PADDLE-MOUNTAIN BIKE COMBO HELP

[Louiscov]

Hi gang:

What weekend combo of paddling and mountain biking adventure in northwest Arkansas can some of you recommend?

4 - 6 mid twenties guys from the Shreveport area want to come up in mid-April for a 3 day weekend of both, and will need to rent boats, have paddled some and should be OK on class II. It's been 15 years since I've done this. My ideas are to:

*combine Mulberry (paddling) and Devils Den (mountain biking) or:
*combine Jasper area Buffalo paddling with Moccasin Gap (mountain biking);
*combine Long Pool (paddling) with Moccasin Gap;
*Dragover (paddling) and Womble Trail (mountain biking) as a backup, they want nw Arkansas

Some comments, other recommendations, etc would really be appreciated. Thanks,

louis covington

[prophet]

mulberry, plenty of riding right around the river, no need to go to Devils Den

[nathan richard]

i'd reccomend your Mulberrry option or Dragover. The mountain biking will be much better with those options. Unless they've built new, mtn bike specific trails, The Moccasin Gap tails are really rough and better suited for ATV's and Horses.

[Louiscov]

Thanks, prophet and nathan.

Any tips on specific trails, access points, dirt road rides in the area would be a great help.

Appreciate the responses!!

[nathan richard]

The Fossil Flats trail at Devil's Den is really fun. If you go to the mulberry, you might set up camp at Turner Bend. There are numerous dirt roads to ride. Shores Lake road is less than a mile away, it gets right next to the Mulberry at several points and there are a ton of side trails and forrest roads to explore.

If you end up going to the Ouachita area, besides the Womble trail, you should check out the new Lake Ouchita Vista Trail. It's awesome and there are a bunch of access points along HWY 270. Just google it. they have their own website.

[MenHen]

If NWA doesn't work out - We floated the Quachita River, up from Dragover, for the first time last year. The Womble trail looked awesome, but we didnt do that. There is at least one utube video of it you can look at. The trail head was super close to where we camped, so that is a plus.

[Steve S]

If you opt for Dragover, you are close to both the Womble and the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail. The Vista has multiple sections with easy access. You can get more information at http://lakeouachitavistatrail.com/WP/the-big-picture" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

[Louiscov]

Thanks to EVERYONE who responded here and PM'd.

The guys are probably going to the Mulberry area this spring. I did not know about the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail & will definitely check it out this fall.

The organizer of the trip for the guys (around 25 years old) rode Womble in elementary school from River Bluff to Rocky Shoals a few times with his dad on our church trips I led and paddled with me on several trips on the Ouachita, Caddo, Buffalo. It is such an AWESOME, special feeling to pass along a love of things outdoors. I have been truly blessed.