Keefe Falls, Richland Wilderness Area, Arkansas

7/2/2014 - Keefe Falls

GPS Coordinates: (Latitude, Longitude, Elevation)
  Parking:  35.76666,  92.93337,  1146 feet
  Keefe Falls:  35.76548,   92.92607,  1389 feet

Pet Friendly: Yes.  Easy for pets on or off leash.

Motorcycle Friendly: No.  The road is definitely too rough.  Wouldn't take my Harley on it, or any other street bike or cruiser.

GPS files (.gpx format):
  Keefe Falls GPS track

Keefe Falls (78')

After hiking both Pedestal Rocks and King's Bluff trail loops, and hiking down to the bottom of King's Bluff Falls, I'll admit to being a little tired and a lot sweaty.  But we ate a late lunch, hydrated, and felt completely refreshed.  Still soaked in sweat, but hey - I'm old, and it was about 230% humidity.  So we packed up and continued down the road to Keefe Falls.  It was just me and Boomer out today.  Bethany wanted to get flyers out for her 4th of July Giveaway.  See her website to see what she was up to:
Vintage Stars and Stripes

Keefe Falls is one of the many waterfalls in the Falling Water Creek polyfoss area.  There are a bunch of others in this area you can get details on from my March 30 blog entry.  To get there, go north on Hwy 7 to Pelsor (Sand Gap) and turn east on Hwy 16.  Go nine miles on Hwy 16 and turn left (north) on Upper Falling Water Road.  This is the first left after you pass through the little community of Ben Hur.  It has no road sign, but there is a big sign for the Falling Water Horse Camp.  Go down Falling Water Road, bearing left where roads merge from the right.  You will pass Falling Water Falls on the right, then at 5.3 miles go over the low water bridge.  About one mile after the bridge, you pass over a couple of large steel culverts.  That is the creek Keefe Falls feeds.  Keep going around the bend in the road and there is a good parking spot on the left where the road goes down right next to the creek.  This is also a good camp site.

Bluffs along Keefe Falls trail

After parking, hike back down the road in the direction you came from, to where the creek passes under the road.  Don't be alarmed if the creek bed is dry, it usually is.  Today, there was actually pretty good flow in the creek, so I got a little excited about what Keefe Falls would look like.  As you face upstream from the road, look for a trail on the left side of this creek bed.  Leave the road onto this trail and stay on it.  The trail stays close to the creek for a while, then climbs up high above creek level until you get close to Keefe Falls.  This trail is kept in pretty good shape because folks from the horse camp use it to get to the falls.

Keefe Falls (78')

When you get close to the falls, the trail crosses back and forth across the creek bed due to the steepness of the bank on one side or the other.  At this point, you are close to the waterfall and it is just as easy hiking up the creek bed as it is on the trail.  Today, the creek bed actually dried up less than halfway to the falls.  As I said before, don't be alarmed if it is.  Creeks in the Ozarks often 'go underground' and emerge later downstream, even in wet weather.  This trip, there was plenty of flow where it ran into Falling Water Creek, and a decent amount of water flowing over the waterfall, but pretty much dry in between.

At 78 feet high, Keefe Falls is the highest I know of in the Richland Wilderness area.  The hike is actually fairly short and easy.  I would think a lot more folks would come here, especially considering it's proximity to other easy-to-hike-to waterfalls.  I have seen tracks, so I know folks go there on horseback, but in several trips I have never seen another person at this waterfall, or on the trail.  The large grotto the waterfall is in is just beautiful, a nice setting for a tall waterfall.  This is what I call a 'wet weather' waterfall, so it is best seen after a good amount of rain.  That 

Boomer! Base of Keefe Falls in backround

being said, it was great today, even though it was early in July with not that much recent rain.  I guess you can never tell.  I have seen this waterfall with only a small dribble coming over the falls.  I have never seen it dry up completely, but I suspect it does.

This is only about a half mile hike off the road.  My GPS trip meter said 1.2 miles roundtrip, but about 0.2 miles was on the road from the parking location to the trail (see GPS track below).   There is over 200 feet of elevation change, and this is the way I prefer it - do the climbing on the way there, so it's all downhill when you return.  From where the trail leaves the road, Fuzzybutt Falls is just a quarter mile upstream.  You can cross Falling Water Creek and easily hike up to it without needing to move your vehicle.  The Ozark Highlands Trail (dashed line on the GPS track below) also intersects the Keefe Falls trail, so if you hike the OHT this is just a short side trip, and well worth it.

