A well-conceived trail network is a priceless asset to residents of Central Arkansas, and the Blue Mountain Natural Area is a shiny new jewel to our recreational crown. Blue Mountain Natural Area is named for Blue Mountain, the westernmost peak of the three mountains that make up the Maumelle Pinnacles chain, which includes Pinnacle Mountain and Rattlesnake Ridge. The natural area is part of a 12,000-acre conservation corridor made up of nearby Rattlesnake Ridge Natural Area, Central Arkansas Water/Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Maumelle Wildlife Management Area, Pinnacle Mountain State Park and The Nature Conservancy's preserves.
The natural area includes a diversity of natural communities, from the globally rare Ouachita Mountain Sandstone Outcrop Barrens community, to smaller sandstone glades and bluffs in a matrix of dry oak and oak-pine woodland. On Sunday, my adventuring partner and I spent an afternoon walking the Tarantula Hawk Trail and Luna Moth Trail. They are fairly new additions to a network that include the Rattlesnake Ridge Complex near Roland.
The Rattlesnake Ridge Natural Area has become a very popular spot in western Pulaski County. It's about a mile west of Pinnacle Mountain State Park, and it contains a maze of multi-use trails for hiking and mountain biking. Rattlesnake Ridge Natural Area is more remote and has a very small parking area, so it does not accommodate the amount of traffic that converges daily on the state park.
It does, however, provide.
