12-15-2018 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 can be fairly challenging after a good rain.
Hiking Statistics: This is a relatively short hike without a lot of elevation change. That being said, you do have to cross Falling Water Creek. In order to take the trail to and from Bailey Falls, you also have to climb down the bluff without a real bluffline break. It was 2.35 miles round trip to Bailey Falls on this route, with a minimum-to-maximum elevation change of only 254 feet. I would rate this a moderate hike. If you don't do the only bushwhack part, which is climb down to the base of the two waterfalls, I would call it an easy hike.
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| Bailey Falls |
I visited Bailey Falls just over a month ago for the first time. Why am I writing an updated blog post so soon? I thought about just updating my previous post, but really, these two hikes are totally different routes with different creek crossings, parking locations, etc. About the only thing they have in common is the end result - ending up at Bailey Falls and Bailey Hollow Unnamed Falls #1. I think to minimize confusion, I'll just post a separate blog post and let the readers decide what works best for them. That last hike here didn't end well, with some camera damage and Boomer being unable to climb the bluff to get to the top of Bailey Falls. You can read all about that one here. After hiking all day along nearby Bailey Cole Creek, I made sure I had time to try this new route to Bailey Falls, this time without Boomer and with a new camera filter.
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| Bailey Hollow upstream of Bailey Falls |
I feel like I need to repeat some clarifying verbiage about the hollows and creeks in this immediate area so you know exactly which hollow this is. Nearby Bailey Cole Creek is a fairly good sized hollow for this area. This hike is to an unnamed hollow with an unnamed creek, but one with a nice waterfall called Bailey Falls. So, to be clear, Bailey Falls is NOT on Bailey Cole Creek or even in the same drainage. I'm calling the hollow with Bailey Falls in it Bailey Hollow (since it has Bailey Falls in it). Hopefully, that won't add even more to the confusion. Both drainages run adjacent to each other, draining into Falling Water Creek about a half mile apart. 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 Bailey Cole was) stuff in the Falling Water Creek area.
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| Parking location |
Getting to today's parking location is easy, it's just a half mile down the road from the one for the other route. 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. You'll pass a sign for the Piney Creek WMA on the right, and there is a sign here that says "Garrison Falling Water Horse Camp" on the left. Go 4.5 miles on Falling Water Road and turn onto the dirt road on the right. It goes down to a campsite along Falling Water Creek that you can't see from the road. The road leading into the campsite is very rough, but it's also very short; I think most vehicles will be OK on it. Park at the campsite. This is midway between Falling Water Falls and the low water bridge downstream. It is about 2.2 miles north of Falling Water Falls.
From the parking location, you can see where the dirt road you were on goes to a horse trail that crosses the creek here. Cross Falling Water Creek and get on the horse trail. I had done that on my first hike today,
and you can read that blog post for a recap of my earlier trials and tribulations. From here, just follow the horse trail. It will lead to a junction, where the horse camp folks have kindly put up signs to point
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| Along the trail above Bailey Hollow |
to Purdy Hollow or to Bailey Falls. Head right, toward Bailey Falls. The trail parallels Falling Water Creek, and today it seemed like it had about as much water. The horse trail slopes up from the junction to the top of the bluff above Bailey Hollow, and there was a good stream of water running down it from the slope, sometimes two or three inches deep on the trail. The trail continues on along the top of the bluff on the north side of Bailey Hollow and soon comes to the top of Falls #1.
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| Bailey Hollow Falls #1 |
The Forest Service maps don't even show the drainage feeding Falls #1 as a seasonal creek, but today it had pretty good flow. Continuing on around to the top of Bailey Falls, I could see that it had what I would call massive flow. If you look at the topo map below, you can see that this hollow extends on quite a way upstream of Bailey Falls and has a good sized drainage area. I had intended to explore a little of that today, but I was simply running out of daylight. I followed the horse trail up to where the main creek forks, then decided to head back to make sure I got out before dark. I went back to Bailey Falls and took some photos and video, then climbed down to the base of the waterfall. I have not found a very good bluffline break, but I know of three not-so-good ones. As always, use your own judgment and if it looks iffy to you, don't do it. On my previous visit, I found a break on the right side of Bailey Falls, as you are facing it, but Boomer couldn't make the jump up to the start of this rather steep break. This time, I looked at the small waterfall to the left of Bailey Falls (as you are facing it, on the side with the horse trail and found a way to climb down the rock outcroppings there to get to the base.
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| Bailey Falls |
After taking some photos at the base of Bailey Falls, I went back downstream to Falls #1 and shot a few there as well. While there, I found another route climbing ledges and rock outcroppings on the right (east) side of the waterfall. From there, I made my way back down the trail and the parking location with an easy half-hour to spare before it got dark. It had been a great day in the outdoors. I spent most of it with cold water sloshing around in my boots, and a good part of the day with wet clothes, letting my body heat dry them out with temperatures in the 40s, but still an awesome day nonetheless. So what are the pros and cons of this route? Well for starters, it's not a bushwhack. There is a fairly good trail the whole way, at least to the top of the waterfalls. On the con side, if you don't bushwhack up the hollow along the creek, you miss some awesome creekside scenery, but it's definitely an easier hike on the trail. The trail is about a mile longer, 2.35 miles vs 1.3 miles to just go straight up the hollow, but even with the added length, it is still much easier and less tiring. Climbing up and down the bluff to get to the base of the waterfalls would be the biggest downside of this route, but I'm terrified of heights and I managed it just fine.
Bailey Falls is a really nice waterfall in a very scenic location, right in the middle of one of the most prolific polyfoss areas in Arkansas. I would venture to say that the Falling Water/Richland area is one of the best areas anywhere for waterfall hunters. So if you want to give it a go, and I highly recommend you do, take a look at both blog posts and pick the one that best suits the time of year and what your capabilities and interests are. Whatever you do, be safe out there and have fun!
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Red - Bailey Falls GPS track (bushwhack route)
Blue - Bailey Falls GPS track (horse trail route)
Orange - Bailey Cole Creek track |
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