Blue Mountain Natural Area Opens, Connecting Central Arkansas Trails
Via Arkansas Outside
Summary
The Nature Conservancy and the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission opened Blue Mountain Natural Area to the public in 2023, completing the Maumelle Pinnacles chain of peaks west of Little Rock and adding 7.6 miles of new multi-use trails for hikers, mountain bikers, and trail runners. The property was jointly purchased in 2021 for $5 million from timber company PotlatchDeltic using state and federal conservation funds, filling the final gap in a connected ridge of protected natural lands near Arkansas's capital city.
The trail system includes three routes: the three-mile Luna Moth singletrack loop, the Dhu Drop downhill mountain bike trail, and the 3.5-mile Tarantula Hawk Trail linking to the adjacent Rattlesnake Ridge Natural Area. The opening marked a significant expansion of accessible public wild lands for Little Rock residents and cemented the Maumelle Pinnacles as one of the premier outdoor recreation destinations in central Arkansas.
