Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Devil's Den State Park - Winslow, Arkansas

 


You have to be paying attention getting into Devil's Den State Park. On the park website, they advise not to come in through Winslow. Instead come in through West Fork, Arkansas to avoid narrow windy roads that are not good for long trailers.
The website also says to check into the visitor center - BUT the visitor center parking lot is too small for trailers. Instead, go straight to the horse camp, unhook, and then drive back to the visitor center to check in.

We did stop at the RV dump which is located in the main campground. Plenty of space for large rigs.


No corrals provided, but they do have high lines you can tie your horses.


You are also allowed to set up your portable corrals or electric fences, so we set up our corrals.
We arrived on a Saturday. As we were driving in, we noticed loud squeaking from the rear of the truck. We suspected our truck suspension was going, so first thing Monday morning Ari took the truck into a repair shop in West Fork, about 15 minutes away.
Turned out the truck needed new suspension, new brakes, new struts, and a bunch more items...all told a little over five thousand dollars worth of work.
The repair shop had our truck until Thursday morning. This meant we had to spend an extra day. It was raining on and off Tuesday and Wednesday, so we spent those days hanging inside the trailer.
Being without a truck meant we were basically stranded at the campground. 
No Uber or Lyft in the area and DoorDash doesn't have any drivers in the area, either.
Luckily, I had gone grocery shopping on Sunday before Ari took the truck in, so we were pretty well stocked.
I will have to restock again when we get the truck back.


Mercy getting ready to go out on the trail.
We have water and electric hook-up.
There are public restrooms with indoor plumbing and a shower in each restroom.






We rode the Gorley King Trail (red trail) and the Vista Trail (blue diamond). The Gorley King trail was fairly easy, although it was a bit technical - some rocks, some water crossings, and some downed trees. The Vista Trail was challenging. There were steep sections, areas where downed trees meant we had to go off the trail to find a way around, eroded sections where we had to dismount and walk, and a lot of overgrown brush. The trails are marked with symbols nailed to the trees every quarter mile which was helpful.
The local Back Country Horsemen plan some major improvements for this park this winter and spring, so people should consider this place as a possible stop if they are in the area.








No comments:

Post a Comment