GPS track to Keefe Falls

King's Bluff Falls and Pedestal Rocks, Arkansas Ozarks

7/2/2014 - King's Bluff Falls, King's Bluff and Pedestal Rock Trails

GPS Coordinates: (Latitude, Longitude, Elevation)
  Parking:  35.72376,  93.01567,  1877 feet
  King's Bluff Falls:  35.72480, -93.02510,  1559 feet (at base)

Pet Friendly: Yes.  Easy for dogs on or off leash.  I think they are supposed to be on leash, but I saw no signage to that effect so Boomer was free ranging today.  It should be noted this is a popular hiking location.  If your dog does not play well with strangers, it is best to keep it on leash. 

Motorcycle Friendly: Yes! The parking area is right off Highway 16.  

GPS files:
  King's Bluff Falls track (to base of falls)
  Pedestal Rocks and King's Bluff Trails track

King's Bluff Falls (114')

I had no intention of going hiking today, since I had a couple of things to do for Bethany's new business.  But the rain gauge said we got an inch and a half of rain last night, so that made me think twice about it.  Here it was, July already, and the creeks and streams were starting to shrink up.  If the mountains north of us had received anywhere close to the rainfall we had, this might be the last chance to see some decent waterfalls for a while.  There were a couple of "wet weather" waterfalls I had been intending to go back to after a decent rain; Keefe Falls and King's Bluff Falls.  So, big surprise, I opted for going hiking instead of working on the wife's new business.  I consulted with Boomer (our German Shepard), and he was in.  Bethany chose to stay and work.  Hmmpf.  You can check out her shop's website if you want to see what she would rather do than hike:
Vintage Stars and Stripes
It's probably just me, but painting old furniture just doesn't sound as much fun as a day in the wilderness.

Boomer and I loaded up and set out.  To get there, go north on Hwy 7 to Pelsor (Sand Gap), and turn right (east) on Hwy 16.  Go 5.9 miles and look for the National Forest sign for Pedestal Rocks on the left.  Take the short loop off Hwy 16 to the parking area.  There is plenty of parking and a primitive toilet there.  We had the whole place to ourselves today, which was a little odd.  This is a popular hiking location, and there is generally at least a few vehicles here.

The King's Bluff trail and Pedestal Rock trail are two separate loop trails, both starting out from this trailhead.  My original plan was to just go to the waterfall here, then head on up to Keefe Falls to check it out, so we went over the little rock bridge at the parking area and turned right to go on the King's Bluff trail.  King's Bluff Falls is about halfway around the 1.9 mile loop.  The trail has a lot of switchbacks, but stays pretty much on the level.  

King's Bluff - with the photo Boomer

You come to King's Bluff at about one mile going either way around the loop.  King's Bluff is a giant slab of rock about the size of a football field, with a drop off of well over a hundred feet, then a steep slope of even more.  There is a great view of a large expanse of the Ozarks from here, as you might imagine.  King's Bluff Falls spills over the north edge of this rock bluff; the right side as you look out over the bluff.  When it has water to spill, that is.  This is what I call a wet weather waterfall and is often completely dry.  Today it did, in fact, have some water,  But like most waterfalls, the view from the top is just not that great.  

King's Bluff

While we were there, we did cross over the creek and go along the bluff to the north for quite a way just to see what was there.  There is another small drainage that spills over the bluff, but no breaks in the bluff to get below that I could find.  So we headed back continued on the trail around the loop.  After leaving the huge rock bluff area, the trail goes over another small wet-weather waterfall, then the trail branches.  The marker says King's Bluff trail both ways; you want to go to the right here.  Even if you don't go down to the base of the falls, this trail goes around the edge of the bluff.  If you don't go on this lower trail, you will miss some really cool rock features and views.  

From this trail marker, go down the trail a couple of hundred feet and look for a path going downhill on the right.  This takes you down into the hollow below King's Bluff Falls.  Take this trail all the way down to the creek, then go up the creek to the base of King's Bluff Falls.  When you get to the creek, make sure you turn around and look downstream to get a fix on where that path is so you can find it when coming back out.

