[title size=”2″]Floating the Crooked Creek Water Trail[/title]

Crooked Creek is an 80-mile tributary of the White River in north central Arkansas. The Crooked Creek Water Trail refers to a 22-mile stretch starting from the Lower Pyatt Access to Yellville, Arkansas at 851 Conservation Lane. The creek is designated Class I to II and you can expect to travel about 2 miles per hour down river. The creek is accessible and safe from October through June. There are no river outfitters on Crooked Creek so visitors will need to have their own equipment or find another rental area nearby. Multiple day trips can be organized along Crooked Creek with campsites available at Snow Access and Brooksher Crooked Creek Preserve as well as the Fred Berry Conservation Education Center on Crooked Creek.

Crooked Creek is known as one of the best fishing areas in Arkansas. The creek is a Blue Ribbon Smallmouth Bass Stream. Besides smallmouth bass, anglers may also catch largemouth bass, blue gill, Ozark bass, catfish, and green sunfish. If you plan to fish, be sure to get an Arkansas fishing license. The creek is slightly off the beaten path but can be a nature enthusiast’s dream with a variety of flora along its stretch such as cedar, oak, hickory, willow, hackberry, and black walnut trees. These Ozark habitats provide homes for mink, beaver, deer, river otters, and overhead there are belted kingfishers, herons, osprey, wood ducks, and even bald eagles. Be sure to learn more about the area at the Fred Berry Conservation Education Center on Crooked Creek.