This stretch of the Ouachita Trail Section 1 on Winding Stair Mountain (LeFlore County, OK) goes from Horsethief Springs (19.9) to a stream that becomes Wildhorse Creek (13.4), about 5.5 miles to the west.
As an 11-mile out-and-back day hike, it is challenging but doable (for many). Beautiful area with lots of rock formations!
Getting to Horsethief Springs
Horsethief Springs is a point of interest with a picnic area along the Talimena Scenic Drive (Highway 1) on Winding Stair Mountain. Part of this area, including the stone enclosure around the spring, was constructed in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Core.
There are picnic tables here and informational signs about the history of this spot. Apparently, the spring may have been use by outlaws during the Wild West days.
If driving from Poteau, you should take Highway 59 south through Heavener. When you get to Highway 259 (south of Hodgen), turn right (south). After 4 miles, take another right to get onto the Talimena Scenic Drive (Highway 1).
Go right on the Scenic Drive (west). After 4 miles, the Horsethief Springs picnic area will be on your right.
The Hike
Most of my descriptions assume that you start at Horsethief Springs picnic area and then head west. That is the order the photos below are in.
Head down to where the spring enclosure is. There is a nice overlook here. To your right, you’ll see a sign for the spur to the Ouachita Trail.
The .1-mile Horsethief Springs spur (white blazes) is a short rocky trail that heads east for about 200 feet and then goes downhill a short ways where it joins Ouachita Trail (blue blazes). Turn left here to head west toward Wildhorse .
As I frequently note, I am a huge fan of Winding Stair Mountain, and I particularly enjoy this hillside area along the north side. This is a continuation of the Deadman Gap to Wildhorse Creek segment along the north side of the mountain.
The Winding Stair Mountain area is often noted as among the most rocky part of the Ouachita Trail. Much of this hike is quite rocky. It makes the hike more strenuous, but I love the beauty and variety of all the rocks, boulders, and rock formations.
I last did this hike during leaf-on, and there were very few big open vistas on the trail. There are a couple of nice open vistas though such as the Holson Valley Vista around Mile 17 (the prettiest spot on the hike) and one at a rock glacier around Mile 15.
But during leaf-on there are during leaf-on lots of small views through the trees of the Holson Valley area below. Of course, during leaf-on the views are much more expansive.
When I last hiked this segment, I was able to complete the 11-mile hike without having to bushwhack up to the highway, but it was completely dark by the time I reached my car back at Horsethief Springs. (Thank goodness for flashlights!)
If you try to do the 11 miles in one day, pace yourself and start as early as you can.
Elevation Change
This is quite a rocky and strenuous hillside trail with a lot of elevation change. Check out the elevation profile below which covers the entire 11-mile segment between Horsethief Springs and Deadman Gap.
Heading west from Horsethief Springs, this stretch mostly stays between 1,700 and 1,775 feet above sea level. Then it makes a big climb up to around 2,000 feet a little past 2 miles in.
At around 2.5 miles, it starts a big descent to around 1,800 feet elevation about a half-mile later. Then it works its way back up to around 2,000 feet again by 3.5 miles in. As part of this climb, the trail goes by the Holson Valley Vista and the nice Holson Valley Shelter.
With just a few short interruptions, most of the remaining 2 miles is a descent until reaching the Wildhorse Creek branch at around 1,350 feet.
Trail Conditions
When I did my May 18, 2018 hike, the trail was easy to follow, and most of it was not too overgrown although there were some parts with significant overgrowth.
The Ouachita Trail is maintained by volunteers who at best are usually only able to do maintenance once in the fall and once in the spring. The most vegetation growth tends to be in the spring and early summer.
Winter, late fall, and early spring are usually the best hiking times to avoid overgrowth.
Other Things to Note
- The Horsethief Springs Trail is an 11-mile hike which connects the Ouachita Trail to Cedar Lake. The east branch of the trail is at the start of this hike. The west branch is about 1.3 miles to the west.
- On my trail maps below, I have mislabeled Wildhorse Creek as “Cedar Branch”. The spot I labelled “flowing stream” (around 11.2, west of this stretch) is actually Cedar Branch. Don’t expect any flowing water during dry times of the year. But during wet times, Cedar Branch and Wildhorse Creek are both very pretty with significant water.
- Just like most of the Ouachita Trail on Winding Stair Mountain, this section runs parallel to the Talimena Scenic Drive.
- I love the rock glaciers, boulder fields, rock gardens, and other rocky areas!
- My recollection is there have been 1 or 2 small reroutes that were done on this hike around 8 or so years ago to make the trail less steep. The gpx file I tracked with my gps might not reflect those changes.
Final Notes
On my hike, I had AT&T cell signal about 70% of the time.
These photos are from my May 18, 2018 hike.
Photo Gallery
Click below for full-screen photo gallery with these and more pics from my May 18, 2018 hike.
Map
The map and elevation profile below are for the entire segment from Deadman Gap to Horsethief Springs. Wildhorse Creek is in the middle, about 5.5 miles from Horsethief Springs.
So the hike described above is just the eastern half of the trail indicated on the maps below.
Ouachita Trail 01: Wildhorse Creek to Horsethief Springs (13.4 to 19.9) | |
|---|---|
| Location | LeFlore County, Oklahoma |
| Hike Length/Type | About 5.5 miles from Horsethief Springs to Wildhorse Creek. (11 miles for out and back.) Blue blazes. |
| Difficulty | Very strenuous (5 of 5) |
| Other Permitted Usage | Mountain bikes |
| Gpx file by Mike (of entire Deadman Gap to Horsethief Springs) | Link |
| Date Hiked | 5-18-2018 |
| Directions | Google Maps Directions to Horsethief Springs |
| Official Info | (918) 653-2991 (Oklahoma Ranger Dist., Hodgen) USFS Website FoOT Website |