King's Bluff Falls (114')

King's Bluff Falls itself is huge, height-wise, at 114 feet high.  Because of it's height, it takes a lot of water to make it look good.  Unfortunately, that happens only during the wetter seasons after a good rain.  This was the first week of July, so I suppose we were lucky to have any flow over it at all.  At any rate, of course I would have preferred more water, but it was still pretty.  And there is something about a big waterfall that just makes the stress leave your body.  You can't help but enjoy it.  So Boomer and I enjoyed it for a while, then headed back up.  

Alternately on the trail down to the base of the falls, where the trail goes down past the break in the bluff, you can follow the base of the bluff down.  This goes down to another small waterfall with a pretty good sized shelter cave next to it.  Boomer and I came back up from the creek level this way to check it out.  Not much water running over this waterfall over the cave, but still pretty cool.  The cave is a good camp site, if you are into backpack camping.  It has plenty of room to set up a tent, and folks have built a fire pit there.

King's Bluff

If all you do is stay on the King's Bluff trail and don't go on down to the base of the falls, I would have to rate this as an easy hike.  It is a couple miles long, but mostly on the level and not a lot of effort to hike.  That being said, going down to the base of the falls is a moderate-to-difficult hike.  This is a fairly rough trail, and once you get to the creek it is a bushwhack up the creek to the base of the falls, albeit not a very long one.  On the way back up out of the hollow to the King's Bluff trail, it is about a 300 foot elevation change over a relatively short distance.  Just pace yourself coming out and you'll be fine.  

Once back on the trail, we continued on around the King's Bluff loop.  There are some really cool rock features, crevasses, and pedestals, similar to what you see on the Pedestal Rocks trail.  Speaking of which, as you continue on around the loop you come to a sort of 4-way trail crossing.  If you want to go back to the parking area, take a one on the left (north), and the parking location is only a quarter mile or so further.  The other two trails on the right are both ends of the Pedestal Rocks trail.  

King's Bluff

When we started out today, I only intended to visit King's Bluff Falls and then head over to Keefe Falls.  But once we got to the cross trails, it seemed a shame not to go ahead and hike the Pedestal Rocks trail as well.  It goes along the same bluff as the King's Bluff trail, but has many more of the bizarre rock features.  Pedestal Rocks is designated as a 'Special Interest Area'.   It didn't quite make the criteria as a Wilderness Area, but the Special Interest Area designation is given when there are unique features that should be preserved.  In this case, it's the plethora of very unique rock formations.  We went out on the back side of this loop, which goes down the back of the mountain, then loops back along the bluff before heading back to the parking area.  

The Pedestal Rocks trail is not quite as 'on the level' as the King's Bluff trail, and goes down to it's lowest point at the far end of the loop, so you have about a 250 foot elevation change either way you go around the loop.  That's spread out over about a mile of trail, so you don't really

Pedestal Rock

notice it all that much.  Both trails have some very unique rock formations, and both are well worth the hike.  So if you go there, why not get a 'twofer' and do both trails?  

This is an area you could easily spend all day at, and enjoy every minute of it whether there is any water in the waterfalls or not.  The two hiking trail loops are about two miles each, but with all of our side trips we ended up hiking about six miles by the GPS track meter.  Not bad for a start, but we still had the second half of our hiking double header for the day ahead of us, so we ate a late lunch and headed on to Keefe Falls.

GPS track to base of King's Bluff Falls

King's Bluff (upper) and Pedestal Rocks (lower) trail loop GPS tracks

Richland Creek Trail to Twin Falls and Richland Falls, Richland Wilderness area, Arkansas

6/19/2014 - Richland Creek Trail to Twin Falls and Richland Falls

GPS Coordinates:   (Latitude, Longitude, Elevation)
   Parking and Trail Head:  35.79839,  -92.95774,  1040 feet
   Twin Falls:  35.80594,  -92.96412,  1188 feet
   Richland Falls: 35.80075, -92.96010,  1157 feet
   Trail branch to top of Long Devil's Falls: 35.80555, -92.96223

Pet Friendly: Yes.  Easy for pets off leash, doable with pets on leash.  There was one spot on the Richland Creek trail that Boomer had some issues with, but he got over it.

Motorcycle Friendly: No.  The dirt road is definitely too rough and too long.  Wouldn't take my cruiser on it.

Links to GPS track files (.gpx format)
  Richland Campground to Twin Falls 
  Twin Falls to Richland Falls (high route)
  Richland Falls to Richland Campground 

Update: A blog post with what I consider an "optimal" route to visit all the waterfalls of this area can be seen here.

