Every year between November and February, you can cruise down to the privately owned lake located east of Heber Springs, and check out some of the most beautiful and elegantly white Trumpeter Swans swirling around the 30 acres of Magness Lake.
Over 200 years ago, after a fierce storm, these elegant species migrated from Canada and found haven in the quiet midwestern rural town of Sugar Loaf, Arkansas, just outside Heber Springs. In 1992 these beautiful snow white Trumpeter swans were spotted in the Magness Lake area. Moreover, each year they seem to increase in number.
The Trumpeter Swans are a large fowl distinguishably noticeable by their all white feathers and black bill maintaining an average wind span of 7′ and height reaching 4′. The make swan is called a cob, while the female swan is known as a pen. The adult Trumpeters mostly live off vegetation like, leaves, seeds, and roots of weeds found in ponds.
Madness Lake is located east of Heber Springs, Arkansas and is known to be the “most Southern of the interior U.S. that the Trumpeter Swans are known to migrate to.
The best time to catch a glimpse of the Trumpeter Swans is in late afternoon, upon their arrival back from roaming for food and feeding. They usually return to the lake by dusk.
Madness Lake is located off the Little Red River east of 110 intersecting with Arkansas 5 and 25 east of Heber Springs. Visitors can get a view of these beautiful swans from a public road just a few miles down on Hays Road.
