October 25, 2002

The Delta Heritage Trail State Park was dedicated. The park is being developed in phases along seventy-three miles of abandoned Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way through Phillips, Arkansas, and Desha counties in eastern Arkansas. In early 1991, as part of the “rails-to-trails” provision of the National Trails System Act, which preserves rail corridors by reclaiming land along abandoned railroads for recreational use, the Union Pacific Railroad notified the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism of the potential track abandonment. While the northern and southern ends of the trail are reserved for hiking and biking, there are plans to operate an excursion train along the old rail line in the middle of the trail.