Richland Falls

Out of all the beautiful waterfalls in Arkansas, Twin Falls is my favorite.  So you would think I would have taken about every route to get there by now. Oddly enough, the one that most folks think is the only way to get there is the one I had not yet traveled.  Not all the way, anyway.  Bethany and I hiked the Richland Creek trail once, all the way down to where you need to cross Richland Creek.  It was way below freezing on that day, down in the single digits.  It didn't look like we could cross the creek without getting wet, so we decided it was better to just turn back than to risk hypothermia two miles from our vehicle.  So earlier this week, I decided to carve out Thursday to go do that hike in warm weather.

As it turned out, an old friend, Dennis Ward, that I had not heard from for years, had asked about going along on one of our adventures, so I invited him on this one.  As soon as Boomer (our German Shepard) saw me loading hiking gear into the Explorer, he climbed in and refused to leave, making sure we wouldn't leave him behind.  Not that I would even consider that.  I guess he just doesn't want to take any chances.  

So, just how many routes are there to my favorite waterfall?  Five that I know of:
  1. Hiking down from Hill Cemetery or Iceledo Gap
  2. Hiking from Sandstone Castle right down the spur between Long Devil's Fork and Big Devil's Fork
  3. Hiking directly from FR-1205 south of Dickey Junction along the mountain ridge south of Devon's Falls
  4. Hiking from FR-1205 north of the Richland Campground, bushwhacking due west across the drainage.  I still have not tried this route recommended to me by Anthony Clark, but the long bushwhack will have to wait for winter now.
  5.  Hiking down the south side of Richland Creek, aka the Richland Creek Trail.  This was our objective today!

Richland Falls - Center

To get there, go to the Richland Campground.  If you are not familiar with it, from Hwy 7 turn east on Hwy 16.  Go 9.8 miles on Hwy 16, then turn left.  This is Upper Falling Water Road, and merges into Falling Water Road.  Go 9.2 miles from Hwy 16 and turn left into the campground; there is a blue road sign here that says "Campground Road".  Along Falling Water Road you will pass Falling Water Falls, the low water bridge, and many other nearby waterfalls.  Don't be distracted - this is a fairly long hike and you need to get started with this one.  You can always stop at the others on the way back if you have the time and energy.  

Twin Falls

Go all the way to the back of the campground and park.  At the Y, bear to the left; the short dirt road to the right goes down by Richland Creek.  Today, there was only one family camping, and I have never seen it more than half full, so you probably won't have an issue with finding a spot to park.  We had actually gotten off to a fairly early start, so instead of packing lunch with us, we ate half of it before we left and saved the rest for when we returned.  From the back of the campground, go straight back and down the bluff to Falling Water Creek.  Cross Falling Water Creek - there is a spot a few yards back from the juncture with Richland Creek where someone has stacked stepping stones across it.  Depending on creek level, you may want to take the hiking boots off and wade across to be safe.  

Rock Cairn at Richland Creek Crossing

Once you cross Falling Water Creek, you will be heading upstream on the south side of Richland Creek.  The real trick to getting on the Richland Creek Trail is (of course) knowing where it is.  If you take the trail right next to the creek, you will be sorely disappointed and will need to turn around after an appropriate amount of cursing.  Instead, look upstream right between Richland Creek and Falling Water Creek where they merge.  You will see a rock-strewn spur rising up between the two creeks.  Go right up the spine of that spur, climbing up the rocks, and when you get up the bluff you will see the trail right in front of you.  

The Richland Creek Trail starts out fairly smooth and on the level.  If you look at the elevation changes to determine how hard a hike will be, don't be misled by the 140 foot elevation change for this hike.  Although very do-able by even novice hikers, this is a rough trail with a lot of ups and downs, and climbing on and around rocks.  Dennis had just walked 11 miles the day before, but this kind of trail packs a lot more exercise in just the five or six miles round trip.  It's also one of the most scenic trails in the state, running right next to Richland Creek, a beautiful and unspoiled classic Ozark mountain stream.  

