

Please review our Recreational Use Policy before visiting this nature preserve.

Consequently, it's a wild and peaceful spot. The property provides habitat for many native species of plants and animals. The site is unusual in that there is nothing but a narrow gravel road and railroad tracks between it and the Mississippi River. In 2021, an additional tract of 40 acres was added to the property through a purchase by the Conservancy with funding from Wisconsin's Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, the Paul E. The limestone-capped bluff lies 300' above the Mississippi's floodplain and is vegetated with a deciduous forest of oak, maple and basswood. It was designated a State Natural Area by the DNR in 2011. A precipitous ridge, which slopes down to the Mississippi River on the west and into the Chase Creek valley to the east, creates the steep-sided 'spine' that gives the Devil's Backbone its name. It was permanently protected by Mississippi Valley Conservancy in purchases of three separate tracts in 2007, 2010, and the most recent addition in 2021.

Devil's Backbone is a ridge in the Ouachita Mountains approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Greenwood, Arkansas. A steep hike up the face of the bluff will take you to the ridgetop and incredible scenic views of the Mississippi River corridor. The Battle of Devil's Backbone, also known as the Action at Devil’s Backbone, was a military engagement in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. Devil’s Backbone State Natural Area includes 165 acres of diverse Mississippi River blufflands.
