H Lake Loop - Based upon a trip description by Cowper Chadbourn
Last Updated April 16, 2006

The "H Lake Loop" is an easy day trip with a length of 3.3 miles, but can be easily adjusted to more or less. Limited or no map skills are required (after you find the put-in!). This “already marked” access point in the White River National National Wildlife Refuge is one that I highly recommend. If you want a quick introduction to what paddling is like in this area, this is a good one. I loved this one because you paddle a loop back to your starting point, but you don’t have to cover the same ground twice unless you want to explore further up one of the “fingers” of the lake. The lake is lined with cypress trees for some great “brown water” scenery, and quite a few of the trees are sporting woodpecker holes, although none looked big enough to be the “Elvis” bird. Typically, paddlers who move quietly will see quite a bit of wildlife. On the last two trips in this area we’ve seen otters, pileated woodpeckers and numerous smaller birds, several bald eagles, deer, raccoons, and of course a few snakes and LOTS of turtles.

The H Lake paddle rates pretty easy for several reasons. The channel is well defined, so you don’t need to worry about getting lost in flooded timber. There is no dragging through the muck over or around logjams. The length is easy, and easily adjusted to add more paddling if desired. The basic loop is 3.3 miles, but you can easily add a few miles by paddling each finger of the lake instead of just the loop portion, or take a shorter trip by not making the full loop. Lastly, there is an improved boat ramp, so you don’t have to figure out how to slide down a muddy bank into the water. On the other hand, if you want a more adventurous trip, you can portage across to the nearby Mud Lakes and / or Mobley Lake. And finally, this trip is not rain dependent – I think most of the trip will be a go any time of year. Under the worst conditions, you might have to drag 50 feet or so if it dries up under the Powerline (see below), but barring that, you shouldn’t even have to get your feet wet unless you want to.

OK, here are some more specifics. Those of you with GPS’s will be able to make direct use of the coordinates, but those of you who don’t have a GPS can still use this information by entering coordinates at one of the sites like topozone or google maps.

Trip Details: H Lake is about 14 miles South of the Visitor’s Center at Saint Charles in the Southern Unit of the NWR. To find this area, head South from St. Charles on Highway 17, then turn East at Ethel, Arkansas. Follow the paved road a few miles until you enter the Wildlife Refuge, where the pavement ends. From here, you can follow the signs to H Lake. Note, some of the roads in small areas in White River NWR are seasonally closed from November 1 until March 1. However, it appears that the H Lake area is not affected by these closures.

Start and finish at the Boat Ramp at N34.17022 W91.10415. Paddle 0.2 miles on a bearing of 100 degrees (that's ~East for those of you who are analog, not digital) to N34.16968 W91.10065, where you enter the SE leg of “H” Lake. Paddle SE into the smaller leg of H Lake, which eventually becomes Long Lake. At about 1.7 miles into your trip (total distance), it will look like you are running out of lake. Continue on, through a tunnel in the underbrush toward what I call the “Powerline Narrows” at N34.15540 W91.09982.

When it opens up into another lake, paddle WNW (or in other words, bear to your right). You will eventually come to Little H Lake. Look for a water exit from this lake on the Eastern shore, at N34.16113 W91.10782, which is about half way down the lake. Paddle into this channel, which after a short distance takes you to the SW leg of H Lake, where you will paddle roughly north to return to the boat ramp and end your trip. Or, if you would like to see a roost hole for a pair of pileateds (and I’m trusting here you will watch from a distance and not disturb them too much!), then before you exit Little H Lake, go north past the exit channel and keep an eye on the Eastern shore. We saw one of a pair of pileateds enter a hole at N34.16480 W91.10910 (about 0.1 miles from the north end of the lake), so I’ve got to believe they’re setting up house there for the Spring mating season. Pileateds may not be rare, but they are still impressive birds and well worth watching. If time permits, stop by the White River visitor center, and let Larry Mallard know you’re in the area, and that you support his efforts to get more trails and access points designated.

White RiverNational Wildlife Refuge - Several decent maps of the NWR and the maze of roads through the area

Big Woods Birding Site - Good maps of the NWR.

Columbus Lake map (pdf) - The H Lake Loop is lower-center