There is one spot on the trail where it squeezes down to a ledge along a cliff about 15 feet above the creek level.  Boomer had a little problem here - he is a very smart dog and did not trust this situation at all.  I could not convince him that he could do it safely, so we backed up a few yards to where we could get down to the creek level and scrambled upstream on the rocks next to the creek.  Just a few yards after the ledge, we were able to get back up on the trail.  On the return trip, I called Boomer a big sissy and shamed him into going over the ledge.  He didn't like it, but he did it anyway.

Twin Falls - with Boomer and Dennis

When we got to where Devil's Fork runs into Richland Creek, it was dry!!  Despite all the rain we had received recently just a few miles south, this did not look good at all.  But I had never heard of Twin Falls ever going completely dry, so we went ahead and crossed Richland Creek at that time and went upstream to check it out.  Knowing that we would be crossing a couple of creeks, I packed a pair of waterproof sandals that I could put on to protect my feet while I kept my boots dry.  This worked much better than my Crocs, which tended to slip on the wet rocks.

Big Devil's Fork Falls

Going upstream on Devil's Fork, we found there was, in fact, water flowing in the creek.  It had just all gone underground before reaching Richland Creek.  Proceeding upstream to Twin Falls, we found both falls to be at pretty low flow.  That was somewhat disappointing but the falls were still beautiful and well worth the trip.  Heck, for that matter, the trip itself is worth the trip and spots like Twin Falls are a bonus.  We rested and let Boomer swim in the pool for a while, then packed up and headed for Richland Falls.  I also packed up the beverage can and candy wrapper some idiot left behind.  Whoever left it must be a special kind of stupid and morally bankrupt to leave trash at a place like this.

There are a couple of ways to get from Twin Falls to Richland Falls.  One is along the creek, then upstream along Richland Creek.  The route I prefer I call the "high route', and have GPS coordinates above for the trail branch.  This route branches off the trail along the Devil's Fork Creek and slopes up the bluff to a trail that will go right to the top of Long Devil's Fork Falls, or left to Richland Falls, which is where we headed.  The high route trail does rise a couple hundred feet above the creek, but is in my opinion a much better trail.

Richland Falls - Left

Arriving at Richland Falls, it also was not nearly at it's peak flow.  But, again, it was still beautiful.  This waterfall looks spectacular when water is flowing across the entire breadth of the creek, but even at lower flows has a couple of sections that are nice of their own accord.  We did a little exploring, going across the creek and following a trail about a half mile upstream.  There is a nice campsite there, but not much else, and when we ran out of trail we turned back.  I'm just not a big fan of bushwhacking in the summer time with heavy undergrowth.

Crossing back over the creek to get back on our going home trail, the "low route" trail, we proceeded on down stream.  Just before the juncture with Devil's Fork, we crossed the creek to get back on the south side and back on the Richland Creek Trail.  Someone had entirely too much time on their hands and made the most elaborate rock cairn to mark the spot that I have ever seen.  Or maybe they were camped at the nice campsite just up the trail above the creek and drank a little too much.  At any rate, it's hard to miss.  

Rock Cairn at Creek Crossing

From this cairn, the trail goes straight back from the creek, past a couple of camp sites, and then on downstream and back to Richland Campground.  On the way back, we met a couple heading upstream.  They had spent all day on the other (north) side of the creek before giving up and crossing back to the south side and finding the trail.  I have heard from others that have done the same thing, thinking they can avoid the creek crossings by just following the north side of the creek.  Don't do that - it's a nightmare of steep rock scrambles and undergrowth.  

All in all, it was a great day of hiking.  We ended up hiking a little over seven miles altogether, but it was a rough seven miles.  By the time we got back to the Explorer, we were both beat and my shirt was still soaked in sweat after the hour-long drive back home.  It was good having Dennis along for company and catching up on old times.  And of course, Boomer had his normal good time hiking, swimming, and trying to keep an eye on us.  But even he was tired when we got back.  He climbed back in the car and was pretty much passed out the rest of the day.  Can't wait to get out and do it again.

Longpool Falls, Arkansas Ozarks

6/12/2014 -  Longpool Falls

GPS Coordinates:  (Latitude,  Longitude,  Elevation)
  Parking Location:  35.54979,  -93.16147,  514 feet
  Lower Unnamed Falls:  35.54975,  -93.15269,  558 feet
  Longpool Falls:  35.54930, -93.15216, 620 feet

Pet Friendly: Yes, dogs on or off leash should be fine. This is a campground, so if your dog is not well behaved around strangers, please keep it on a leash.

