Big Lake: A magical patch of paradise in Arkansas’ smallest federally designated wilderness area

This article originally appeared in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and can be found here.

June 8, 2025 by Bob Robinson

Editor's Note: This article on the Big Lake Wilderness is the seventh in a series commemorating the 40th anniversary of the signing of federal legislation to create nine new federal wilderness areas in Arkansas.

Big Lake is the largest Mississippi River drainage area in northeast Arkansas. It supports extensive bottomland hardwood forest habitat and lowland oak forest. Along with the adjoining Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, state-owned and private lands, it is among the largest tracts of wetland forest, if not the largest, remaining in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain.

The region had once been a bountiful land filled with verdant forests, abundant game and fertile soil. But in 1811-12, the New Madrid earthquakes caused the earth in this northeastern area of Arkansas to sink, converting the region into massive swampland.

In August 1915, by executive order of President Woodrow Wilson, the Big Lake Wildlife Refuge was established under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to serve as "an inviolate sanctuary, reserve and breeding ground for native and migratory birds," according to the service. The 11,038-acre refuge is one of the oldest in the nation.

In 1950, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission bought 12,230 acres on the refuge's eastern boundary to establish the Big Lake Wildlife Management Area.

Nestled in the heart of the refuge and WMA, at just 2,100 acres, is the Big Lake Wilderness, Arkansas' smallest federally designated wilderness area. Protected by these natural buffer zones on its borders, the wilderness area possesses much of its original wildness.

There's enough wildness that Tom Foti, master botanist and former ecologist/research chief at the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, assisted in researching and compiling a proposal to Congress to designate it as a wilderness area.

As Foti paddled his canoe through what he thought to be virgin forest swampland, evaluating the refuge for potential wilderness qualities, he says he was impressed by the natural character of the vegetation and ecosystem. He felt this could be very significant as research for scientists studying the effects of the New Madrid earthquakes.

Through his explorations, he located a remnant channel, possibly the Little River that ran through the area before the earthquake. Much larger cypress trees grew on the banks of this channel. He says he thought this would make a fascinating study to reconstruct the original channel.

He had also read that archaeological work had uncovered shell mounds in that area -- a promising sign of early Native American presence.

"A big reason for my proposing this as wilderness," says Foti, "was to preserve it in its current condition, until someone can further evaluate it. Which is one of the purposes for wilderness designation."

And besides, the area is mostly swampland, which is often 99% underwater, so the cost of harvesting the timber made it an easy decision to leave it alone. One of 11 federally designated wilderness areas in Arkansas, it received the designation in 1976. In 1984, legislation was approved to create nine other wilderness areas in Arkansas.

(From Left to Right) U.S. Rep. Bill Alexander, D-Ark., Tom Foti, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, and Bill Shepherd, Arkansas Department of Planning, tour Big Lake in the 1970s. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Tom Foti)

A MISSED OPPORTUNITY

In addition to Big Lake, Foti knew of another U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service property that he believed would be perfect to propose for wilderness. It was Big Island, within the White River National Wildlife Refuge (later to be renamed after former U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers).

Foti had floated and fished the Big Island area in his youth. He was very aware of the natural character of the 20,000-acre section. Although it had been logged before being designated as a Refuge in 1935, that had been selective logging, taking only the largest trees, leaving the remainder to grow.

When the time came for Foti to prepare his research to recommend Big Island as a potential wilderness designation, he says he discovered the refuge manager had brought in a bulldozer to the island to knock down trees and construct a road.

Foti was devastated. He says he had spoken to the manager about his plans on visits to the refuge. Later, Foti says he learned the manager had been pressured to stop Big Island from becoming protected wilderness due to its timber potential.

The Big Lake Wilderness is located within the Big Lake Natural Wildlife Refuge and is mostly swampland. (Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism)

BIG LAKE ADVENTURE

Begin your Big Lake Wilderness adventure at the refuge visitor center at the south entrance off Arkansas 18. You can collect information and maps of the area to help you plan your activities. They also have several informative displays on the fascinating history of the region.

My girlfriend, Dalene Ketcher, and I recently visited Big Lake. Arriving late in the day, we spent the afternoon exploring the area via the surrounding gravel roads and hiking trails. We saved the adventure in the wilderness area for an early start on Day 2.

Exiting the visitor center on County Road 281, we began the 3-mile Bald Cypress Wildlife Drive. The gravel road was bordered on the west by a manmade drainage ditch and to the east by dense forest.

A little over a mile into our drive, we pulled off to the side to explore the 1.2-mile Oak Island Nature Trail. Immediately into the hike, we entered a canopy of dense tree cover.

Wetland woodlands are unlike forests in other regions of the state. Often submerged by flooding, the forest floors lack dense thickets and brush that grow in drier environments. This openness results in greater visibility. On our hike, we spotted a pair of deer grazing in the distance. They would not have been visible in other forests.

Following the hike, it was back to the truck for a short drive to reach the State Champion Overcup Oak Tree entrance. The tree has a 219-inch circumference and is 111 feet tall.

Next stop was Timm's Point Observation Area. The lookout is located on the banks of the widest pool of water in Big Lake. I tried to envision the view during the peak migration in January and February, with over 200,000 waterfowl.

Visitation in the refuge is only allowed during daylight hours. However, the adjacent 12,000-acre Big Lake Wildlife Management Area offers primitive camping. We backtracked to the visitor center to follow another gravel road that separated the refuge from the WMA to reach the shores of Mallard Lake.

As we paused the vehicle to peer across the 300-acre lake for a stunning view of the setting sun, a great blue heron leapt from its perch on a cypress tree branch to gracefully glide mere inches above the water's surface.

Dalene captured this magical patch of paradise in a single word, "Yeah."

Big Lake Wilderness Area has no roads or trails. A non-motorized boat is the lone means to enter. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Bob Robinson)

DAY 2

To experience the area's wildness, you must be in a boat. I mean that literally, because the Big Lake Wilderness Area has no roads or trails. A non-motorized boat is the lone means to enter.

We returned to an inviting pool of water we had seen on our previous day's tour to launch our canoe. Casually paddling across the open water, we encountered what initially appeared to be an impenetrable wall of cypress trees. Poking our boat's nose through a small opening, then rocking the boat from side to side, we squeezed through to venture into a wild kingdom, the Big Lake Wilderness Area.

With no marked trail to follow, our plan was like naturalist Aldo Leopold's when he floated the Colorado River Delta in 1915: "We were free to wander."

Dalene turned her head around to give me an impish grin, telling me without saying a word, "It doesn't get any better than this."

A thought occurred to me that we may be experiencing the same natural wildness Native Americans had experienced hundreds of years earlier.

"An area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain," just as Howard Zahniser had stated in the federal Wilderness Act of 1964.

Bob Robinson is a born-and-raised Arkansan. From childhood to the present day, he enjoys all the outdoor activities that make Arkansas the "Natural State." He has authored several bicycle touring books: "Bicycle Guide to the Mississippi River Trail," "Bicycling Guide to Lake Michigan Trail," and "Bicycling Guide to Route 66."