CANE CREEK STATE PARK -- The honor system prevails at Cane Creek State Park, where rods and reels are loaned free of charge to folks who'd like to try fishing the well-stocked waters.
No deposit is required to borrow the gear from the visitor center. And the staff reports that very rarely does anyone fail to return the rods, provided by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. It's a small example of trust actually working in a world that seems to grow ever more suspicious.
Fishing is a prime allure of the 2,053-acre park, as proved by the dozens of photographs posted at the visitor center showing trophy-size specimens taken from 1,675-acre Cane Creek Lake. There's a handy bait shop next to the center.
The park's brochure brags, with good reason, that the lake is "the fishing hot spot in southeast Arkansas. The shallow, timber-filled lake provides excellent habitat for warm-water fish including bass, crappie, sunfish and bream. Lunker bass and full limits are common."
According to the brochure, the park "uniquely sits on the border of two major natural divisions of Arkansas -- the West Gulf Coastal Plain and the Mississippi Alluvial Plain,'' also known as the Delta. A visitor center sign labels it "A Park on the Edge."
For serious hikers or bicyclists, 15.5-mile Cane Creek Lake Trail circles the lake. The trail brochure explains that first "you will traverse a maze of small creeks that etch their way along deep draws between the steeply sloping ridges of a thick forest interspersed with dogwoods.
"Then, as you begin to revise your preconceived picture of southeast Arkansas, the trail bends around to open views of a lake filled with tall snags, water lilies, lotus blossoms and bald cypress brakes. The soundtrack changes from babbling brooks to the jug-a-rum call of a bullfrog. The Delta is here after all."
Complementing those lake vistas are glimpses of neighboring Bayou Bartholomew to the northeast. This is the longest bayou in the United States, beginning in Jefferson County and meandering for 359 miles, to Louisiana's Morehouse Parish, where it empties into the Ouachita River.
Along with two much shorter hiking trails, Cane Creek State Park also has a Kayak Trail, marked on the lake with yellow buoys and reflective badges. A highlight of the aquatic route is a large beaver lodge built among the cypress stumps.
Scheduled for Saturday night is a guided Full Moon Kayak Tour. It costs $15 ($10 for youngsters 6-12). Advance registration is required, and that's when callers will be informed of the starting time.
The Arkansas State Parks' website offers a tour description that verges on the lyrical: "Imagine gliding through the water in a kayak under the light of a full moon. The cool breeze barely stirring the water, revealing the reflections of the cypress trees and the stars in the night sky."
To reach Cane Creek State Park from Star City, drive 5 miles east on Arkansas 293. The visitor center and bait shop are open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For kayak tour reservations, call (870) 628-4714. For more information, visit ArkansasStateParks.com.
Weekend on 08/27/2015