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Lake Ouachita Vista Trail - IMBA Epic

 4.0 (16)
  1. Areas
  2. AR
  3. …West-Central AR
  4. …Ouachita National Forest
  5. Lake Ouachita
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Map Key

38.3 Miles 61.6 Kilometers


Singletrack

3,683' 1,123 m

Ascent

-3,785' -1,154 m

Descent

4%

Avg Grade (2°)

30%

Max Grade (17°)

1,295' 395 m

High

486' 148 m

Low

Shared By Joe Jacobs

Conditions

Minor Issues 3 days ago
Some Mud, Fallen Trees - Hickory Nut to bottom of Bear Mt (HWY926) is all clear except for two trees on east side of Bear Mt History
Getting forecast...

“An IMBA Epic on the south shore of Lake Ouachita. Climbs lead to great views.”

— Joe Jacobs
Driving DirectionsGPX File

Dogs Off-leash

Features -none-

Description

Built over the last 10 or 15 years on both Corps of Engineers and US Forest Service land, the Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT) covers 40 plus miles of shoreline and ridge top tiding. A favorite for both mountain bikers and distance runners alike.

Start at either end or one of several trailheads in the middle. The western end is lower lands with rolling hills between Joplin and Denby. The middle includes tough climbs to the top of Hickory Nut Mountain where riders can take in breathtaking views of Lake Ouachita and the Ouachita Mountains. The eastern section is dominated by a long ridge ride with more beautiful views.

Nearby are the towns of Mount Ida (home of the Womble Trail - IMBA Epic ) to the west and Hot Springs to the east. Various campgrounds and resorts dot the area near the trail giving visitors plenty of options to stay overnight.

FYI - The western section of the trail is in a dry county so byob if you would like an after libation.

Contacts

Land Manager: USFS - Ouachita National Forest Office

Feb 4, 2019: Prescribed burns begin on Ouachita and Ozark-St. Francis National Forests

Feb 4, 2019: Forest Officials to revise Environmental Assessment on quartz proposal

You & This Trail


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Your Check-Ins

Check-Ins

Jun 10, 2018
Tim Donlan
11.5mi
Feb 17, 2018
Will Peterson
38.3mi
Nov 28, 2017
Jim Garland
Nov 5, 2017
Eric Leroy
Rode most of it as an out and back Sat/Sunday. Trail was in good shape, wet & rainy but not muddy at all. Great ride as usual.
Oct 21, 2017
Cameron Bickert
Started on the East trailhead, made it almost to Charlton Trail. 16mi — 6h 30m
Sep 24, 2017
Fadi Slim
Sep 22, 2017
Kevin Martin
8mi
Aug 29, 2017
kevin daniels

Stewarded By

Supported by IMBA EPIC
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  4.0 from 16 votes

#1

in Lake Ouachita

#1663

Overall
  4.0 from 16 votes
5 Star
44%
4 Star
19%
3 Star
31%
2 Star
6%
1 Star
0%
Rankings

#1

in Lake Ouachita

#44

in Arkansas

#1,663

Overall
332 Views Last Month
12,196 Since Apr 24, 2015
Intermediate/Difficult Intermediate/Difficult
0%
0%
63%
19%
13%
6%
Add a Photo

Photos

Views of Lake Ouachita
Views of Lake Ouachita
 5
Cruising along the Lovit
Cruising along the Lovit
 4
LOViT, from Denby Bay Trailhead
LOViT, from Denby Bay Trailhead
 4
Just some of the great scenery along the trail.
Just some of the great scenery along the trail.
 4
Cruising along
Cruising along
 4
View of Lake Ouachita a top of first climb.
View of Lake Ouachita a top of first climb.
 4

3 Comments

Sort by: Oldest
Newest Oldest Popular
Kenny Davis
Mena, AR
Kenny Davis   Mena, AR
Trails in great shape from Denby to Joplin anyway. Mountain Bike Arkansas -mtbark.com Mar 13, 2016
Marcus Troxell
Marcus Troxell  
For folks wanting to shuttle this trail, I recently stayed at Echo Canyon Resort,echocanyonar.com, and highly recommend it. The cabins are located a few miles from the far eastern terminus of the LOVIT, and the trail is just a few hundred yards from the cabins. Best of all, they have a van and a sweet rack that will hold 6 bikes (seriously, check out this rack, northshoreracks.com/photo%2…) and will shuttle you to any TH on the LOVIT (for a fee) and you just ride the trail back to the cabin. I stayed in a 3-BR cabin that was practically brand new. Also Hot Springs was only about a 15 min drive away. Sorry for the infomercial, but the folks at Echo Canyon seem passionate about catering to the MTB crowd, so I want to make sure the word gets out (they even installed bike wash stations at each cabin). As far as the trail itself, well it is indeed Epic. The climbs up Hickory Nut and Bear Mtn are no joke. Lots of flow on the west end, and some white-knuckle downhills on the east end. Jun 2, 2016
Roger Ekstrom
Roger Ekstrom  
Rode from the start on the eastern end going west (for 7mi out and back - total). Some serious climbing but the scenery and long downhills are worth it. The trail was in great shape. Some short sections are single track on old fire road. The rest is single track and great! Some switchbacks and climbing but not technical in terms of drops and boulders in this first 3.5mi eastern end. Jan 2, 2017

Nearby Rides

LOViT, from Denby Bay Trailhead
8.1 mi 13.1 km
Denby Point To Tompkins…
 10
Mount Ida, AR
Views of Lake Ouachita
31.9 mi 51.4 km
Lovit Enduro Course
 1
Mount Ida, AR
One of the many flowing turns.
10.0 mi 16.2 km
Cedar Glades Park Loop
 27
Hot Springs National Park, AR
The Falls.
24.9 mi 40.1 km
Eagle Rock Loop
 1
Mount Ida, AR

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