HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Dec. 16, 2021 — Ouachita National Forest officials released a Final Decision Notice on the future use of the Albert Pike Recreation Area located near Langley, Ark., today.
The decision outlines the type of changes that will be implemented at the recreation area, which includes removing facilities.
“The decision provides a safe, well-maintained facility with year-round sustainable Day-Use recreation opportunities including swimming, picnicking, and fishing,” said Caddo-Womble District Ranger, Amanda Gee. “The Day-Use area will be opened to the public once a vault toilet has been installed.”
The recreation area will continue to be Day-Use only, with no overnight camping permitted. Infrastructure will be decommissioned in some areas and allowed to return to natural conditions. Other changes that will be implemented include the adaptive reuse of Loop D to provide Day Use parking facilities. Loops are smaller camping spots within a campground.
The Final Decision can be found on the Ouachita National Forest website at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/AlbertPike.
For more information, call the Caddo-Womble District office at (870) 867-2101 or by email to: christopher.ham@usda.gov.
For information on hiking the area, see our Spring Break post: https://arkansasoutside.com/spring-break-backpacking-trip-part-1/
Forest Service Issues Final Decision on future of Albert Pike Recreation Area
3 Responses
I had been there many times when I was young and really enjoyed it. So to say that camping will never reopen is sad. Why?
A couple of reasons, first, is the propensity for flash flooding. Second, a flash flood several years ago which killed several people also wiped out the campground which would be expensive to replace. A third reason would be the cost of having on-site employees to monitor water levels and evacuate campers in an emergency.
We camped there for years.
We knew if it was raining all day it was time to go home. I have seen the River get up before and flood. What I never figured out was why those people didn’t go to the high ground?
Right behind the showers used to be a clearly marked path that led up to a flat area above the Camp Ground that was a safety area that the Ranger used to give a safety brief telling people to go there in the event there was a event of any kind.
There are hundreds of campgrounds up through the mountains and above the Albert Pike Recreational Area.
I camped all over those mountains. We would take dirt bikes and ride for miles up in the mountains. We found a cabin way up on the side of a mountain and an old news paper had the year 1938 in it.
Found nothing on cans and jar labels any later than 1938.