Each year, many families and individuals celebrate the first day of the new year with a “First Day Hike.” This nationwide initiative, led by America’s State Parks, was created to encourage people to get outdoors. But First Day Hikes don’t have to be guided by a park ranger or at a state park. With 77 natural areas throughout the state, the ANHC has many opportunities for hiking or just enjoying the outdoors. 

The ANHC’s natural areas and trail systems provide numerous opportunities for individuals and families to explore nature on their own. The same philosophy applies regardless of where you choose to hike – start off your new year with the great outdoors! With nearly 100 miles of hiking trails and new ones to be developed in the coming year, visit our Find a Natural Area web page to locate a natural area near you (you can choose to view by map or list). 

Some favorites:

• Warren Prairie Natural Area (NA) in southeast Arkansas has open pine-oak flatwoods and is home to the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Dryobates borealis, RCW). It has a rare grassland habitat called saline soil barrens, as well as large dwarf palmettos that remind many of tropical climes. The area is recognized by the National Audubon Society as a Globally Important Bird Area.
• White Cliffs NA in southwest Arkansas has a 100-foot chalk bluff, leading to the nickname “the Arkansas White Cliffs of Dover.” This natural area has the largest, least disturbed Arkansas occurrences of chalk woodland and has open marshes along the shore of Millwood Lake. Part of the trail at the natural area passes by an abandoned concrete company quarry and the site has historical significance as a late 19th-century settlement.
• Big Creek NA in north central Arkansas boasts an Overlook Trail that is roughly 1.75 miles roundtrip and bluffs that tower as high as 200 feet above Big Creek. Its Creek Trail leaves the parking area and traces an old road before it winds down to the water’s edge and back.
• Sweden Creek Falls NA in northwest Arkansas features a scenic Ozark canyon and the eighth largest waterfall in Arkansas. A trail takes you to the 80-foot waterfall for which the natural area is named.
• Rattlesnake Ridge NA in central Arkansas, part of the Maumelle Pinnacles chain formed by Pinnacle Mountain and Blue Mountain, is popular for its multi-use trail system that includes trails of varying difficulties and distances. It is recognized for one of the most dramatic rocky summits in the eastern Ouachita Mountains. The natural area conserves a rare natural community, Ouachita Mountain Sandstone Outcrop Barrens, which is home to rare plants and animals typically found further west.
• Lorance Creek NA in central Arkansas includes an upland pine hardwood woodland, groundwater-fed cypress-tupelo swamp, and a complex network of small streams and seeps. The trail is American Disability Association (ADA) accessible and takes you to the heart of the swamp via a boardwalk that lets you experience it without getting your feet wet.

Natural areas are part of a system created to support rare, vanishing, or endangered plant and animal species; to protect areas of substantially undisturbed or unusual ecological quality; and to protect representative sites from across the state of various habitats. Travel on natural areas is limited to foot traffic to minimize erosion and disturbance to sensitive areas, camping and campfires are prohibited, and removing or disturbing plants or animals is prohibited. Please practice Leave No Trace principles (©1999 Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: www.LNT.org).

Please note that most ANHC natural areas do not have restroom facilities or visitor centers. Remember to wear sturdy shoes, dress in layers, and bring water, snacks, a first aid kit, binoculars, cell phone, and tissue and a plastic bag to pack trash out. During hunting season (https://www.agfc.com/en/hunting/), wear orange if you are in or near an area where hunting is allowed.

There are several reasons to get out and hike a trail, with research showing that hiking outdoors is good for physical and mental health. Many people visit natural areas to find solace from a busy world, a place to relax, space and breathe fresh air, get in some exercise, or reconnect with the natural world. For whatever reason you choose to get outdoors, ANHC’s System of Natural Areas provides many opportunities to enjoy The Natural State.

Photos:
First photo — Hikers climbing to the top of Rattlesnake Ridge Natural Area. Photo courtesy of Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.

Second photo — The boardwalk into the swamp at Lorance Creek Natural Area. Photo by ANHC staff.

Third photo — Rattlesnake Ridge Natural Area seen from a distance. Photo courtesy of Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.

Fourth photo — Hikers on White Cliffs Natural Area. Photo by ANHC staff. 

Main photo — Visitors enjoying the view from the top of the ridge at Rattlesnake Ridge Natural Area. Photo courtesy of Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.