12/18/15 Featured Arkansas Landscape Photography–Late afternoon on Richland Creek

Late fall afternoon on Richland Creek

Taken with a Canon 1ds MKII, 24-70 Lens, @ 24mm, with a CL-PL and ND 1.2 filter, ISO 100 for 2 seconds foreground and 1/250 background.

What can I say about Richland Creek, it’s one of the rare gems in Arkansas.  The Richland Creek wilderness was established in the 1970’s and has a huge outdoor appeal.  The creek offers fishing, hiking, kayaking and of course photography.  I have been hiking up Richland for the past 25 years and hope I can make a few more trips before my knees give out.  I have probably shed more blood and gear on this creek, having taken several bad falls and breaking at least 4 cameras or lenses over years.  But to me it’s worth it.

Richland is the 3rd or 4th largest tributary of the Buffalo and comes into the Buffalo at Woolum Ford.  It’s headwaters are about 25 miles due west from Woolum.  The best parts of Richland are the 6 miles from Moore to the Richland Creek Campground and the following 10 miles downstream to the low water bridge.  The creek is very isolated and you can expect to cross it several times on your hike upstream.  Going upstream from the campground, look for a trail on the left side of the creek.  Since Richland is in Wilderness, the Forest Service will not make a permanent trail (STUPID), BUT THAT’S THE GOVERNMENT.  You can find the make shift trail on the left bank pretty quickly as most of the time it stays within sight of the creek.  From the campground up to the big bend where Big Devils Creek comes in, you will find over 20 major rapids most of which have a name.

You can hike Richland anytime of the year, but make sure the water level is running about 400 CFS (cubic feet per second) or less.  Anymore than this and you can have a lot of trouble crossing the creek.  Be careful when crossing as the creek bottom is mainly limestone and slick.  The hike from the campground to Richland Falls is about 2.0 miles but plan to spend extra time along the creek.  There are not many other places in Arkansas where such a beautiful creek runs by house sized boulders.

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