Bailey Falls - bushwhack route, Ozarks near Ben Hur, Arkansas

11-09-2018 Bailey Falls

GPS Coordinates:  (Latitude,  Longitude,  Elevation)
  Parking for Bailey Falls:  35.73473  -92.93368,  1258 ft.
  Bailey Falls:  35.72905,  -92.92902, 1332 ft.
  Bailey UNF #1:  35.72995,  -92.92916,  1332 ft.
  

Pet-Friendly: Dogs off leash should be OK.  This is a bushwhack all the way and you have to cross Falling Water Creek, which will have a lot of flow when there is enough for Bailey Falls to look good.

Hiking Statistics:  This is a short hike without a lot of elevation change.  That being said, you do have to cross Falling Water Creek and will cross the creek in this drainage several times.  It was only 1.3 miles round trip to Bailey Falls, with a minimum-to-maximum elevation change of only 220 feet.  I would rate this an easy to moderate hike.  

GPS files (.gpx format) - See maps at the bottom of this blog post
  Falling Water Creek area waypoints
  Bailey Falls track
  

Links to blog posts for other nearby areas:
  Bailey Falls - horse trail route
  Bailey Cole Creek

  Horsetail, Fuzzybutt, Intersection, and Six Finger Falls

  Keefe Hollow Waterfalls

  Landslide Falls

  Lilly Falls, Hidden Falls, and Ripple Slide Falls

  Devon Falls, Twin Falls, Hamilton Falls, and Richland Falls

  Wild River Hollow

  Terwilliger Falls and Pine Hollow

Baily Falls

The Falling Water Creek area is one of the most prolific polyfoss areas in the world.  As you can see from the links to blog posts in the area, there are about a bazillion of them that I have hiked and made blog posts for.  Some are featured in Tim Ernst's excellent guidebook, Arkansas Waterfalls.  This guidebook is what got me started chasing waterfalls many years ago, and is highly recommended.  Many of the waterfalls in this area are not featured in the guidebook, and it seems like every little drainage has a nice waterfall or two, or sometimes a dozen.  Of course, you drive right by Falling Water Falls on the way to the parking location as well.  There are a couple of hollows north of Falling Water Falls that my friend Dan Frew hiked a few months ago that I have been meaning to hike ever since and finally headed out to today.  Boomer (our German Shepherd) and I got a late start, but finally got going.  We stopped to help a couple of teenagers with a flat tire which delayed us even more but did make me feel better.

Bailey Cole Falls

The first of these hollows is the drainage containing Bailey Cole Creek, a fairly good sized hollow for this area.  The second is an unnamed hollow with an unnamed creek but has a nice waterfall called Bailey Falls.  So, to be clear, Bailey Falls is NOT on Bailey Cole Creek or even in the same drainage.  Both drainages run adjacent to each other, draining into Falling Water Creek.  To make things a little more confusing, there is another Bailey Cole Creek.  The headwaters for the two creeks are less than a mile apart, with one flowing north of Highway 16 into Falling Water Creek and the other flowing south of Highway 16 into the Middle Fork Illinois Bayou.  So, to be clear AGAIN, we are talking only about the Bailey (whoever that was) stuff in the Falling Water Creek area. 

Parking location off Falling Water Road

As it turns out, due to an unfortunate mishap with my camera I only hiked up to Bailey Falls and back.  I'll get back to the rest of these hollows soon.  Getting to the parking location is straightforward.  From Pelsor (Sand Gap), go 9.9 miles east on Highway 16, through the small community of Ben Hur, and turn left (north) on Falling Water Road.  This is the first left after going through Ben Hur, and there is a sign here that says "Garrison Falling Water Horse Camp". Go 4.0 miles on Falling Water Road and park at the campsite on the right, next to Falling Water Creek.  This is midway between Falling Water Falls and the low water bridge downstream.  The drainage containing Bailey Falls flows into the other side of Falling Water Creek just upstream of the campsite.

New Waders!

