Trail Overview

It's called Wildcat for a reason, this road isn't for the faint of hearts. 4low is required in certain sections of this road. Coming from the east side it starts out as an easy gravel road that any regular car could go through but then at mile 1.8, it turns into a 4x4 road only. The road is completely washed out after that until the end of the road. You will find some pretty cool campsites along this route as well which is nice if you are planning on hiking the Wildcat Mountain Trail. I found three campsites to be exact which were pretty spacious. Lots of firewood along this road as well. Please be cautious during the summer months as there are Cottonmouth and Rattlesnakes. Cottonmouth snakes can be found near creeks and rattlesnakes can be found near rocks that are exposed to the sun. Campsites are all dispersed and there are no restrooms anywhere near this area. There are pit toilets at Lake Sylvia.

Photos of Wildcat Mountain 179

Want to see more?
View All Photos

Difficulty

Deep washed-out roads that require high clearance vehicles only. There are creek crossings, steep descents, and climbs. You'll come across boulders, rocks, and steep cliffs.

History

Please follow this link for some interesting facts and information on the Ouachita National Forest: http://npshistory.com/publications/usfs/handbooks/ouachita.pdf

Technical Rating

Ezra Cole

Jun 10, 2026

Open

Mostly Dry trail, a few mud holes, the west side towards the end of the trail is pretty rough and requires high clearance for sure. Needed a spotter for my vehicle but made it through with easier than I expected.

Danny Doyle

May 09, 2026

Open

Ran this in a 2016 vw touareg on 33. Very fun trail, technical for a lvl 2 but whatever. There are a lot of washouts, I wouldn't try with less than a 30 inch tire. Several ppl camping out there.

James Green

Apr 08, 2026

Open

South/West end of trail had a 3-4ft clay mud hole that I could not pass in my WK2, but the trail from the east was unobstructed

Nathan Hill

Apr 03, 2026

Open

My wife and I took my stock 2024 4runner TRD ORP. There were a couple of deep mud puddles. We went east to west. Large sections were rutted. Had to get my wife to spot me, because some were a foot and a half deep. Careful line placement got us through it, but i had to get my wife to spot me. The 4runner didn't have any trouble other than the mudflaps dragging a couple of times.

Philip Krantz

Mar 26, 2026

Open

In a stock ‘89 Ford Bronco (Full Size). Going west to east. Few mud holes and wash outs definitely a good start to my son and I getting into off-roading.

Dayna Hancock

Feb 01, 2026

Open

Nice trail with short section of ruts/washout. Passable with no issues.

Cameron Davis

Jan 04, 2026

Open

Zakaria Bahbaz

Jul 30, 2025

Open

Was a fun trail. Started from the western end, were some deep ruts and had to pick lines correctly to not scrape the bottom of my bone stock 4Runner, but it wasn’t too bad. The latter half of the trail is a well maintained gravel road.

Triipp Nicholson

May 30, 2025

Open

All the rain recently has made this trail way more fun. Not horrible by any means. Made it on 33s Jeep Wrangler

Matt Turner

Mar 19, 2025

Open

My first time off roading and it was a blast. Nothing too challenging for my Bronco, but you definitely need a 4x4 with some clearance. Was thinking the whole time no way my Subaru Outback could handle this. Nothing too bad, just a couple washed out spots with some deepish ruts. Just make sure to take them properly and you'll be fine. Some small puddles but nothing deep, no issues crossing. Didn't see any wildlife unfortunately.

Ryan C

Nov 02, 2024

Open

Southern part of the trail is a challenge for a newer off-roader. Fun trail. A mild lift was definitely useful here. Mudholes you can't bypass have hard bottom. I found this a little more challenging than muse Mt Rd.

David Ward

Oct 05, 2024

Open

David Davidson

Jun 15, 2024

Open

Very fun trail. Not very difficult to me. Lots of larger rocks and mud holes with hard rock bottom. Seems like any 4x4 with decent clearance could do it.

justin boren

Mar 12, 2024

Open

Trail was easy and pretty camping spots by the creek and I would think any normal 4x4 could make this easy. Muse (the trail this attaches to this) was much more difficult we made it fine just. (But had a lot of washes) Stock: TRD Tacoma