The landmark Arkansas River Trail
Arkansas is full of wonderful trails to explore including the landmark Arkansas River Trail.
The core of the Arkansas River Trail is a 15.6 mile off-street trail loop anchored by the Big Dam Bridge to the west and the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge to the east and running along both sides of the Arkansas River in between. It is not only a beautiful trail but an important bicycle and pedestrian transportation corridor for the community.
There are multiple points of entry in the city to access the Arkansas River Trail to start an adventurous day. The Clinton Presidential Park Bridge is one such spot. The bridge is used as a bike and pedestrian pathway across the Arkansas River and connects the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock. It showcases expansive views of both the river and downtown skyline along with a vantage of the William E. “Bill” Clark Presidential Park Wetlands below. This restored wetlands habitat can be accessed directly from the trail and explored via an elevated boardwalk.
Continuing west along the Little Rock river bank, the Arkansas River Trail leads to an access point to Riverfront Park, a picturesque landscape that goes for eleven blocks on the south bank of the river. The park has many attractions to walk to, including the beautiful Petit Roche Plaza, which showcases the stone the city is named after. The Junction Bridge Pedestrian Walkway, which connects both sides of the river and carried trains across the Arkansas River until the 1980s, is here along with the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden, which has an array of whimsical sculptures located at various points along the trail as it leads to the west end of the park. The Arkansas River Trail continues on in this direction but goes into an on-street portion of the route, so an ideal option if one is on foot and wants to keep exploring is to backtrack back to the Junction Bridge Pedestrian Walkway and walk over the river to North Shore Riverwalk Park in North Little Rock to continue your journey.