Hiking to the Red Bluff Creek Shelter on the Ouachita National Recreation Trail

I couldn’t hold my curiosity in check anymore and headed to the new Red Bluff Creek Shelter on the Ouachita National Recreation Trail. It’s one of two new shelters that have been added to the trail over the past year and possibly the most distinctive, at least by architectural standards. It’s 4.5 miles from Highway 9 on the west and 5.7 miles from Highway 10 on the east, in the section of the trail that is not in the Ouachita National Forest. The map is a bit misleading since what you see as a straight line between the forest boundary and Mile 194 is full of all sorts of ups and downs. Usually a flat line means, well, flat. And since the shelter is outside of the national forest, there are plenty of roads, pipelines, timber cutting and even deer stands. It doesn’t have the same look as the rest of the Ouachita Trail, but has its own unique vibe nonetheless. 03:50 — The end of the Ouachita National Forest 10:07 — Between Perry and Saline counties 12:13 — The importance of public shelters on private land 14:08 — The Ouachita National Recreation … Road? 18:13 — One of the biggest missed turns on the whole 223.5-mile trail 21:35 — Between Saline and Pulaski counties 27:50 — The Outhouse of the Red Bluff Creek Shelter 29:35 — A tour of the Red Bluff Creek Shelter 36:29 — Red Bluff Creek itself