Charlton Trail

I started at CS camp ground and went left, at first wasn’t impressed but once you cross the road it’s a beautiful hike along a river thenup a ‘mountain’, I could see the camp ground and lake from a bench up there, amazing!! A lot more hills than I expected, lots of wild flowers and spring was abloom with red tips and Bradford pear trees. Great hike!

Nice and easy trail. Good for all ages. Looks like Mountain Bikers use it as well. We started at Crystal Springs Campground area and walked to Hickorynut Mountain Road and back. There is a nice stream before the road which was nice to sit by and have a snack. Did not go further than that so can not help with trail from that point on. It is well maintained (no trees down or overgrown) and has plenty of shade. Also several spots look like mining for Quartz or Crystals took place many years back.

Walked with the family on the section from Crystal Springs to Hickorynut Mtn Road. Very nice scenery. Nice clear trail even after a heavy rain the night before.

Nice trail, started at Crystal Springs, walked across a very nice creek with a natural bridge. The last section going into Charlton was not in good shape, a lot of dead trees, watch for falling limbs and the climb down to the park was a very narrow steep washed out trail. over all a good hike with some good views this time of year.

Delayed restart of recording after lunch by about 3/10 mile.

Did not cross another person on this hike.

no dogs allowed in the woods? what's the difference from any other animal that's in the woods. dog haters.

Average trail. Only ones there on a beautiful Saturday afternoon! If you are looking for some distance and elevation, it’s great. One easy creek crossing, four or five down trees in the trail, and overgrowth in some parts. Poison ivy also runs along the trail in some places, but can be avoided. The ending is anticlimactic. Note: THIS IS A FEE SITE for day use. We didn’t really notice this when we pulled in, but the camp ground host was waiting at our car to collect when we got off the hike. I recommend starting at Crystal Springs instead. It was nice to dip our legs in the cool water at the end of the trail.

I enjoyed the trail up the mountain. I was hoping for some better views but it was too heavily treed. I went with my 13 year old. It’s one of my favorite trails in the area. It was a little overgrown in places but not too bad. Also, the tree markings made it easy to follow.

One of my favorites, as we camp occasionally at this NFS campground and I usually try to get a few hikes in while there. I read Pat Clancy's review from a couple months ago, and I'm happy to report that the trail has been nicely cleared of all deadfall / blow down obstacles. The trail is clean and in great shape, especially from Camp Charlton to the Hickorynut Mtn road at the pipe spring. This trail joins the LOVIT trail (Lake Ouachita Vista Trail) at this point and continues to the Crystal Springs Campground. That section does have a few blow downs, but not too many to cause concern. Also, a nice new bike repair station has been installed on the Crystal Springs end beside the old amphiteater / chapel.

Nice hike from the campground for some morning exercise. It does rise thru a set of switchbacks as per the topo but that’s to be expected given the topography of the area. A couple notes- the trail elevation graph starts away from the campground so be aware of that when thinking about the trail. Also we found the trail a bit overgrown ( reasonable given the time of the year) and with a fair bit of blow down that looked older. It was easy to navigate for an agile hiker but could present a problem for someone needing walking poles. One last note. The trail is down a short road from the campground. There’s a “no dogs” sign there but no sign if you approach from the other direction of the road which starts near to the Rec Area entrance.

This was a moderate difficulty for an experienced person, difficult for endurance purposes. Beautiful forest scenery, crossed one small creek. Rather boring as far as trails go.

the climbs on this TRAIL is enough to make it moderate, the map given on this site is kinda incomplete, this trail actually goes all the way to HICKORY RIDGE rd or something like that and connects with the LAKE OUACHITA VISTA TRAIL, could have been good to know for future planning, the CAMPGROUND was closed when I went due to the government shutdown I'm sure, but the CAMPGROUND was in really good shape and plan on making a stop thru there sometime in the summer, the trail was nice and challenging and the forest made for a quite walk in the woods

This was a beautiful, easy trail with an 8 year old. We did it in two hikes, once from the south halfway out and back, and once from the north. There is a beautiful stream halfway in and piped water from a spring. On the south side there is a small dam that they have created a swimming area with.

The beginning of the trail is steep and sheer. I took 6 kids ages 17-9. They all loved the hike even if spots were tough. There are beautiful views, wildlife, and quartz rocks aplenty on the trail. Unfortunately there are parts of the trail that are very overgrown. The trail needs some maintenance.

Gorgeous area for picnics and swimming. Man-made swimming area. No fish that I saw! Little steps and ladder to get in and out. Beach area. Within Charlton Campgrounds in Ouachita National Forest. $3 fee for use, free to campers. Great campground.