Dry Creek Wilderness

This little area, the state's second smallest Wilderness, contains numerous high sandstone bluffs and ridges overlooking Dry Creek, a stream that flows only part of the year between Dry Creek Mountain and North Petit Jean Mountain in the Ouachita Range. Rocky outcroppings and steep slopes stand above a dense pine-hardwood forest. Chimney Rock, one of the area's most unique geological features, is a freestanding, chimney-like rock tower that has broken away from a vertical rock wall. Although roads surround the area, an unusually dense black bear population hides here in relative solitude, and ridge tops offer great views of the region. The terrain varies primarily between steep and very steep. The rugged Dry Creek Trail follows the stream for more than five miles, and several branches of the path climb out of the creek bottom to the road on the northern boundary. If the creek isn't running, you should pack along your own water.