February 19, 2007
| Reporter | Harmon Chadbourn |
As of 2/18/2007, there no longer appears to be any public access at Hwy 101. Arkansas Game and Fish has constructed a public boat ramp 0.9 miles downstream of Hwy 101; the turn off Hwy 101 is north of the Crooked Creek crossing and well marked. The float from here down to the Ranchette Access boat ramp on the White is a good day float (~9.1 miles total distance). At a level of 14.3 feet on the Yellville gauge, the water was fast and flowing through the willow trees with enough force to create problems for unwary or beginning paddlers. No major hazards such as fences were seen. You may encounter slower water near the end of this trip if the White River is high and backed up into Crooked Creek. There appears to be a major willow jungle just downsteam of the Hwy 101 bridge that will present safety problems for paddlers at some levels.
The “minimum level of 7.0” reported by Wendy appears to be based on readings before January, 2007. USGS data shows gauge “zero point” was reset about that time frame. Minimum level by the new settings is going to be somewhere around 13 feet, but this is a guess only at this point.
Locations are:
Access Ramp below Hwy 101: N36.2360 W92.5360
Ranchette boat ramp on White N36.2038 W92.4780