Horse Thief Spring Loop

Ouachita National Forest, Winding Stair Mountain (Cedar Lake, south of Heavener)

The Horse Thief Spring loop climbs from Cedar Lake up the north face of Winding Stair Mountain, follows a short stretch of the Ouachita Trail, and drops back to the lake. The Forest Service says parts of it follow 1920s logging roads and a route horse thieves used in the 1800s, when they kept camps and corrals near the top of the mountain because of a perennial spring.

OuachitaMaps notes that the loop appeared in Backpacker in June 2005, and the magazine described it again in 2013 as a dayhike or overnight.

The hike

OuachitaMaps and The Outbound describe a 12.7-mile counter-clockwise loop from the Cedar Lake trailhead, with about 1,100 feet of elevation gain. The Forest Service gives about 11 miles, rates it “more difficult,” and says the Horsethief Springs Trail is marked with white and yellow rectangles and the Ouachita Trail with blue.

From Cedar Lake, the trail crosses Holson Valley Road at about mile 1.6 and reaches the junction where the loop splits at mile 2.1. OuachitaMaps describes the west side climbing to a saddle near a flat-topped ridge, reaching a forest road junction at mile 4, and following the road about a quarter mile to a divide. From there the trail climbs about 600 feet in a mile to meet the Ouachita Trail on top of Winding Stair.

Heading east on the Ouachita Trail, you reach Horse Thief Spring at about mile 6.4. The Forest Service says Civilian Conservation Corps crews built a stone structure around the spring in the 1930s to hold the water and prevent erosion. The Forest Service lists a picnic ground at the spring, along the Talimena Scenic Drive.

The loop then turns back down the east side, crosses Cedar Creek, and returns 2.1 miles from the junction to Cedar Lake. OuachitaMaps warns that Cedar Creek can be “a tricky wet crossing” after heavy rain but is usually dry from July to mid-October.

Compulsive Hiker, who did the shorter loop from the spring in 2014, wrote that “with one exception nothing made me say ‘wow’,” the exception being a newly signed side route that became a short bushwhack up Snake Mountain to a bluff-top clearing looking south. The Outbound recommends heading west at the loop junction and taking the signed Scenic Route “for beautiful views of the rolling hills.”

OuachitaMaps pairs this loop with the Billy Creek Trail to the east, which climbs about 700 feet to Winding Stair on loops of 11 or 7.2 miles; together the trails make a 26-mile network. For a longer trip on the same mountain, see Talimena State Park to Winding Stair.

Tips

Cache water if it’s been dry. OuachitaMaps suggests leaving a few gallons along Forest Road 6014 near the 1088 benchmark.
Treat all water, including Horse Thief Spring.
Watch the blazes. OuachitaMaps says leaves can hide the tread, and yellow-blazed equestrian trails cross and sometimes share the route.
Go fall through spring. OuachitaMaps calls Oklahoma summers “extremely hot” and warns of black ice on the Talimena Drive in winter.
Wear orange in hunting season.

Camping

The loop is on Ouachita National Forest land, and Backpacker says primitive camping is allowed. The forest’s occupancy order (OA-ONF-09-2026, through June 2028) limits camping to 30 consecutive days at one spot. OuachitaMaps describes level forest with “plenty of room for a tent” about 1.5 miles down the east side from Horse Thief Spring, plus a second ridge site in front of a stand of young pines. For a Friday-night arrival, OuachitaMaps suggests the Cedar Lake campground, calling it “a nice place to car camp.”

Inside Intel: Backpacker (2013) points to an “excellent protected campsite under towering pines” on the descent, and notes that a nearby forest road is washed out, so there’s no motorized traffic. The Outbound also suggests camping about a mile and a half down the east side rather than at the spring.

Trail facts

Distance: About 11 to 12.8 miles, depending on the source
Route type: Loop
Difficulty: More difficult (Forest Service); about 1,100 feet of gain
Campsites: Primitive sites on the east side below Horse Thief Spring; Cedar Lake campground at the trailhead
Water: Horse Thief Spring (year-round, treat); Cedar Creek (often dry July to October); Cedar Lake
Permits: None found
Horses: Not allowed on the Ouachita Trail portion
Trailhead: Cedar Lake Recreation Area, off Holson Valley Road west of US 59/270
Last verified: October 17, 2026

The Lowdown

Under the pines below Horse Thief Spring:

The east-side campsites sit on rocky Winding Stair Mountain, so a pad that smooths out the ground is worth its weight. See the pads testers recommend.

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.