Find the top rated birding trails in Fort Smith, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
_157246_st.jpg)
We have been using the Frisco Trail for years now. I run there often because it’s easier on my joints than pavement (and no cars)!!! When I bring my kids, they ride their bikes while I jog. It’s flat, smooth and easy to ride or run. With the addition of lights, better bridges, and water...it will definitely be even more visited by us.
Also, we are very excited about the bike trails that weave through the trees! Great for me to ride or let the kids ride while I run the trail right beside them!!!!
The Old Frisco Trail has been my go to training location for many marathons. I have completed 2 Boston Marathons and will also be going again this year. I love how the dirt rode has less impact on my feet, legs, and body than a true rode run. It is just like running down a flat dirt road for 6.5 miles turn around and come back. It is super easy to set out aid stations on but now we also have two water fountains for you to hydrate back up with again. I also love to take my kids out to this trail. I let them bike and I run. I feel so safe on this trail because you do not feel like you are about to get hit by a car. This is such a great place to run or bike. Go outside. Run on Dirt.
I can’t say enough great things about this trail. Rode it without any fuss and beautiful I might add! A treat for sure’
I was in Arkansas last week, visiting from PA and rode this trail, one of the best trails I have ever ridden. I am on a quest to ride 100 miles in each state and rode 62 miles one day and 40 the next and greatly enjoyed this trail. Going through a couple of towns the way the trail and the road is separated was fantastic.
As visitors, rode some of the Greenway for first time this week. Awesome trail system. We thought the Tulsa OK trails were good but this system has them beaten for standard and variety of users. We rode trikes but the systems available for all grades of mountain bikers was phenomenal.
Only complaint we had, maybe more of a comment, signage could be better in some places. As the system is made up of many trails, it was confusing when trying to go from one to another. Got onto the wrong trail twice because no signage at any trail splits.only reason we didn't give 5 stars.
I love yo run the trail. There are four bridges on the trail the first one is 3/10 Mike in and very long. Right now 3 of the 4 bridges have art murals on them. The 4 th at the wister end will be done soon! Lots of kids ride their bikes here and lots more adults run this trail. It is a very safe area. I've been out there alone at 3:30-4am to stay out of the heat
We love riding our bikes on the Razorback Regional Greenway. You can pick and choose different places to park and ride. We enjoy riding with friends whenever we can.
I am fairly new to biking, but this is one of the most amazing trail systems I have ever seen. I have only ridden the northern half so far, and have enjoyed it every time I've gone out. Don't stop branching out. I live in Cave Springs and would love to see a trailhead closer to me where I can jump on. There are some signage issues that need to be dealt with. Especially around the New Hope area. Thanks again for providing an excellent trail.
I live in Springdale and ride four miles from home through city streets to downtown where I catch the Greenway.
At the moment the trail is blocked in two places going north. Signs say the trail is closed at Pleasant Grove Road, but I continued on all the way until where it crosses under I-49. It's blocked there and will be for several months because they are widening I-49 and building the trestles under the highway.
There is a detour shown from Pleasant Grove up over and around I-49 but I'm told it's on city streets and bit hazardous. And up near Bella Vista in the north its closed by more highway construction for the new bypass.
It's called progress and when it opens again it will be possible to traverse then entire path from north to south. It is a fun and picturesque ride. In some fifteen months I've ridden some 3,000+ miles on this system on a recumbent trike. It's a lot of fun.
More and more trails are connecting to the system in the coming years. You just need to be patient. It's only going to get better and better.
It proved true for us that the trail is prone to flooding, even it was not rainy weather. [More later] We can also confirm that the reviews that spoke of the neglected state of the second half of the trail proved true. As to the surface: in the beginning it was finely crushed stone and gravel, alternating with hard-packed soil and grass, but later, in the second half, the crushed stone became rougher and rougher, sometimes with pieces as big as a fist: not at all good for even my 2.2" wide tires, let alone Mary's with just 35 Millimeters. The result for her were three broken spokes in her rear wheel and a flat. We also found the second half of the trail way more overgrown than the first, and all bicycling ended for us shortly after we had reached mile marker 5, when there were trail-wide and deep puddles which we dared not ride our bicycles through. The sides of the trail were too overgrown and looked too swampy there for us to try and walk our bikes around the puddles. So we just turned around. As to the bridges: they were well maintained, but I decided to stop before each of them and walk my bicycle onto them as they were not level with the bike path but had steps of 5 to 8 inches to get onto them.
Conclusion: the trail is well worth riding as it leads you through a beautiful landscape, mostly under a great canopy of trees, which makes it pleasant even in the heat of a summer day, but I'd recommend the first half only. After that the surface becomes way too rough even for wide and knobby tires like my Salsa Fargo. The second part definitely needs a lot more care, cutting weeds and shrubs that overgrow it, replacing the way-too-coarse ground-stone surface with finer gravel, and filling the depressions in the trail so that it'll be rideable even after some rain. The trailhead in Poteau [since we didn't get to the other end I can't say anything about the trailhead in Wister] could also be improved: there's nothing but parking on the grass or at the side of a dirt road: a bench under a roof, a water fountain and facilities would greatly help there. But in spite of this, we really enjoyed our ride.
More about our experiences, with pictures, here:
http://tinyurl.com/q4z52gk
I can tell the trail is not completely finished, but it has had MAJOR upgrades since people last reviewed it. The first half of the trail (starting at the River Front Park near downtown Fort Smith and following the river) is now a nice wide concrete walkway with a pavilion and statuary near the park and benches along the trail. About mid-way through the first half of the trail there is another pavilion and a nice footbridge. There is also lighting all along this part of the trail. There is no heavy vegetation close to the trail, so no security worries or surprises.
It has been years since I walked on the second half of the trail that leads to Fort Smith Park. It is still a gravel trail, but smooth and level as it was build upon old railway tracks. I'm not sure if this portion of the trail is lighted, but it does have vegetation closer to the trail, so people may not feel as secure at night.
If you haven't been on this trail in a couple of years, I highly recommend it. It's a very easy trail, except the length may be a challenge for some, and a lot of it is now wheelchair accessible.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Map Search
