A Walk In The Park | Another beautiful place to visit, and so close to home!

One of my goals for this year has been to discover (or in some cases, rediscover) fun and interesting places to visit right here in our hometown area. We don’t always take time to see things nearby when others might travel long distances to get to our area to see the very things we pass by daily without even stopping.

A couple of years ago my family hiked to Hemmed in Hollow in Newton County only to be met there by another family from Alaska visiting the same spot. It had taken us years to get around to hiking to the waterfall so near to us, when a family that lived so far away made a point of seeing the beautiful wilderness site during their trip to Arkansas.

Although I also enjoy traveling and seeing far away places, I think we are missing out on lots of interesting things if we don’t spend some time seeing the sites in our own backyard. And fortunately, we live in an area that offers a nice variety of sites and activities without having to travel far.

After having such a fun time exploring at Lake Wedington Recreation Area last week, I had to wonder why it took me so long to get around to following my own advice.

Even though I have driven by there many, many times on Highway 16 east of Siloam Springs, I don’t remember stopping even once. But I decided it was time to learn for myself just what could be found there. As usual, when I finally slowed down to look around me, there was much more to see than I expected.

First a little background; the area is named for the 102-acre lake located there. Building of the lake and development of the area started back in the 1930s by men employed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) under the direction of theSoil Conservation Service. Some cabins and other buildings still in use reflect the natural materials and building style commonly used during the WPA era.

During the 1950s, care of the area was passed on to the USDA Forest Service. Time took its toll and 50 years after they were built, many of the WPA cabins needed major repair.

A group of volunteers came together in the early 1990s and formed Friends of Lake Wedington. Their mission was to work with the Forest Service to help restore six of the historic cabins and to also make other improvements to the area. Those cabins can now be rented by guests, and Lake Wedington Recreational Area has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Now the place offers many recreational opportunities. In addition to cabin rental, there is a day-use lodge that can accommodate up to 200 people, as well as a large pavilion located near the lake thatlooks to be a great place for group gatherings. Several individual and group tent campsites are available, and camping trailers are also allowed. Other day-use offerings include picnic areas, swimming, boating, fishing, as well as a large play area for volleyball and other activities. A boat house and fishing pier and also bathrooms and shower facilities are also located on site. A dayuse fee of $5 per vehicle is charged at the entrance gate.

A hiking trail runs along the eastern shoreline of the lake and another seven-mile-long trail across the highway offers hiking and mountain biking.

Although we did not cover the entire shoreline trail during our visit, we enjoyed a nice fall walk in the woods and got as far as the rock gazebo overlook. The pretty views,cool air, hint of fall color in the leaves, and blooming wildflowers all served as additional reminders of how fortunate we are to have places nearby that allow us room to move about and explore nature, especially this time of year. Now that the summer heat is fading, it is a great time to get out and enjoy some of the outdoor activities that our natural state has waiting right at our fingertips.

The Lake Wedington Recreational Area web address is very long so I will just suggest entering its name in the browser search line for more information. It’s easy to find.

Annette Rowe is a freelance writer and a speech/language pathologist at Siloam Springs High School. She may be reached by email at awalkinthepark50 @ yahoo.com.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 10/13/2010