loaded into a couple of trucks with a kayak trailer in tow and headed down to the river. The spot chosen for the training consisted of a small clubhouse which overlooked a set of falls with pools of shallow, clear water which was perfect for snorkeling and a large pool of water which was about 10 foot deep in which we would complete the kayak certification.

After some quick warm-up exercises and some paddling 101, we grabbed our kayaks and set off down the hill to hit the water. Eight of us would kayak while the other four snorkelled and we would then switch out after lunch.

The kayak certification consisted of several different tasks which Shelley and Tim demonstrated for us. As each task was demonstrated, a few of us would then give it a go with Shelley and Tim watching over us for possible corrections. Here’s the line-up of tasks, with descriptions:

• Forward Stroke
  • This is the main stroke you will use to propel your craft. The thing to remember is to use your torso. Using your arms is less efficient and more tiring. An easy way to remember this is to follow the stroke with your eyes. If you watch the stroke, your body will follow.
• Reverse Stroke
  • Forward stroke, but in reverse. Remember to use your upper body, not just your arms.
• Forward Sweep
  • Very similar to the forward stroke, but place your paddle out and away from the kayak and make a wide, round stroke. As if you are sweeping the water out and away from you. This stroke allows you to turn your kayak to the left of right with ease. Combine a forward seep with a reverse sweep to make a 360 degree turn without making a wide turn.
• Stern Rudder
  • If you need to turn to the left or right very quickly, “stick” your paddle toward the stern of the boat on the side you want to turn to. For example, if you need to quickly turn to the right, firmly place your paddle in the water next to your right rear and hold it in place. Your kayak’s bow will immediately pull to this side.
• Draw Stroke
  • Best described as pulling and slicing the water, this stroke allows you to “parallel park” your kayak. Once you find your sweet spot on your kayak, you can pull yourself in a straight line to the left or right. This is perfect for paddling up to a bank to exit the kayak.
• Sculling Draw
  • A bit more challenging than the draw stroke, the sculling stroke allows you to draw yourself to the left or right by scooping the top of the water. You achieve the same effect as a draw stroke, but with much more finesse.
• Solo Rescue
  • For the solo rescue, we learned how to recover our kayak after being tipped over . With paddle and kayak in hand, backstroke it to the nearest shore, drain the water from your boat and re-enter.
• Two-man Rescue
  • The two-man rescue allows you to re-enter your kayak in open water with the help of a friend. Once you have given the universal “I’m okay” sign (fist upon your head), hand your paddle to your partner. You can then work in tandem to pull your boat (while capsized) onto the bow of their kayak, drain it by rocking, flip the kayak back over and into the water and finally re-enter your kayak while it is stabilized against your partner’s kayak using the BBL (belly, then bottom, then legs) method.

The complete course took about two hours to complete and everyone did really well. The two-man rescues were probably the most challenging for everyone. At this point, we were really glad that we brought our own kayaks along with us. As well as learning how to rescue each other, we were able to rescue each other using our own equipment, which was slightly different than the Heritage Featherlite kayaks which the park supplied. Our boats were a bit heavier and a harder to pull up and over each other as they don’t have the flat bottoms like that of the Heritage kayaks.

We were also able to learn an alternate way of getting back into our kayaks if we are attempting a two-man rescue with Daniel. He’s doesn’t have the upper body strength to hold a boat while someone rolls over the side using the BBL method. While he stabilizes our kayak beside his own, we were able to straddle the bow of our boat and crawl up and into the cockpit.

After a quick lunch, we took to the falls with snorkel equipment in hand. We had never snorkeled before and we really enjoyed it. You get to see fish very up close. We even had a couple Red Darters and Leopard Darters that would come up and peck on the lenses of our goggles. As if they were just curious about what we were and why we were there. We will definitely continue snorkeling whenever possible.

We wrapped up the day by heading back to the Visitor’s Center, exchanging contact info with other participants, changing into dry clothes, packing the truck up for the drive to DeGray Lake Resort and picking up a few things at the gift shop. Cossatot River is an absolutely amazing & beautiful place and we’ll be back for sure.

More:

Photo gallery from our trip to the Cossatot River State Park
Cossatot River State Park Website
Cossatot Calendar of Events
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Upon arriving, I met the tour guide, Kathy Evans, who is the Park Interpreter as well as the Assistant Superintendent. I was a bit early, so I went down to the boat ramp (see map #1) and got in for a bit of warming up. A few minutes later, Kathy came down to meet me at the ramp. It turns out, I assume due to the holiday weekend, that the tour had an attendance of one…your’s truly. So, we set off on our journey.

