• Printable Directions - Marianna, AR to Helena, AR
• Printable Directions - Memphis, TN to Mariana, AR

Download an Arkansas MRT Map. (124 KB pdf). This map is for general orientation purposes only. It indicates the current status of the route, whether completed with signs on the ground, proposed, or still under development. Check back to this page for segment descriptions as they become available.

Proposed segments are being planned and have been assessed as generally rideable. Cyclists should use atlases and other sources to identify road routes.

Segments under development are marked in red and indicate dangerous cycling conditions. Bicyclists should proceed with extreme caution.
The MRT is currently signed on the ground from West Memphis through Mariana to Helena, AR, although no route descriptions are available at this time.

South of Helena, the MRT crosses into Mississippi, where it continues south to Greenville, before crossing the Mississippi once again into Arkansas. The Greenville to Louisiana segment is described in more detail below.

You will leave Downtown Greenville on Broadway, which becomes Reed Road. Turn south on South Main, then west on Highway 454, which is also the Great River Road. This will take you to U. S. Highway 82, a divided 4-lane highway thence across the Highway 82 Bridge into Arkansas. You will enjoy a short, scenic ride along Lake Chicot on Highway 278, and then you will turn south on Highway 65, which will take you into Lake Providence. For the most part Highway 65 has a good riding surface, and you can see ahead for uninterrupted miles!

• Bed and Breakfasts Online -- for lodging and other information about the Helena area
• Arkansas Delta Byways. -- for information on lodging, attractions, and other features of the Arkansas Delta

Sense of Place

The Arkansas section of the Mississippi River Trail traverses "real" Delta country. As you leave Memphis, you find yourself on a vast expanse of flat farmland, protected from the river by large levees in the distance. As you pass south toward the historic town of Helena, you'll cross fields of cotton and, farther south, rice. Not many people outside the region realize Arkansas' prominence as a rice producer, but those fields criss-crossed by small ridges of earth are cultivated rice paddies into which water is fed on a seasonal basis for crop production. Larger ponds along the route are catfish farms-you have to have something to eat along with your rice!

There are not many towns along the MRT route between West Memphis and Helena, and most of the farm buildings are abandoned. The landscape is home to fewer people than it was 50 years ago, as mechanization has enabled landowners to farm bigger acreages with fewer laborers. As you get closer to Helena, though, the land is more densely settled, and the trail passes through a national forest just north of town, a beautiful oasis after a ride across the rich agricultural fields.

ARKANSAS PHOTO GALLERY

Take Note

Designation or identification of the Mississippi River Trail is not a guarantee that the route will be safe for all riders under all conditions. The Mississippi River Trail descriptions are intended at this point for use by experienced long-distance bicyclists. Users ride at their own risk, and understand that they will commonly be sharing the road with motorized vehicular traffic. No liability, expressed or implied, is assumed by Mississippi River Trail Inc. for any result occasioned by use of these descriptive documents.