Caddo Bend Trail Reopens at Lake Ouachita State Park

The Caddo Bend Trail, a popular four mile trail at Lake Ouachita State Park, has reopened. The trail, which is the premier trail at the park, has been closed since last April due to extensive
tornado damage.  

AmeriCorp crews have worked on the project for around four months. Two crews have come in to help rebuild the trail. The first crew (known as “Sun 4”) worked from November to mid December. The crew currently working at the park (“Fire 7”) started work at the beginning of the year and will be at the park through March.

Park staffers say the goal is to reopen the trail so visitors can use it. But the rebuilding effort will take time.

“There will still be debris fields, we will try to keep people out of those,” said Wilborn. “Maybe next year we will apply for an additional team to come and chop those areas up. It’s going to take a good ten years for that area to rebound. But we’ve got a good plan to get the trail open."

"We’ve got some native grasses, we’ve got wildflowers, we’ve got all sorts of stuff we are going to put out in the spring and we will continue to clean and clear the debris over the next few years.”