I crossed Falling Water Creek upstream of the creek junction, and even in the widest spot I could find, it was still fairly fast and too deep to cross without wading.  Today, I was trying out some creek waders that my friend Dan Breedlove had recommended.  They cover the entire leg, have good traction, and are very inexpensive ($14.95 on Amazon).  I had previously used large garbage bags I fondly refer to as "Rick's redneck creek waders", but these are much better and hold up for more than one use.  The creek was knee deep and fast moving, and the new waders worked great.  On the other side, I put them in my pack.  They collapse down and are very compact and light.  

Unnamed Falls #1

Hiking upstream, there is an old trace road that crosses the creek a couple of times but runs mostly on the right side as you face upstream.  I had to cross the creek a handful of times, but overall this bushwhack is pretty easy.  About a mile upstream from the confluence with Falling Water Creek, you come to Falls #1 in a side drainage.  This is where things started going south for me.  I set up and took a shot of Falls #1, then when I moved with the tripod and camera to a different perspective, both boots hit incredibly slick rocks and down I went.  As I fell, the tripod snagged a tree root and the camera came down hard on a rock, right on the ND filter I had on the lens.  The filter was crimped onto the lens threads from being bent on impact, and I couldn't budge it.  Dang.  

Oops

Now my Samsung S8 Active was my only camera, but I was determined to finish hiking this hollow.  Boomer and I hiked to Bailey Falls, only about 150 yards further upstream.  It is a nice waterfall, about 12 feet tall, with a somewhat unique geometry on the main creek in this little hollow.  Today, it was still flowing quite well from the heavy rains more than a week ago.  We hung out at Bailey Falls for a while, doing what I could with a phone camera, then started upstream.  I found a bluffline break that I could climb through easily enough, but there was a jump of about four feet that Boomer just couldn't make.  

Bailey Falls

We probably could have found another way above the bluff downstream a bit, but this was the last straw on what had become a day filled with delays.  I still had to get home in time to get cleaned up and take Bethany out for date night, so I decided to call it a day and come back out another day with a working camera.  Hiking back downstream was easy, and getting the creek waders out and cross Falling Water Creek worked really well again.  Boomer had to swim part of the crossing and got swept downstream a little, but he loves that stuff.  We loaded up in the FJ and headed for home, vowing to come back for another shot at this great little area.

GPS track for Bailey Falls hike

Pam's Grotto, Hwy 123, Car Wash, and Haw Creek Falls, Arkansas Ozarks near Fort Douglas

11-01-2018 Pam's Grotto Falls, Highway 123 Falls, Haw Creek Falls, Car Wash Falls

GPS Coordinates:  (Latitude,  Longitude,  Elevation)
    Pam's Grotto Falls: 35.68330, -93.25539,  1035 ft.
    Parking for Pam's Grotto: 35.67971, -93.25214,  769 ft.
    Highway 123 Falls: 35.61908, -93.29014, 808 ft.
    Parking for Highway 123 Falls:  35.61949, -93.29160, 721 ft.
    Car Wash Falls:  35.70529, -93.25474
    Libsheebum Falls:  35.65430,  -93.28550
    Haw Creek Falls:  35.67782, -93.25520

Pet-Friendly: Dogs off leash should be OK.  If your dog needs to be on a leash, it will work but will get a little tiresome when you are scrambling over rocks as you approach the grotto.

Hiking Statistics:  Highway 123 Falls is about a hundred yards from the highway, so it isn't much of a hike, only about 110 yards, and 87 feet elevation change.  You can drive right up next to Haw Creek Falls, and Car Wash Falls you literally drive right under.  Pam's Grotto is a nice little hike.  By little, I mean only about a half mile each way.  The highest-to-lowest elevation change is only 244 feet.  There is a volunteer trail, and it zig-zags up the bluff so it is not too steep.  Making your way along the base of the bluff is a little more difficult, but still not bad.  I would rate this an easy to moderate hike.  

GPS files (.gpx format) and videos - See maps at the bottom of this blog post
    Dover-Sand Gap area waypoints
    Pam's Grotto Falls GPS track

    Adventures in Dan-Land video for the Pam's Grotto hike (1/23/2019)

Pam's Grotto Falls

Yesterday, we got a lot of rain, about three inches, throughout most of the Arkansas Ozarks.  It was certainly welcome and had all the creeks running well.  We were also at close to the peak of our Fall colors, with all the hardwoods in the Ozarks putting on quite a show.  I had committed to doing a couple of hikes tomorrow in the Little Cow Creek and Middle Cow Creek valleys with a couple of friends, so today I wanted to get out and make sure our access points were still okay, and check on water and road conditions in general.  Today, it was still raining off and on all day, so I didn't want to do any extensive hiking, but Boomer (our German Shepherd) and I managed to get in a hike to Pam's Grotto without getting too wet, and I stopped by several roadside creeks and waterfalls.

