Cycling the Delta
Gravel roads and a rail-trail from Helena.
The Delta Heritage Trail starts just outside Helena, Arkansas. The gravel roads of the St. Francis National Forest are close by.
The Delta Heritage Trail
The Delta Heritage Trail is an 85-mile rail-trail from Lexa, just west of Helena, to Arkansas City. All ten segments are open, including the bridges over the White River and the Arkansas River.
The trail crosses the Dale Bumpers National Wildlife Refuge, through old-growth cypress forest. It is good country for birds and wildlife. A black bear is seen now and then.
The surface is crushed gravel, with concrete on the bridges. It is flat the whole way.
The inn is lodging for the north end of the trail. By car it is about 15 minutes to the Barton Visitor Center, 25 minutes to Lexa, half an hour to Lake View and 45 minutes to Elaine.
- Length
- 85 miles
- Ends
- Lexa to Arkansas City
- Surface
- Crushed gravel rail-trail
- From the inn
- Barton 10.5 mi · Lake View 17 mi · Elaine 26 mi
Plan a ride from the inn
deltaheritagetrail.com has a map of the whole trail. Pick two towns and it gives the miles between them and what is at each stop: water, bathrooms, bike repair stations and food. Drew Smith, a friend of the inn, built it.
10.5 miles, about 15 minutes by car
Barton Visitor Center
The closest full trailhead to the inn, on US 49. Parking, bathrooms, water, bike rentals and camping. Open 8 AM to 5 PM every day. Southern Outdoors nearby serves food from 6 AM.
5539 US 49, West Helena. (870) 572-2352
About 21 miles out and back
Barton to Lake View
Leave Barton before sunrise and watch it come up over the cypress at the Old Town Lake pier in Lake View. Gina Gee’s, a short ride on Highway 44, serves biscuits. Bring front and rear lights.
Ride guide by Drew Smith, Delta Magic
Read the ride guideAbout 29 miles out and back
Snow Lake to Yancopin
The two big bridges: almost a mile over the White River and three quarters of a mile over the Arkansas. Between them the trail runs through swamp and forest. Look for the alligator in the pond near mile 9. Spring is best for birds.
Ride guide by Drew Smith, Delta Magic
Read the ride guide17 and 26 miles from the inn
Lake View and Elaine
The Elaine trailhead has bathrooms, water and a bike repair station, and Delta Grill on Main Street. From Lake View it is 8.4 miles on the trail to Elaine; ride one way and back, or have someone meet you.
Lake View Stop & Shop and Gina Gee’s are on Highway 44
studioDRIFT
Kara and Martin Smith founded studioDRIFT in 2020. They are a seventh-generation Delta family. Their work brings outdoor recreation to the Arkansas Delta.
“Building a future starts with connecting to the past. The historic and cultural assets, combined with the natural resources in our communities, tell the story of who we are.”
Martin Smith, co-founder
Their main project is the Crowley's Ridge Gravel Trail. It will link 18 communities and 7 state parks across 250 miles of eastern Arkansas. They have raised more than $1 million to build it.
Mile Zero is their rally-style event based in Helena. It has gravel and road rides, a marathon on the Low Road, guided outings during the spring migration, and live music.
The Arkansas Graveler
The Arkansas Graveler is a multi-day gravel event. The Ozark Foundation produces it with the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.
Each edition covers a different part of Arkansas. The 2025 route crossed the Ouachita Mountains from Mena to Russellville. The Delta Blues Edition was set for October 6 to 10, 2026, in the Delta.
It was planned as five days of gravel roads, Delta music, regional food and community. It trades mountain climbs for the flat farm country of the Delta.
From the door
Routes worth knowing
Helena has gravel, pavement and rides that mix the two.
About 50 miles, from the front door
The high road and the low road, Helena to Marianna
Segment 1 of the Crowley's Ridge Gravel Trail, and the ride we send every gravel rider on. Mile Zero uses it, and it is part of the Birdeye 500. Leave on the levee and take the low road, flat hard-packed gravel, through the St. Francis National Forest to the town square in Marianna. Come back on the high road, paved and hilly, past Storm Creek Lake. Take the 3-mile detour off the low road to the confluence of the St. Francis and the Mississippi.
About half gravel, half pavement. About 1,800 feet of climbing.
Read the route guideAny distance
St. Francis forest roads
More than 20,000 acres of national forest with miles of quiet gravel road. Bear Creek Lake and Storm Creek Lake make good turnaround points and picnic stops. The roads are well kept and carry little traffic.
Gravel forest roads
Up to 85 miles
Delta Heritage Trail
A former rail line from Lexa to Arkansas City, through cypress forest and the Dale Bumpers National Wildlife Refuge. It is flat and open to every rider.
Crushed gravel rail-trail
Read the trail guide
Rides and festivals
Rides that have come to the Delta
These events have brought riders to Helena and the Delta. Each organizer's site has the next date.
studioDRIFT
Mile Zero
A rally-style festival in Helena with gravel and road rides, a marathon, guided outings and live music.
studioDRIFT eventsstudioDRIFT
Birdeye Gravel Festival
A weekend of gravel riding, farm-to-table dinners and house concerts on Crowley's Ridge.
studioDRIFT eventsOzark Foundation
Arkansas Graveler
A multi-day gravel ride that has brought a Delta Blues Edition to the Arkansas Delta.
The Graveler site
A base for the ride
The inn is lodging for the Lexa, Barton, Lake View and Elaine trailheads, all within 45 minutes by car. After the ride you come back to a house, not a chain hotel.
- Breakfast. A homemade breakfast, included, before you ride.
- Bike storage. Secure storage on the covered porch and inside the house.
- Tools. Basic tools, a floor pump, and local route knowledge.
- Rest. Good mattresses, private baths, and a wraparound porch to stretch out on.
More of Helena
The rest of the town.
The blues
King Biscuit Time on KFFA, the Delta Cultural Center and the King Biscuit Blues Festival.
Read about the bluesThe river
Guided canoe trips with John Ruskey's Quapaw Canoe Company, and help for source-to-sea paddlers.
Read about the riverWellness
Delta Yoga Collective classes on Cherry Street, yoga on the porch, and retreats.
Read about wellnessActivities
Birding in the Big Woods, river fishing, the rail-trail and gravel riding.
See all activities
Ten rooms at The Edwardian Inn.
Each one is named for a person tied to Helena.
Real availability, real rates. No booking fees, ever.
Or call the inn at (870) 338-9155