Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Delta Heritage Trail State Park an obscure gem
Ryan Smith was so happy to have visitors Sunday at the Delta Heritage Trail last Sunday near Helena.
Smith, interpreter for the Delta Heritage Trail and Louisiana Purchase state parks, was near the end of what appeared to be an uneventful day when my adventuring partner and I arrived to have our Arkansas State Parks Passports stamped.
We expressed our deep concern to Smith that we wouldn’t get credit for visiting Louisiana Purchase State Park, which does not have a stamp. There is a metal disc embedded in wood that you emboss into its respective page with a pencil. We didn’t have a pencil, so we obtained a reverse image by rubbing a bar of soap on the disc.
Louisiana Purchase isn’t the only state park with a doit-yourself stamp. Neauman Coleman, a reader who has been following this state park tour, informed us by email that we would also need our pencils at Herman Davis, Jenkins Ferry, Marks’ Mills, Poison Springs and Conway Cemetery state parks, and also at the South Arkansas Arboretum at El Dorado.
Smith gladly gave us each a pencil before giving us a grand tour of the Delta Heritage Center visitor center. This visitor center is not as fancy as those at other parks, but it serves its purpose. Smith, on the other hand, is a loquacious font of knowledge.
First, he introduced us to Trixie, a speckled king snake that inhabits a terrarium beside the front desk. She had just been fed and alertly tracked my finger sliding along the sides of the glass.
Trixie had been found on the Delta Heritage Trail, which goes past the visitor center. Smith said Trixie gets a meal of one frozen mouse per week.
“You don’t have to keep them alive, and a live mouse could hurt her, although that’s pretty unlikely,” Smith said. “When you give her a mouse, she’s all over it.”
Prominently displayed are memories of the Delta Eagle, a Missouri-Pacific train that ran between Memphis and Tallulah, La., from 1941-54. Regular stops were in Marianna and Helena. It pulled two passenger cars, making it one of the shortest trains MoPac ever operated. An electric model is in a display case at the front desk.
“Wow, an ALCO locomotive,” I gushed.
Smith looked at me as if I were a dear long lost relative.
“You know something about locomotives,” Smith said.
“Those old ALCO engines were about the coolest things ever,” I said. “They were so graceful and sleek. That’s a nice bit of Americana for sure.”
I learned that General Motors actually made the Delta Eagle Locomotive. That’s just one facet that made it unique.
“Most locomotives like this had two 1,000-horsepower engines,” Smith said. “One was in this front compartment here, and the second one was in this back compartment. The Delta Eagle had only one 1,000-horsepower unit. They hauled baggage in the rear compartment.”
Later, as MoPac phased out passenger service, the company replaced the GM with an electric motorcar that was known as a Doodlebug. It operated until MoPac discontinued the line in 1960. There’s a photo of the Delta Eagle Doodlebug on the wall.
“It was a piece of junk,” Smith said. “They all were. They spent more time in the shop than they spent running. We still have the repair logs on that thing. It is extensive.”
We ended that visit by walking two miles on the Delta Heritage Trail, which follows an old Union Pacific right-of-way. When completed, it will run 73 miles from Lexa to Arkansas City. About 14 miles are completed between Lexa and Barton, including the section that runs beside the visitor center. The entire trail is a state park which encompasses nearly 1,000 acres across three counties.
Wide and flat, the trail is ideal for cycling. Loose gravel makes footing a bit unstable, and four miles definitely jangles your ankles.
Metal benches are spaced at generous intervals for resting.
Even in mid- February, springlike temperatures summoned forth mosquitoes and buffalo gnats. Bug spray will help keep you comfortable.
For hunters and anglers, there are myriad fishing opportunities available in many oxbow lakes off the Mississippi River. Hunting is available in the St. Francis National Forest.
The Delta Heritage Trail visitor center has a small but excellent car campground. Its restroom has flush toilets, but no showers.
The great thing about the Delta Heritage Trail is that it traverses a remote path through a part of Arkansas that is traditionally overlooked as an outdoors recreation destination. With all the attention and resources that are lavished on Northwest Arkansas, recreational opportunities like this are welcome and refreshing.