As we paddled out into the lake, Kathy began to tell me about the history of the lake and the park. A story I had not heard and turned out to be very interesting. Here’s an excerpt from “Lake Poinsett Provides a Home Away from Home” by Jay Harrod, Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism:

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, several Harrisburg residents envisioned a park where locals and visitors could enjoy picnicking, fishing or camping. The biggest problem, though, was Lake Poinsett did not exist at the time — just a stream, Distress Creek. Spearheading the effort to build a lake was a Harrisburg Rotary Club planning committee, chaired by R.D. Woods.

“There was nothing as far as recreational facilities at that time,” Woods, who has lived in Harrisburg since 1947, said.

The planning committee approached the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, which showed interest in damming Distress Creek. But there were obstacles to overcome. “Nobody had any money…or they didn’t want to spend it here,” Woods said.

Woods will readily admit that friends in politics helped make the lake reality. After months of struggling to secure necessary funds, Dan Portis, a one-time Arkansas Highway Commissioner, suggested Woods pay a visit to someone Portis knew well, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus. The pair boarded Portis’ plane and flew to the Capitol.

“We got there, and Portis said, ‘So tell [Faubus] your problems,’” Woods said. “I did, and [Faubus] said, ‘I’ll take care of it.’ And he did, and that was that.”

Once the Game and Fish Commission built the lake in 1961, attentions turned to creating a state park. Again, Woods and fellow Rotarian, the late L.K. Collier, an attorney in Harrisburg, answered the call. The two owned much of the land surrounding the newly formed lake and donated 40 acres to the state parks system. But according to Woods, those at the state parks said twice that amount was needed in order to proceed with plans.

“So the community came to us and wanted to know if we’d sell 40 acres,” Woods said. “I think we got $4,000 or something like that. So we sold 40 acres and donated 40 acres.” Subsequent smaller land acquisitions have brought Lake Poinsett’s total acreage to 132 today.

Though many return campers enjoy the sense of community found at the park, many times it’s the scaly creatures that brought them to the park in the first place. Fishing remains the favorite pastime at Poinsett, drawing anglers nearly year-round.

Kathy told me that one of the employees, Jimmy, who I had met earlier in the VIC/Gift Shop actually worked on the dam (see map #4) as a teenager laying sandbags for a small bit of money a day. I, for one, think that’s amazing. I’ve led a bit of a nomad’s life…moving from state to state, city to city, job to job. The idea of staying in one place for so long seems so foreign to me, but I bet it is very fullfilling to be so rooted within a community.

As Kathy was finishing up the history of the lake and park, she spotted a Green Heron (see photo below) off to the left. The heron was running up and down the shore on the fallen trees. I’ve somehow never noticed these birds. They are stunning in the sunlight. As he ran across the trees, his feathers looks as though they were changing from emerald green to a brillant blue. Kathy mentioned that they also have a mohawk of feathers which they will display if they are threatened. I was able to find an image of this display here.

Continuing toward the AGFC public access (see map #2), Kath noticed swallows and Missisippi Kites (see photo below) flying over head. She cleared up a question that I’ve had for a while now. I knew that swallows were the birds responsible for the mud nests under bridges, overpasses and even the nests around homes, but I was wondering if there were several species of swallow or if there were different species that preferred different habitats. Kathy told me that the Cliff Swallow is responsible for the bridge nests and the Barn Swallow is the type found around homes and outbuildings.

She also mentioned that kites are birds of prey, such as hawks and eagles. This family of kites was attempting to lure their young out of their nests. As they circled high above the treetops, they were calling down to their young…encouraging them take their first flight.

The north end of the lake gets a bit shallow, but you are able to clearly see where the original creek flows from (see map #3). Kathy explained that there once was a road which connected one side of the area that is now the lake to the other side of the creek. This road, now submerged, was actually in line with the AGFC public access boat ramp and connected to the point directly across from the boat ramp. A small village with a general store and such was located here, but due to the lake cutting off the most direct route into the village, it soon dwindled away. This area, along with the majority of the shoreline around the east side of the lake is residential.

Arriving back at the park’s boat ramp, we exchanged contact information and got our boats loaded. Kathy mentioned that she is planning to host even more kayaking events, including a Full Moon tour. We are really looking forward to more local kayaking events, especially Full Moon tours. The closest tours of this type are hosted in Central and Southern Arkansas, a bit too far for a moonlight stroll.

I would encourage everyone to visit not only Lake Poinsett State Park, but any Arkansas State Park you have the chance to come across. We have over 50 of them in the state and as Kathy puts it, “we’ve got parks ranging from one acre to thousands of acres…we’ve got a bit of everything”. So, hop in the car, truck, kayak, canoe or hang glider and explore of bit of the Natural State!

Until next weekend (we’re going to Cossatot!), have fun & stay safe!

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