Albert Pike is a truly gorgeous mountain retreat situated along the Little Missouri River.
There was a tragic flood several years ago, and many people lost their lives when a torrential downpour filled the otherwise, slow-moving river to record high levels, and an unbelievable surge of this rushing water wreaked havoc during the nighttime darkness. This review is humbly written and offered for your consideration in memory of those who lost their lives during the unimaginable flooding.
A small, general store of sorts welcomed visitors to the recreation area's entrance, and cabins for rent were situated on the mountain hillside, high above the riverbed.
Shady mountain valleys, and a normally easy-moving, shallow river with water temperatures year-round that can only be described as icy make Albert Pike one of Arkansas' best kept secrets.
A main camping area used to accomodate overnight campers in tents, recreational vehicles and campers, with well-kept campsites featuring pavement, cookout grills, and trash collection bins, as well as some electrical hookups and public bathrooms. Bathrooms also allowed visitors to enjoy basic showers, however none heated.
Outside the main area, pavement becomes gravel. Travel becomes a bit tenuous in areas where mountain boulders and rocks line the roadways. Unofficial, yet publicly accessible campsites are available alongside the various, winding gravel roads, many of these with direct or riverside access.
Roads take scenic meanderings through the mountains and valleys, over numerous low- water bridges. One road can be followed as far back as an abandoned slate mine, where some people ride ATVs and dirt bikes, and where others use flashlights to find small quartz crystals in the moonlit darkness of the abandoned mine.
Access to several other sites from this area includes the beautiful, scenic Little Missouri Falls, the more remote beauty of Winding Staircase, and nearby Shady Lake and Bard Springs.
Established hiking trails trek into more remote areas. Some are designated for horseback riding, while others exclude use of motorized vehicles.
Overnight guests are no longer permitted in the main camping area, but, this is still a stunning place to cool down in an ordinarily quiet river's delightfully, icy-cold waters on a hot day.
Wear old tennis shoes whenever walking on rocks or through the river for better traction and to better protect against falls and injuries.
It's a beautiful place to visit with friends, families or small groups. Day visitors can bring air mattresses or inner tubes to float leisurely through the shady, quiet streams. In certain portions of the river's waterways, visitors may have to carry rafts and tubes where low waters, boulders and rocks briefly impede floats.
Due to runoff from mountainside slopes, even short-term rainstorms can cause significant changes in the river's water levels. Even the shortest rainfalls here may pose serious dangers. (Google "Albert Pike flood" for more details.) High water may prohibit travel in all directions until levels recede.
Carp and trout, sun perch, darters, bream, bass, minnows, catfish, and sucker fish are common in the streams of this river, as are crawfish, snails, and frogs. Owls, hawks, crows, woodpeckers, cardinals, wrens, chickadees, doves, cranes, wild turkeys, red-breasted robins, ruby-throated hummingbirds, meadow larks, purple martins, orioles, and blue jays can be seen. Bats, deer, cottontail rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, coyotes, skunks, mink, lizards, skinks, opossums, tree frogs, toads, box turtles, and black bear are among the wildlife that forage here.
The area is also an annual stop along the path for migrating monarch butterflies, where they may be seen fluttering about the mountainsides' wildflowers at a certain time each year, and where they lay eggs that develop into familiar black and orange winged butterflies so many Southerners enjoy...
Leashed pets are...
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