On Little Piney Creek, locals clash over access to a beloved local swimming spot

For around two years, now, a beloved swimming hole on the Little Piney Creek near Clarksville has been fenced off from the public by a landowner. But a small group of recreation advocates and locals are doing everything they can to make the creek public again, while navigating a legal system that doesn’t always make it clear who has rights to access waterways.

The Little Piney is a tributary of the better-known Big Piney Creek, a popular recreation stream that flows from the Ozark Mountains into the Arkansas River in the Clarksville area. Stephen Dollar is a longtime resident of Hagarville, a small community north of Clarksville in Johnson County. Growing up, Dollar would always swim and kayak in the Little Piney with friends and family. Now he brews for Point Remove in Morrilton, while s