Nature Hike: Crack in the Rock Trail | Lee Creek Reservoir (Van Buren, AR)

Explore the mysterious Crack in the Rock Trail at Lee Creek Reservoir in Van Buren, AR with this immersive 360° VR hiking tour! Walk inside a massive 20-foot sandstone fissure in full virtual reality.

📜 History & Geology of the Trail:
The dramatic landscape of the Crack in the Rock Trail holds millions of years of natural and local history. The massive, gritty rock formations you see throughout the valley are primarily comprised of Atoka sandstone and shale layers. These sedimentary rocks were formed roughly 300 million years ago when this entire region of Arkansas sat at the bottom of a deep, primordial inland ocean. Over immense stretches of time, tectonic forces slowly uplifted the seabed to form the vast Ozark Plateau.

As freshwater streams like Lee Creek continuously carved deep valleys into the plateau, massive blocks of shifting sandstone fractured under incredible stress—ultimately creating the spectacular, vertical rock slot fissure we are standing in today. The surrounding recreation area is also heavily shaped by local history, from 19th-century family homestead lines to the vital civil engineering structures built to manage local water resources for the surrounding communities.