Rim Shoals Trail was officially dedicated as a White River Walk-in access in the spring of 2021. Bill Thorne, TU Chapter 698 President, gave opening remarks to commence the dedication. He acknowledged the contributions of the following:
- Gary Flippin- originator and driver of the trail’s formation
- T.L. Lauerman – assist with AG&FC contact and communication
- Jim Dugan- help with legal aspects
- Tom Emerick- acquiring tax map info about this land parcel
- The McClain and Berg families for their donations of the trail property.
- The Graham Trust Foundation- Barbara and Kent Graham for their generous donation of funds to make the trail’s construction possible.
- AG&FC for acquiring the property as a river access
- Jeff Gannon of Affordable Trail Solutions for developing the beautiful trail
- The City of Bull Shoals for their contribution of three picnic tables
- The many volunteers who have worked on the trail
HOW IT HAPPENED
Along the river bank beginning at the Rim Shoals walk-in access and going downstream nearly a mile was unoccupied property that anglers had been casually using to access the river for years.
Gary Flippin, owner of Rim Shoals Resort and a former railroad engineer hated seeing people walk the railroad tracks as they tried to work their way downriver. He has also had to rescue wade fishermen who got too far from a safe river exit when the water rose quickly.
With permission from property owners, Mr. & Mrs. Berg, Gary Flippin took it upon himself to clear a path starting at the creek and stretching downriver parallel to the first island in the river. He posted signs on trees so waders could see the shallow/easy bank accesses. He always referred to it as Menoka’s Trail. The name of one of the Berg’s daughters.
When Gary learned that Hugh McClain owned the river bank down to the power lines, he approached McClain about donating the land to Arkansas Game and Fish, which McClain did in the winter of 2019.
Gary Flippin and TL Lauerman spearheaded efforts to get a trail plan developed, and get the Berg’s to donate their section of the riverbank to AGFC.
Plans submitted by Affordable Trail Solutions to make this a low maintenance, very accessible trail were approved. The cost was $31,000 dollars. Normally this would be an astronomical cost for a chapter project. But we received a $14,000 donation from the Frank Graham Memorial Endowment, used $13,000 of our own funds and commitments from AGFC, and TU Chapter 514 in Fayetteville covered the balance.
Along the river bank beginning at the Rim Shoals walk-in access and going downstream nearly a mile was unoccupied property that anglers had been casually using to access the river for years.
Gary Flippin, owner of Rim Shoals Resort and a former railroad engineer hated seeing people walk the railroad tracks as they tried to work their way downriver. He has also had to rescue wade fishermen who got too far from a safe river exit when the water rose quickly.
With permission from property owners, Mr. & Mrs. Berg, Gary Flippin took it upon himself to clear a path starting at the creek and stretching downriver parallel to the first island in the river. He posted signs on trees so waders could see the shallow/easy bank accesses. He always referred to it as Menoka’s Trail. The name of one of the Berg’s daughters.
When Gary learned that Hugh McClain owned the river bank down to the power lines, he approached McClain about donating the land to Arkansas Game and Fish, which McClain did in the winter of 2019.
Gary Flippin and TL Lauerman spearheaded efforts to get a trail plan developed, and get the Berg’s to donate their section of the riverbank to AGFC.
Plans submitted by Affordable Trail Solutions to make this a low maintenance, very accessible trail were approved. The cost was $31,000 dollars. Normally this would be an astronomical cost for a chapter project. But we received a $14,000 donation from the Frank Graham Memorial Endowment, used $13,000 of our own funds and commitments from AGFC, and TU Chapter 514 in Fayetteville covered the balance.