Erosion Destroys Parts Of Devil's Den Trail
Mountain Bikers Warned To Stay Away From Fossil Flats Route
Last updated Wednesday, May 7, 2008 9:43 PM CDT in News
By Christopher Spencer
The Morning News
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DEVIL'S DEN STATE PARK - The forest trail winds along the cliffs overlooking Lee Creek, the sounds of a flowing stream evident. The wooded path is smooth and downhill, gravity coaxing speed from mountain bikers racing along Fossil Flats.
Then the trail ends - in mid-air.
The earth has crumbled into the creek at several points along Fossil Flats. A mountain biker looking aside for a moment at a wildflower would launch over a cliff and drop at least 10 feet into Lee Creek.
"It just ate the trail away," said Devil's Den Assistant Superintendent Tim Scott about the unassuming creek below the bank. Like Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk, heavy rain has forced a fierce transformation in the creek several times this spring.
Lee Creek seems gentle on a recent May day, its depth too shallow to navigate in a boat. But on April 10, during a severe storm throughout Northwest Arkansas, the creek was bloated and fierce, tearing at its banks until 10-foot sections of the trail fell away from the cliffs, undercut by erosion from the swollen water.
The worst damage to the park so far this spring has been to the three- to five-mile Fossil Flats trail. Park staff members closed the trail to visitors immediately after the April 10 storms and have been turning away mountain bikers ever since, Scott said. Devil's Den State Park is 8 miles west of Winslow on Arkansas 74.
Scott said he thinks showers possible today and Friday will be mild enough to inflict no further damage to the trail. The park suffered an estimated $3 million in damage in 2004 when flooding damaged several campgrounds and snapped a suspension bridge.
It's been frustrating to have Fossil Flats closed, but riders should resist the urge to ride the trail, said Dave Renko, the director of the Eureka Springs Fat Tire Festival for mountain bikers.
There are other trails in the area, but Fossil Flats is "one of the more popular and publicized sites," Renko said.
Chris Crone, a mountain biking enthusiast from Eureka Springs, said he rides the trail probably 12 times a year.
"Fossil Flats leads to everything out there ... sort of a main artery. I probably wouldn't go out there if it's not open," Crone said.
Devil's Den enjoys a reputation throughout the state as a haven for mountain bikers. About 10 percent of the visitors to the park come to do some mountain biking, Scott said. There are other trails mountain bikers can ride at Devil's Den, but none that rivals the park's Fossil Flats trail as far as popularity, he said.
Scott said he's had to disappoint not only campers, but also local riders who want to squeeze in a quick ride after work and before sunset.
It will cost an estimated $3,000 to $5,000 to repair the trail. Scott said he is hopeful volunteers will help park staff members. The trail needs to be relocated from its grinding halts at the cliff to at least 20 feet inland from Lee Creek's high-water banks.
The goal is to have the trail fixed by Sept. 13, when about 150 mountain bikers are expected to attend the Northwest Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship at the park, Scott said.
Fred Phillips helps organize the Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship Series that includes the race at Devil's Den. He said the floods this spring have damaged several mountain biking trails.
"We lost the first three races of the season," he said. The group was forced to cancel races near Barling, Mountain Home and Russellville.
WEB WATCH
Mountain Bike Championship Series
The Northwest Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship Series is a mountain bike race at Devil's Den State Park. The race is part of the Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship Series.
www.ambcs.com.
Source: Staff Report
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