It holds the largest sandstone crevice cave area in the United States and has been designated a National Historic District for its numerous Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) structures. With a nod to Arkansas State Parks 75th anniversary in 2008, I took a little time to experience the cultural and natural history of Devil’s Den State Park.

As luck would have it, we headed down the 1.5-mile Devil’s Den loop trail and ran into Harry Hamish – a park interpreter at Devil’s Den since 1985. Have completed his trail work, he joined our group and shared a little backstory beyond the obvious oak-hickory forest and proliferation of crevice caves.

Built in 1933 by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Tree Army” (also known as the CCC), Devil’s Den is a 2,500-acre park tucked along Lee Creek in the Ozark Mountains in the northwest corner of Arkansas. Standing outside the narrow entrance to the namesake cavern, Harry noted that although it’s one of the most explored caves in the park, few visitors realise that deep within the 550-foot crevice, 800-900 Eastern Pipistrelles (read “bats”) slumber undisturbed.

The sandstone crevice area is a geological oddity in that it was formed by a syncline that doesn’t belong in a plateau area. There are four distinct lines of crevices and more than 60 crevice caves in the area. It’s the perfect habitat for bats and of the three endangered bat species in Arkansas, two (Indiana bats and Ozark big-eared bats) are found in small numbers in Devil’s Den State Park. Harry was instrumental (although he downplays his role) in orchestrating an alarm system to protect the inhabitants of Big Ear Cave. Trespassers are forewarned by a sign explaining the cave, the need for protecting the bats, and the possible fine for ignoring the warning. If they go any further an alarm broadcasts a message to all the park radios: “To the bat cave, Robin.” Okay, Harry was just joking about the wording of that message!

We learned that Icebox Cave is a bit of a misnomer, because even though it feels like the coldest of the cave when you stand beneath the sandstone overhang and the wind chills your skin, it’s actually the warmest cave in the park. Skipping along sandstone paving stones, we glimpsed several of the 16 species of ferns in the park – my favorite being the “walking fern”. Close to Lee Creek, a small pile of lichen-encrusted stones marks the final remnants of a chimney from the Donald Homesite, circa 1837-1840.

Just downhill from the Park Visitor Centre is the native stone dam built by the CCC, as well as a monument (the “Iron Mike” statue) to the men whose work created the park we witnessed today.

If You Go:

Popular hiking trails include the Devil’s Den Trail (1.5 miles, 100 feet elevation change), the Yellow Rock Trail (3 miles, 300 feet elevation change) and the Lee Creek Trail (1 mile, 30 feet elevation trail). In addition, backpackers enjoy the 15-mile loop of the Butterfield Hiking Trail. More information can be found from the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism.