Fort Smith National Historic Site, the Trail of Tears
in Arkansas
Fort Smith witnessed life on the edge of Indian Territory, and the park tells its stories through the experiences of soldiers, outlaws, and lawmen. For those on the Trail of Tears, it was the last point of federal land before entering Indian Territory. The site has in-depth exhibits about Indian removal.
A trail leads visitors to the Arkansas River and an overlook on the river—where the Cherokee on the water route passed just before entering Indian Territory (today’s eastern Oklahoma). Take a little time and reflect on the lives of those that passed this way. Site Information Location (301 Parker Avenue, Fort Smith, AR 72901) Safety Considerations More Site Information Fort Smith National Historic Site Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
- States
- Arkansas
- Trail type
- National Historic Site trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Tulsa, OK · 102 mi · ~3.0 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 35.3868°, -94.4306°
About Fort Smith National Historic Site
This trail is inside Fort Smith National Historic Site, a national historic site 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/fort-smith-national-historic-site-trail-of-tears.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/fosm/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 Fort Smith National Historic Site, the Trail of Tears and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
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.