Pam's Grotto Falls

Pam's Grotto was the last stop of the day for us, but it is the only real hike of any extent, so I'll discuss it first.  Boomer and I just happened to be driving by Pam's Grotto when we got a little break in the rain. We pulled off in the parking spot to take a look at Haw Creek, which runs right along Highway 123 for several miles.  I have been to Pam's Grotto several times, but couldn't even remember the last time.  It turns out it has been over four years since we visited the waterfall here.  The rain had let up and we had been mostly driving all day so Boomer convinced me we really should get out and hike.  We left the FJ parked, grabbed the pack, and set off across the highway to start our hike.

Parking Across Road From Trailhead

To get to the trailhead, go to Haw Creek Falls Campground on Hwy 123.  From there, go 0.5 miles northeast, and there is a pull-off to a parking spot by Haw Creek (photo at right).  Go across the road and to the right will be a small creek that passes through a culvert under the highway and into Haw Creek.  See the map at the bottom of this post.  This is actually the creek that Pam's Grotto Falls is on.  Go to the right side of the creek, and there will be a trail going up the mountain.  

Trail Head Location

On my first trip to this waterfall, my directions were to "take the trail next to the creek".  There is indeed a path right next to the creek and I jumped on it.  Unfortunately, this is NOT the trail you want.  The trail next to the creek disappears in a short distance.  Today, I knew all that.  And yet, my instincts are to go to the creek that the waterfall is on, and hike upstream, so that's what I did.  Boomer, even though it had been four years since we had been there, was giving me that "this isn't the trail you want" look.  It all came back to me, and we backed out, found the real trail, and started our way up the zig-zag route it follows up the bluff on the right side.  On my first trip here, I followed the creek up to Pam's Grotto Falls, and I can tell you that you definitely do not want to do that.  The trail will take you up the bluff on the climbing part of this hike, making it as easy as possible for you.

The ford over Hurricane Creek today

The trail zig-zags up the mountain to the base of a cliff-like bluff line.  Once you reach this bluff you are about halfway there.  This is different than most Ozark waterfalls in that you get the uphill hiking in at the start and get to go downhill on the way back.  Once at the bluff, go left and follow the base of the bluffline with the cliff on your right for roughly a quarter mile.  There is a short descent to the grotto area, which is a fairly large shelter style cave.  From this side of the grotto, the waterfall is mostly hidden behind a house-sized boulder.  You have to do a little scrambling over rocks to get to the falls; keep sticking to the side of the bluff, with the inside cave wall on your right and you will find a fairly easy way over the rocks along that cave wall.  Once you go between the cave wall and the very large boulder it opens up to a large open area with the waterfall right in the middle, flowing into an emerald pool and down to the creek below.

Pam's Grotto Falls

Although the shelter is fairly large, the creek has eroded the top of the rock down to a "V" that the creek flows out of and into the center of the shelter floor. The creek falls about 37 feet into the pool below.  Boomer and I picked a great day to make this hike.  Pam's Grotto Falls had just the right amount of flow to look it's best, and the Fall colors provided a fantastic backdrop.  I took a bunch of photos, we absorbed the amazing ambiance of the place for a while, then we started our trek back.  While following the base of the bluff going back, I heard the distinct gurgling and rushing of water from inside the rock of the bluff cliff.  There was a depression in the cliff face, and a crack no larger than an inch in the back of it.  I climbed up into the depression and definitely heard the sounds of water back in there somewhere.  I have no idea how much flow is in there, or how big the cave for it is, but somewhere back in the rock is an underground stream.  It was raining again, or I might have looked around for an outlet for the stream.  We made our way back down the trail to the FJ.  