Motorcycle Friendly: Yes.  It is paved road all the way to the parking lot, so your street bike or cruiser will be OK.  In fact, the road to Longpool was recently resurfaced and is a pothole free paved road, at least for now.

Longpool Falls

The Longpool recreation area has been one of our family favorites since we moved here 23 years ago.  For one thing, it's just a stone's throw from us, less than 15 miles from our front porch.  For another, it's a beautiful area.  It is right on the Big Piney Creek, where the creek makes a big bend and has a long pool (see how we name things here?) of relatively deeper water that is great for swimming.  I can't tell you how many years and how many visits we made to Longpool without even knowing there were waterfalls nearby.  Or how many people we talked to that had hiked out to it and thought the smaller, lower, falls was "the" waterfall, turned around, and hiked back without ever knowing of the bigger waterfall just a short distance upstream.  Boomer and I set out today to see how it looked after the rains the previous few days.

To get there, go on Hwy 7 to the Hwy 164 west junction about four miles north of Dover.  Turn west on Hwy 164 and go 3.5 miles to Longpool Road, and turn right (north).  At this point, this road is actually OLD Hwy 7, but is commonly referred to as Longpool Road.  The Moore Outdoors canoe rental should be on your right at this intersection.  Go down Longpool Road for five miles and it runs right into the Longpool recreation area.   At about 2.7 miles from Hwy 164, you need to bear left and stay on the paved road where OLD Hwy 7 branches off to the right.

When you get to Longpool, stop at the entrance and put three bucks in one of the envelopes, keeping the flap for your car dashboard.  This is one of the only areas we go to that even has a day use fee, and this one seems to be an honor system thing.   Then go straight ahead toward Piney Creek and park in the big parking area.  There is a real restroom there, and a couple of pavilions that can be reserved if you want to plan some kind of group get together there.  

After parking, hike around the A-B campground loop.  Midway between campsites 9 and 14 is the trailhead to the waterfall.  Make sure you get the right one; closer to Piney Creek another trail takes off that goes down by the creek itself.  Don't do that.  Shortly after getting on the trail, there should be a metal water tank on the ground to your left; that's how you will know you have the right trail.  The trail then goes uphill and crests high above Piney Creek, then goes down toward the creek our waterfall is on.  

Trail at it's peak above Piney Creek

After passing the water tank, the trail actually broadens a little and looks like it had been used as an ATV trail at some time in the past.  Another ATV trail merges in from the right - there is a small network of trails like this behind the camping areas at Longpool.  

Lower Longpool Falls

When you get to the creek bed at the bottom of the hill, turn upstream and there is a nice little waterfall, about eight feet high.  As I mentioned earlier, a lot of folks think this is Longpool Falls and look no further.  You have to scramble on the rocks to get above this lower waterfall, and go upstream to get to the larger one.  It is not far at all, less than a couple hundred feet from the lower falls, but is very well hidden.  

Longpool Falls (44')

Longpool Falls is in a relatively small box canyon, flowing over the bluff and falling 44 feet onto a huge jumble of loose rocks.  Today, unfortunately, it wasn't flowing as much as I had expected.  This is often a fairly powerful waterfall, and I thought with the recent rains it would really be going strong today.  It is always nice, but particularly unimpressive today.  This seemed weird given how wet it was, but I have come to understand that the hydrology of the Ozarks is very complex and unpredictable.  

Alternate Trail Through Campsite 16

Heading back, we did a little exploring and took the ATV trail to the left above the water tank.  This goes behind some camp sites, then if you turn right at the next intersection, it comes out at the parking spot for campsite #16.  From the campground loop, the total hike is only a mile round trip.  The trail does rise from the campground before heading down into Longpool Falls creek, but the total elevation rise is still well less than 200 feet.  This is an easy, short hike and is recommended for anyone.  You never know what kind of flow the waterfall will have, but it is going to be a pleasant hike no matter what you find at the other end.  

Cedar Falls, Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas

6/11/2014 Cedar Falls

GPS coordinates:  (Latitude,  Longitude,  Elevation)
  Parking location: 35.11733, -92.93817,  869 feet
  Cedar Falls:  35.12148,  92.93410,  675 feet
  Blue Hole:  35.11580,  92.95896, 428 feet

Pet friendly: Yes.  Easy, well marked trail.  There is a sign at the trailhead that says all pets must be on a leash.  Boomer hypnotized me and convinced me I saw nothing and he should be off leash.  He was fine.  The only other dog we saw on the trail was also off leash.  You can expect to see other hikers on this trail, however.  If your dog doesn't play well with strangers, keep it on a leash.

