Grassy Lake Water Trail 4/18/15

[Stan]

This 4.5 mile water trail wanders through cypress & water tupelo. Meet at 9:30am at Grassy Lake Water Trail Parking Lot. Bring water and lunch. Contact Margaret Bartelt for more information. 501-224-7472.

Directions: Travel east on Grassy Lake Road which is off of Highway 365 just south of Mayflower. (A brown Arkansas Game & Fish sign is at the intersection.) Go under I-40 & turn right at the stop sign. Cross Palarm Creek and continue on Grassy Lake Road for about a mile. At each intersection in that mile bear left. (Ignore any gated roads even if the gate is open.) Turn left at the big green Arkansas Game & Fish sign. Travel about 0.7 mile on the winding road to the large put-in parking lot. Shortly before reaching the parking lot a road comes in from the left. Ignore that road & continue straight ahead.

Alternate Route (And the only route when Grassy Lake Road under I-40 is flooded.)
At the junction of I-40 and Highway 89, travel south on the Frontage Road/Interstate Drive. (Bear right at each intersection until you reach Grassy Lake Road). Then follow the above directions.

[Stan]

bump

[Stan]

Palarm Creek is rising and its backwater may soon flood Grassy Lake Road under I-40. The "Alternate Route" may be the only way to get to the water trail put-in on Saturday. Since there is essentially no current on the water trail, high water does not present any additional hazard. We should, however, monitor weather radar on Saturday. Thunderstorms are forecast especially in the afternoon. Once on the water trail it is difficult to "get to shore". I once waited out a thunderstorm in Grassy by sitting on beaver lodge. Fortunately it was in a large group of small trees.