Samantha came along as I checked out a couple spots around Lake Maumelle that looked interesting from Google Earth.
The first was Penny Lane which is just a little past North Shore Landing on Highway 300. It is a gravel road similar to the gravel roads out on the Ouachita Forest. Not too bad but you have to watch the road to be sure and miss occasional huge potholes. Google Earth (GE) shows this road forking into two about 300 yards from the start and the southern branch being Penny Lane but I think that southern fork was wishful thinking. I used GPS to track myself. I found a fork to the left (south) at 34°54’49.5” N and 92°33’59.5” W. I followed it as far as it went which was 34°54’49.5” N and 92°33’59.3” W. That turned out to be about 0.5 mile from the nearest part of the lake. Regrading this location, I think someone would be better to try to walk the utility clear cut south of Penny Lane and walk it. That gets about ¼ mile from the lake in places although I haven’t done it and can’t attest to the terrain yet.
The second spot was on Highway 113 about 1.3 mile north of Highway 10. It is an old decaying road off to the right that leads into the trees and to the lake. There is a place to park on the side of the road but it is not maintained so use your odometer to find it. The coordinates are 35°53’31.5” N and 92°38’49.4” W. This looked promising but you’ll want to wait till winter. It is overgrown and has about a million spider webs crossing the path. Samantha was a good egg about this but let me take the lead. I also came home with chiggers. This trail could be good with a little maintenance. About 0.4 miles in, the trail gets very close to the lake and then appears to continue ESE for another 0.4 miles. We did not go all the way due to mosquitoes and spiders but looks like it would give a good view of the lake.
Species seen or heard:
• Blue Jay
• Carolina Wren
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Red-eyed Vireo
• Carolina Chickadee
• Black Vulture
• Northern Cardinal
• White-eyed Vireo
• American Crow
