Bailey Falls - low impact route, Falling Water Creek area, Ozarks near Ben Hur, Arkansas

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.

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

Links to blog posts for other nearby areas:
  Bailey Falls (bushwhack 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

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.

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. 

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

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.

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.  

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!

Red - Bailey Falls GPS track (bushwhack route)
Blue - Bailey Falls GPS track (horse trail route)
Orange - Bailey Cole Creek track

Bailey Cole Creek, Falling Water Road area, Ozarks near Ben Hur, Arkansas

12-15-2018 Bailey Cole Creek

GPS Coordinates:  (Latitude,  Longitude,  Elevation)
  Parking Location:  35.74158  -92.93337,  1258 ft.
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #1:  35.73691  -92.92531 
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #2:  35.73690  -92.92516
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #3:  35.73664  -92.92459
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #4:  35.73848  -92.92303
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #5:  35.73868  -92.92486
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #6:  35.74086  -92.91884
  Bailey Cole Creek Falls #7:  35.74076  -92.91837

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 another 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 3.43 miles round trip, with a minimum-to-maximum elevation change of only 271 feet.  I would rate this a moderate bushwhack.  If the creek is as high as it was today you'll be hiking with wet feet, if that adds any difficulty factor for you.

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

Links to blog posts for other nearby areas:

  Bailey Cole Creek (Upper section)
  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

Along Bailey Cole Creek

We got a fair amount of rain over the last couple of days, and I figured I needed to get out someplace new.  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.  I went to one of those, the unnamed hollow containing Bailey Falls, last month.  Unfortunately, I had a little camera disaster and Boomer was unable to climb the rocks to get up through one of the bluffline breaks, so we made it to Bailey Falls but I called it a day after that and went back the way we had come.  Today, I left Boomer at home to supervise Bethany doing all the Christmas decorating.  Our house looks like a veritable Christmas explosion took place.  I love it, but my decorating skills are severely limited, so I helped by getting out of the way.

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

Getting to today's parking location is easy.  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". 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.  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 past Falling Water Falls.  No one was at Falling Water Falls when I went past it, so I stopped for the quick obligatory snapshot.

Along Bailey Cole Creek

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.  That's easier said than done, today.  The recent rains had brought the level up in Falling Water Creek and it was now running almost three feet at the deepest point here.  Of course, it didn't look that deep and figured surely it wouldn't be deeper than the creek waders I had used just a month ago when going to Bailey Falls.  Those waders only go up the crotch, so they were unfortunately just a tad short.  I took on some water in both legs and scurried across as fast as I could.  Not that easy to scurry when wearing waders.  The good news is, for this hike, crossing Falling Water Creek is about the biggest challenge.  

Horse Trail Junction

After getting to the other side, I took the waders off and assessed the damage.  One foot was still remarkably dry, but the other boot was pretty much full of water.  I drained the boot, put a dry sock on my left foot, and stashed the creek waders behind a tree for my return trip back across Falling Water Creek.  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 to Purdy Hollow or to Bailey Falls.  I have never heard of Purdy Hollow, and it doesn't make sense they would call it that when Bailey Cole Creek is the name of the creek running through the hollow.  Although this could be just another thing the map makers have screwed up, which would also explain why there are two "Bailey Cole Creeks" so close to each other.  In any case, we'll hike over to Bailey Falls later.  To get to the Bailey Cole Creek drainage, go toward "Purdy Hollow".

Falls #2

The horse trail runs close to Bailey Cole Creek, and with normal water levels would be a really pleasant hike through a part of the area most folks don't ever see.   Today, the creek was running pretty clear, but fast and deep for what you might expect in a hollow like this.  There are quite a few places the trail crosses the creek.  Since I wanted to explore the whole area, I broke away from the trail anyway and headed up into the first side drainage with decent flow.  Falls #1 and Falls #2 were a little over a quarter mile up this drainage, and above Falls #2 a short distance was Falls #3.  By now, this drainage was getting to the point where any waterfalls I found above wouldn't have much flow anyway, so I moved on and climbed up on the bluff alongside it.

Falls #4

I looked at the topo map on my phone and noted that the next drainage should have a decent amount of water.  Instead of going all the way down this drainage and then up the next one, I opted to just cut across to the upper part of the bluff separating them and hike down the next one.  This drainage had only a couple of small waterfalls I considered photo-worthy, but you just never know what will be in one of these hollows until you check it out.  Getting back to Bailey Cole Creek, I headed on upstream.  This is where I needed to cross the main creek several times, which was a little tricky with the water being so high.  I did the rock-hopping thing as well as I could, trying to keep in water below the top of my boots.  It was, however, much deeper and much faster than it looked.  I ended up slipping on rocks a couple of times and going face down into the creek a couple of times and finally gave up.  One of the advantages of hiking alone is that no one sees you when you act like a complete idiot.  

Falls #7

At any rate, as much as I hate hiking with water sloshing in my boots, I finally accepted that it was going to be a wet feet kind of day and it was much easier after that.  My feet were cold, but at least now I could stick to the horse trail and just wade across where the trail crossed.  At the next side drainage, you could see the beautiful series of cascades that I called Falls #6 from the main creek, and Falls #7 was visible above it, pouring off a bluff into a pool behind a large boulder.  Climbing up along the cascading creek, I noticed that the large boulder had broken off the bluff above and had landed right over a small waterfall.  You could see and hear the waterfall through a gap in the rock.  Above this boulder was Falls #7, a classic Ozarks waterfall spilling off the bluff into a pool before feeding the waterfall under the boulder.

Falls #6

From Falls #6 and #7, I went upstream along the main creek for a way but stopped short of the major fork for Bailey Cole Creek.  The creek was still flowing well at this point, and the Forest Service maps show it as a year-round creek much further up into the drainage.  But it was already mid-afternoon, and I did want to hike the horse trail up to Bailey Falls today.  So at this point, I turned back and followed the horse trail all the way back down to the junction that takes you over to the small hollow containing Bailey Falls.  It was a fairly quick hike since I didn't concern myself with keeping my boots dry.  I'll come back and explore the rest of this hollow.   The lower half of this hollow didn't contain a whole lot of waterfalls, nor any that were particularly notable, but it was a really scenic chunk of wilderness that isn't often seen.  I'll come back and check out the upper part of this hollow.  For now, I was heading over to Bailey Falls via the horse trail.  

Orange - Bailey Cole Creek track
Red - Bailey Hollow track from Falling Water Creek
Blue - Bailey Hollow track from horse trail

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