Motorcycle friendly: Yes.  As a bonus, Highway 154 is a great riding road with lots of twisties.  Park in the parking area for Mather Lodge at Petit Jean State Park.

Cedar Falls (95')

Cedar Falls has to be the most photographed waterfall in Arkansas.  Located in Petit Jean State Park, there are lots of other trails and attractions nearby to draw in lots of visitors.  Since it is a fairly easy hike, with an easy to get to trailhead, there is a lot of visitors.  

Today we had the first clear day after four days of heavy rain, so Boomer (our German Shepard) and I were ready to go chase some waterfalls.  It was opening day for my wife Bethany's new business, so she opted out.  But our daughter Heather wanted to go hike the Cedar Falls trail, so off we went.

Cedar Falls - from overlook

Getting there is easy.  Take Hwy 7 to Centerville, then turn east on Hwy 154 for 15.1 miles to Mather Lodge.  Or, from Morrilton, take Hwy 9 to Oppelo and turn west on Hwy 154 for 12.9 miles to Mather Lodge.  Park in the par
king lot at the lodge and walk around the lodge to the trailhead.  Just east of the lodge is a short road to scenic overlook on the bluff high above Cedar Falls.  Either before or after hiking the Cedar Falls trail, this is a must-see stop to get this completely different perspective of the waterfall.

Waterfall near top of trail

Starting down the from the trailhead, the trail immediately starts the descent down into Cedar Creek's canyon.  The trail was built by the CCC back in the 1930's, but it has held up to the constant traffic well.  It zig-zags down the canyon wall so that there really is not any real steep areas.  At one of the early 'zigs', there is a nice series of waterfalls on the on a feeder creek off to the left of the trail.  If there is plenty of water, as there was today, this is well worth the stop.  Besides, when you climb back up the canyon on the way out, this is a great excuse for stopping and resting.  

There is a warning sign at the start of the trail with words to the effect that this trail can be strenuous on the climb back up.  Don't let that deter you from going, as it is somewhat overstated, at least in my opinion.  The whole elevation change from trailhead to the waterfall is only about 200 feet.  I see lots of children on the trail, some very young, and they seem to manage the hike back out just fine.  

Cedar Creek Bridge

We proceeded down the trail to the creek level.  On the way, there is a side trail to Bear Cave.  There are many other trails all over Petit Jean state park, and you could spend a few days here doing nothing but hiking in this beautiful park.  The Bear Cave trail is only an additional half mile each way. 

At the bottom of the canyon, there is a metal one-lane bridge over Cedar Creek.  On the other side, turn right to go upstream and to the base of Cedar Falls.  It is about a half mile down to the creek, then another half mile from the bridge to the falls.  Cedar Falls is a spectacular 95 foot waterfall, especially awesome when there is a lot of water flow as there was today.  From the end of the trail, you can climb up and around the rocks on the north side of the creek to get to the base of the waterfall.

We relaxed at the waterfall for a while, just soaking up the natural beauty of the place.  As we headed back downstream, we paused at some cascades we had passed on the way in.  This little side creek falls steeply down the north canyon wall, making a series of waterfalls and cascades as it tumbles down.  At least when it's wet like this, anyway.  In the dryer months this creek will be dry, but it was really pretty today.  

Cascades between bridge and Cedar Falls

We decided to hike down to the Blue Hole area, and additional one mile each way from where this trail branches off at the bridge.  The trail follows Cedar Creek downstream to where it intersects another trail they call the Boy Scout Trail.  I'm still not sure exactly what the Blue Hole is, but I think they are just referring to the pool at that point in Cedar Creek.  So the 'Blue Hole' may not be much to look at, but the hike is still nice, going right next to the creek.  Today there were several areas with rapids and cascades going strong.

Cedar Falls - with Heather and Boomer

All in all, a great day of hiking and a great day to catch the falls at their best and most powerful.  Most of the venues we hike in are fairly isolated, and we rarely ever see another human being while out hiking.  The Cedar Falls trail is definitely not like that.  Even though it was a weekday, there were a lot of other folks on the trail.  This is a must see trail if you do any hiking in Arkansas, and obviously a lot of folks have read that memo.  While I do like some solitude while out in the wilderness, this is also good.  The kind of people that get out and hike in areas like this are going to be some of the nicest people you will ever meet.