Pam's Grotto Falls

As I mentioned, Pam's Grotto was the only hiking of any extent Boomer and I did today, but we checked out plenty of stuff.  Our first stop today was at Highway 123 Falls.  This one is a very short and easy hike;  in "leaves off" season, you can see the waterfall from Highway 123, hence the name.  The parking area on Highway 123 is next to Little Piney Creek and is a big parking pull-off right between the highway and the creek.  It is nine miles north of Hagerville on Highway 123, or 18.9 miles south of Pelsor/Sand Gap on the same highway. 

Highway 123 Falls

From the parking area, face the highway and you will see a large, rectangular, concrete culvert going under the highway on the right.  This culvert is for the creek feeding Highway 123 Falls.  Go across the highway, and head up the little creek canyon.  There is a path of sorts, and it is pretty easy hiking.  The waterfall is less than a tenth of a mile up the creek canyon, and you can see it soon after you start hiking from the highway.  More often than not, the creek bed is dry close to the highway.  Never fear, though; this creek, like many in the Ozarks, disappears into the rock and goes underground.  It was far from dry near the highway today, but I have seen it actually dry where it flows under the highway and still have decent flow over the waterfall.

Low water bridge over Big Piney Creek

From Highway 123 Falls, we headed up to the Little Cow Creek and Middle Cow Creek areas to check out the parking locations for the hikes we had planned for tomorrow.  The old trace road I used for the upper part of Middle Cow Creek was really sloppy, but the FJ made it just fine.  For Little Cow Creek, I park a short distance off Pine Ridge Road, so that was not an issue.  We kept on going down Pine Ridge Road to the low water bridge over Big Piney Creek.  The bridge was still above water, but it was close.  I made a mental note that the bridge might very well be underwater tomorrow, and we crossed the bridge and continued on down to Car Wash Falls.  To get to this point, from Pelsor (Sand Gap) drive west for 16.0 miles (3.3 miles past Haw Creek Campground), then turn right on FR-1003 (CR-5741) for 5.7 miles, then turn right on FR-1202 (CR-5680), then go another 5.1 miles to the low water bridge.  

Car Wash Falls

You follow CR-5881 with Big Piney Creek on your right and you will pass right under Car Wash Falls.  We stopped and tried to get a little of the mud off the FJ Cruiser at nature's car wash.  It was a lot cleaner for the moment, but that didn't last.  Driving on down CR-5881, we got to the ford across Hurricane Creek.  From here, it is only about a mile and a half across the ford and down CR-5881 to Highway 123.  Today, I was pretty sure the FJ could make it across the ford just fine, but Hurricane Creek was pretty high, and I couldn't see the bottom.  I had all day, so I opted to go out and back the way I came.  I didn't want to get into a situation where I might have to use the winch if I didn't have to.

Libsheebum Falls

Getting back to Highway 123, I turned left and headed north.  We pulled off to scope out Libsheebum Falls, a relatively short but pretty little waterfall just a few yards off the highway.  I didn't name it and don't have any idea what the name means, but I suspect it means nothing.  I got the name from a photo Patrick Caple had posted on Panoramio.  Today, it didn't disappoint.  There may have actually been too much flow.  I think it looks it's best with a little less that the flood level we had today.  We snapped some photos, got back in the FJ and continued down the road to Haw Creek Falls.

Haw Creek Falls

Getting to Haw Creek is easy.  From Hagerville, it is 15 miles north on Highway 123, or 12.9 miles south of Pelsor/Sand Gap on Highway 123.  You can't miss it; there is a large sign on the highway.  After turning into the campground road, you immediately cross Haw Creek.  The road is concrete where the creek flows over it so there is no problem with traction, but it is subject to flash flooding during heavy rains.   Today, it had about four inches of fast-moving water over it, not a problem for us.  The campground is about a third of a mile down this road, which is well maintained by the forest service.  Haw Creek Falls is literally next to the campground.  We had the place all to ourselves today, and Haw Creek Falls was flowing as well as I had ever seen it.

From Haw Creek campground, we turned north up Highway 123 to Pam's Grotto, which we have already discussed.  After hiking up to Pam's Grotto Falls, Boomer and I headed for home.  We didn't get all that much exercise, but we saw some beautiful countryside and had a fun day.  Time to get ready for those big hikes tomorrow.

GPS track for Pam's Grotto Falls