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.
Adventures in Dan-Land video for the Pam's Grotto hike (1/23/2019)
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| GPS track for Pam's Grotto Falls |
Ok.... I’m a bit confused. If we’re coming from the Pelsor direction, should we be planning these in the opposite order that you have listed? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes, that is correct, sorry for the confusion. Car Wash Falls is north of Hwy 123 on CR-5881, which is the first turn you would get to, just before the bridge over Big Piney Creek. It is a few miles north of Hwy 123. For all the others, parking is just off Hwy 123. Pam's Grotto would be just after the bridge over Big Piney, they Haw Creek Campground just a half mile further southwest on Hwy 123. Highway 123 Falls is several miles further on Hwy 123, you park in a large parking pad where Little Piney Creek comes next to Hwy 123. For more detailed directions on these or any waterfalls, you can enter the name of the waterfall in the search box at the very top left of my blog posts. That should get you a list of other blog posts for that waterfall where I have done a better job of documenting driving directions.
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