Description

The Ouachita National Recreation Trail “is the longest trail in the Ouachita National Forest spanning 192 miles across its entire length,” [according to](https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/ouachita/recreation/recarea/?recid=10804&actid=50) the USFS.

An additional ~32 miles of trail on private land brings the entire trail length up to about 223 miles in total.

However, only certain portions of the trail are open to mountain bikes.

This 105-mile section is continuously open to bikes, and is almost all entirely on singletrack! This massive expanse of singletrack makes for a perfect bikepacking objective or, if you’re a true badass, perhaps an epic day ride.

You could opt to bikepack this section point-to-point or, by using other trails in the area such as the [Womble](https://fatmap.com/routeid/38260/Womble_Trail/@34.6273870,-93.3691918,105267.2918936,-90,0,183.0526351,normal) and the [Lake Ouachita Vista Trail](https://fatmap.com/routeid/41092/Lake_Ouachita_Vista_Trail/@34.6273870,-93.3691918,105267.2918936,-90,0,183.0526351,normal), create a lollipop or a loop route. Despite being the longest mountain bike trail in the state, the Ouachita National Recreation Trail still flies well under the radar.

“Over 100 miles of the trail is open to mountain bikes and I very rarely run into riders that have been on any of the trail,” said Jake Meredith on [Arkansas.com](https://www.arkansas.com/articles/biking-ouachitas).

“It is very challenging in places though.

Hike-a-bike is just part of it.

It is one of the most rewarding trails though.” Sources: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/ouachita/recreation/recarea/?recid=10804&actid=50 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouachita_National_Recreation_Trail https://www.arkansas.com/articles/biking-ouachitas