So a couple of weeks ago my wife and I were on a bus from Hot Springs to Hot Springs Village on our way to the company golf tournament. In the middle of what felt like nowhere, we both spotted a really neat campground that appeared to have a creek near it. Fast forward a couple of weeks and we were lost in the same area of nowhere trying to figure out how to find the place again.

I’m going to admit that spotting the place, on a bus, unexpectedly may have heightened my expectation. However, I remembered enough specific things about the area that peaked my interest. Number one: there were campsites, so it’s a place that we can hang out for multiple days. Second, there were several people camping in tents, well, what I mean to say is that there were very few RV campers. I’m not knocking the RV folks, but to me, the majority of campers being in tents makes for a more inviting experience. That’s just my take. Finally, and most importantly of all there was water. Running, gloriously clear water virtually surrounding the location.

So, fast forward a few weeks/months and we are driving around looking for the site. Low and behold, with more luck than anything, we find the campground. After finding a few parking spots we get out and walk around.

Pretty much the defacto standard photograph of the campground

Obviously, my fly fishing bug was itching. I walked the bank to see what might be swimming around and I did actually see quite a few small creek fish. No clue what they were, but I’d guess some sort of bass. I saw a couple of fish that were 6 to 8 inches long, so I think an ultra-light setup would be perfect. Then again this may be the perfect reason to by a 3wt fly rod and tie a couple of dry flies. There was a really nice, gentle flow to the creek and I was excited to plan an adventure.

Also managed to find a hiking trail that was rated at an hour for 0.8 miles. I’m going to guess that it’s really around a 15 – 25 minute out & back, but everyone’s hike is different. If nothing else please take all of this to mean that we found a really cool section of Arkansas to hang out in. You can expect a write-up on Gulpha Gorge Campground in the not-to-distant future, but it’s got to cool off just a little bit!