If you’re looking for a good place to get started on the Delta Heritage Trail, this is the lowest barrier to entry and the most rewarding. It is one of the most accessible starting and end points, plus a spectacular sunrise and the best breakfast biscuit of your life.
This is all about one section of the Delta Heritage Trail, but of course you can always plan your own trip, plus see the amenities on the trail by going to deltaheritagetrail.com. Read below for the details of this amazing route, plus see the Google Map that outlines every step for you at the end.
Sunrise over the cypress trees of Old Town Lake in Lake View
The Ride at a Glance
Start & Finish - Barton Trailhead, Delta Heritage Trail State Park (US 49, Barton)
Total Distance - About 21 miles, or 28 if you go further for the biscuit
Barton to Lake View - About 10.4 miles
Lake View to Gina Gee’s - About 3.4 miles (2.7 on trail, 0.5 on Highway 44)
Surface - Crushed gravel trail, plus a short stretch of highway shoulder
Start Time - About 45 minutes before sunrise
Highlights - Sunrise over Old Town Lake, a biscuit at Gina Gee’s
What to Bring - Front and rear lights. You’ll be riding in the dark for the first stretch, and you’ll want them again on Highway 44.
Section of the trail about one mile away from Lake View
The Route
Start at the Barton Trailhead about 45 minutes before sunrise. Look up the sunrise time the night before. Forty-five minutes gives you time to ride to the lake without rushing.
Ride the Delta Heritage Trail south to the first Lake View trailhead. It's about 10.4 miles. The trail runs under a canopy of trees here, and in the fall the light coming through is something else.
Watch the sunrise over Old Town Lake. The Lake View pier sits right by the trailhead. Grab a spot, watch the sun come up behind the cypress trees, and let the lake do the rest.
Get back on the trail and turn left to keep going south toward Wabash.
Ride about 2.7 miles until the trail meets the highway again, then turn left onto Highway 44.
Ride the highway for about half a mile. Gina Gee's is on the right, in the curve of the road.
Order the biscuit. Then ride back the way you came.
Breakfast
Gina Gee's Countryside Cravings (16796 AR-44) is worth riding an extra few miles. Order a biscuit. I won't oversell it, but I'll say this: it's the best one you'll ever find.
Plan B: Southern Outdoors in Barton. If Gina Gee's isn't open, or if you're more of “reward myself after the ride” kind of person, ride back to Barton and grab breakfast at Southern Outdoors, right by the trailhead where you started. It’s all freshly made and incredibly comforting after a ride.