To download the hi-res version, head over to Flickr.

We hope everyone had a safe & fun weekend! Happy Independence Day from our family to yours!

For this trip, we had our friend Khara with us and this was her first time in a kayak. With this in mind, and the fact that we wanted to have time to swim later, we opted for the Dam #3 option. We parked Khara’s truck at the dam and soon after we were in the water at the park.

Access at the park is off to the side of the parking lot through some trees and across a small creek which is very easy to get across with your kayak over your shoulder.  Additionally, the spot at which you put your boat in the water is solid ground and level with the river. All three of us were able to get in the water and push off within minutes. The aqua, blue water is not only breath-taking in beauty, but also in temperature. Around 56 degrees, it’s not what you would call a swimming hole.

Once in the water, we quickly noticed that the thing to watch for in this part of the river are rocks; huge rocks just beneath the surface of the water are a constant for the first half of the trip. Since the current here is moderately slow, we were able to easily navigate around the rocks as we came upon them. Once around the first bend, you have the option of going to the left or right around a small island of trees. We chose to take the right side since it looked to be the smoothest of the two. Daniel and Khara slipped on through, however, I was riding a bit lower in the water due to my…big bones. So, I had to get out 4-5 times and pull my boat over the rocks and vegetation.

One thing that surprised us was the amount of development along the river banks. We were expecting to round the bend after the park and feel as though we were all alone with the river. This wasn’t the case. There are homes, boat docks, people mowing their lawns, fishing sheds and lots of people fishing from the decks along both sides of the banks. It wasn’t until we reached Cold Spring Access, in the last half of the trip, that the houses faded into the distance.

Between the first bend and Cold Spring access you will encounter several spots with a lot of vegetation and rocks just beneath the water. The water is deep enough to continue, but the amount of obstructions in the water requires you to keep an eye out. You can easily get hung on a gathering of rocks and get turned sideways before you know it. Not that you are ever in danger of rolling over, but with a little planning you can avoid the need to push yourself along with your paddle.

Cold Spring access is easily recognizable from a distance due to a large stone bridge connecting one side of the river to the other. With large arches filled with bird nests, it’s a good place to stop and take some photos. As you approach the bridge the birds flee their nests and swirl into the sky above you. Once you are a safe distance away, they then begin to swoop back under the bridge into their mud-built nests.

This, I might add, is where we SHOULD HAVE gotten out of the river. More on that later.

After Cold Spring Access, the water is noticeable deeper and much calmer. We immediately noticed the buildup of pollen and leaves on top of the water and a rise in the temperature of the surface of the water. Up to this point, the river has been pushing you along at a decent speed, but the momentum from here to Dam #3 is controlled by you. You can chill out and go with the slow flow of the river or you can race to the finish line; depends on your energy level at this point. We decided to float along slowly since we were finally surrounded by trees.

After about 30 minutes or so and another bend to the left, the large warning signs atop Dam #3 come into view. We aimed for the gravel bar to the left as instructed by the staff at the park earlier in the day. This is where the trip turned a bit sour for us. We quickly noticed that the vegetation was really thick and the gravel bar was more or a “large jagged rocks bar” than a gravel bar. After what is akin to crawling through the vegetation, we came upon a small gap in the bank where the gravel bar was accessible. However, tt was very hard to get out of the boat and up the side of the gravel bar. Once we were all up on the gravel bar, it was a bit tricky to carry the kayaks around 100 yards to the paved drive and keep your footing on the large chunks of rock. On the hottest day so far in 2009, this was quite a task. By the time we got everything back to the truck and got loaded, we were all on our last legs.  Even on a cool day, this would be a task for us…borderline dangerous.

My suggestion to anyone who asks will be to take out at Cold Spring Access. Much safer and a much more relaxed ending for your trip.

More about Mammoth Spring State Park:
http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/mammothspring/

More about Jim Hinkle Spring River State Fish Hatchery:
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2539

Craighead Forest Park consists of about 700 acres land which is managed by Jonesboro Parks & Recreation. The lake, which is 60 acres, is at the center Craighead Forest Park and is surrounded by 9 different access points (including the boat ramp and camping area), all of which feature different facilities for visitors. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 feature playgrounds for the kids as well as picnic tables, pavilions with electricity and fire pits and/or grills. The largest of the playgrounds are at 5 & 6 which feature very large playgrounds provided by local Rotary Clubs.

There is a boat ramp between 1 & 2 which has parking, a small fishing pier and a dog-jumping dock. You can put your kayak in here, but we prefer to put in at Access 4. There is a paved drive to the south side of this access which allows you to park right next to the water and there is a small cove which allows you to walk right out into the water with ease.

If you are not from the area and will be staying overnight, there is a camping area as well. It can be found between access 4 & 5. The fees are very reasonable and you have access to around 30 paved pads, electricity and a campers-only pavilion and pier.

For this visit, we decided to go out around dusk so that the sun wouldn’t bake us the entire time. In the Summer you can go out to the lake around 7:30pm to completely escape the sun as it dips down behind the western tree line. This gives you a good two hours of paddling time without having to worry about getting burned (a constant issue with a family of redheads). Crystal was with us this time, so we decided to race across the lake…Daniel won of course. We were able to easily navigate across the entire lake several times over.

One of the nice things abour Craighead Forest Park is that the entire lake is surrounded by a walking path which is frequented at all hours of the day by people walking, jogging and running. If you’re lucky, you even meet new people as you paddle around the lake. Of course, having a 13 week-old lab mix in the kayak with you is a good conversation starter in itself. Kids cannot resist stopping to pet him, which DJ just adores.

It’s an understatement to say that we’ll be back in this lake a few times this Summer. It’s the perfect spot to keep your arms in shape, cook some hotdogs on the grill and take the dog out for a swim…all without even leaving town.

For more information about Craighead Forest Park visit http://www.jonesborosports.org/view/194