Arkansas Post National Memorial, the Trail of Tears
in Arkansas · centroid 74 mi from Little Rock
It was along this River Route corridor that many Tribal people traveled on their way to Little Rock, then on to Fort Smith, and ultimately arriving at their final destination at Indian Territory. Choctaw Nation People arrived at Arkansas Post in November 26, 1831. Over 2,500 Choctaw camped at Arkansas Post during brutally cold winter conditions and disembarked for Little Rock on December 13, 1831.
Others passed by in January 1832. Another group arrived in late-December 1831 and stayed for six weeks and left on January 22, 1832. Muskogee Creek Nation People passed through Arkansas Post in August 1836.
The Chickasaw Nation stopped at Arkansas Post and disembarked for Little Rock on January 28, 1838. Seminole Nation People passed by Arkansas Post around early May 1836. Still later, they passed by in June 1838, November 1838, mid-December 1838, late-May 1839, mid-April 1841, early-November 1841, late-April 1842, August 1842, and mid-May 1858.
- States
- Arkansas
- Trail type
- National Memorial trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Little Rock, AR · 74 mi · ~2.1 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 34.0166°, -91.3451°
About Arkansas Post National Memorial
This trail is inside Arkansas Post National Memorial, a national memorial managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/arkansas-post-national-memorial-the-trail-of-tears.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/arpo/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Arkansas Post National Memorial, the Trail of Tears and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.