Flint Creek preserve offers spring-fed stream, trails
SPRINGTOWN — Flint Creek Headwaters Preserve is a quiet nature destination with a state highway running through the middle of it.
Hundreds of vehicles travel Arkansas 12 on the west edge of Springtown each day, not knowing they’re driving through the center of the 67-acre preserve. The preserve is open for nature activities such as hiking, birding, and photography.
The tract was donated to the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust in 2017 by the family of the late John Wasson. Wasson, a long-time professor at UCLA, grew up in Springtown. According to his obituary in the Los Angeles Times, he was born on July 4, 1934, and died in September 2020.
Two miles of level trails make for pleasant hiking. Birds are active on the preserve, and in mid-April, the place is alive with wildflowers.
Now that warmer weather has arrived, creek wading in clear and cool Flint Creek is on the agenda. Visitors up to their knees in the gentle flow will be following in the footsteps of Wasson. Information signs at the preserve reveal that one of Wasson’s favorite pastimes was to wade down the creek where it starts in Springtown, turn around at Arkansas 12, then wade back. He learned to swim in the stream’s deep pools and liked to jump into the water from rock outcrops on shore.
Flint Creek begins at a large spring on private property in Springtown, flows west into Oklahoma, and eventually merges with the Illinois River.
While wading in the creek is allowed at the preserve, fishing is not. Visitors can easily see schools of small minnows and darters in the transparent water. Some of the largest fish are 10-inch red-spot chub minnows. Information signs say sunburst darters in the creek are indicators of superb water quality.
To reach the preserve, travel Arkansas 12 to the west edge of Springtown. Turn south on Springtown Cut-Off Road, then immediately turn right on Peach Orchard Lane. A small parking area and trailhead are there.
Two trails for feet only, no bikes, guide visitors through forests and grassland on the preserve. Wasson Trail starts at the parking area. It heads toward Flint Creek, then meanders north along the stream. There’s a spur trail that gives easy access to the creek for wading, rock skipping, or relaxing. Wasson Trail goes underneath Arkansas 12, and the footing is a bit dicey here over rocks, but it is manageable. The level trail is easy to follow through grass and forests until it ends at private property.
Railroad Spur Trail is another path along the old bed of the Arkansas & Oklahoma Western Railroad. The route covered 30 miles between Rogers and Siloam Springs. A kiosk along the trail reads, “Fruit Belt Line” because it served the applegrowing district between Highfill and Lowell.
The railroad closed in 1918. Hikers can imagine seeing fire-breathing, steam-puffing locomotives as they enjoy a level walk along the railroad bed and the rest of the preserve. Thanks to the Wasson family and Northwest Arkansas Land Trust, Flint Creek Headwaters Preserve can be enjoyed by everyone.