Bear Skull Falls and Slot Rock, Arkansas Ozarks

6/8/2014 -  Bear Skull Falls, Slot Rock

GPS Coordinates:  (Latitude, Longitude, Elevation)
  Parking Location:  35.66608,  -93.34695,  1499 ft.
  Upper Bear Skull Falls:  35.66965,  -93.36212, 1203 ft.
  Bear Skull Falls:  35.66987,  -93.36220,  1173 ft.
  Slot Rock:  35.67600,  -93.36318,  985 ft.

Pet Friendly: Yes, this area should not be a problem for dogs on or off leash.

Motorcycle Friendly: No.  It is almost five miles of road.  While the road is fairly well maintained, there are still too many rocks and potholes to take a street bike or heavy cruiser on.  

Bear Skull Falls (22')

We had a real gully washer at our house north of Dover yesterday and today looked like the only time for a few days that would NOT be raining.  There was only a 40% chance of rain today, so Boomer (our German Shepard) and I decided to head up to the Bear Skull Falls area.  My wife Bethany is starting up a new business, so was a little too busy to be joining us today.

To get there, I checked out the directions in the waterfall chaser's bible, Tim Ernst's Arkansas Waterfalls.  Tim's directions looked like a little more dirt road

Parking Location

than I wanted to run on, so I mapped out a different driving approach.  Usually when I do that, I end up getting into trouble.  This time, it worked out pretty well.  Take Highway 123 north of Hagerville (junction of Hwy 123 and Hwy 164) for 9.2 miles and turn left (north) onto Johnson County road CR-5550.  Follow CR-5550 for 3.3 miles, then bear right onto CR-5671.  Stay on CR-5671 for 1.5 miles and park on the left.  There is a parking spot where you can pull off the road just a few yards south of where the Ozark Highlands Trail (OHT) crosses the road.  In the photo above, the OHT is just before the bend in the road.

Heading west on the Ozark Highlands Trail (OHT) from CR-5671, the first part of the hike is mostly on the level as the OHT winds around the hillside, then goes downhill into the drainage where Bear Skull Falls is at.  At about 0.92 miles on the GPS trip meter, we passed mile marker 95 of the OHT.  The Ozark Highlands Trail is, in my humble opinion, a national treasure.  It is a very well planned and constructed hiking trail running hundreds of miles through the heart of some of the best hiking country in the world.  This particular section of the OHT appeared as if it had not seen a lot of traffic lately.  The trail was still great, but you could tell the 'Arkansas jungle' was encroaching on it.

Upper Bear Skull Falls

Continuing on the OHT down into the drainage, at 1.42 miles we came to a nice unnamed waterfall above Bear Skull Falls.  I'll refer to it as Upper Bear Skull Falls.  The OHT goes very close to this waterfall and Bear Skull Falls itself.  If you continue on down the trail another 20 yards, there is a trail going back toward the base of the falls.  There is a blue trail blaze tag on a tree next to this side trail.  There was not a lot of water flowing over the falls today, but it was still very pretty in the grotto at the base of this waterfall.  Boomer had a good swim in the pool at the bottom of Upper Bear Skull Falls, then we continued on down the OHT.

Photo Boomer and Bear Skull Falls (22')

Bear Skull Falls was just downstream, at about 1.5 miles on the trip meter.  As with it's sister waterfall upstream, it is very close to the OHT and you can see the top of the falls from the trail.  Directly adjacent to the waterfall on the OHT, there is a break in the bluffline that looks like you could descend to the base of the falls at that point.  You probably could, but don't.  There is a much better and safer trail to the base a short distance further, where the OHT goes down through a break in the bluffline and gets close to creek level.  Look back up toward the waterfall at that point and you will see another blue trail blaze on a tree for the path to the base of Bear Skull Falls.  This is another beautiful waterfall grotto, but again there was not as much flow over the falls as I had hoped for.   

The creek downstream of Bear Skull Falls was dry.  In fact, all the water coming over the falls hit the rocks below and literally disappeared, all of it going underground instantly.  Continuing on down the OHT, the trail crosses an old road before crossing Lick Creek.  This is where we left the OHT and turned right onto the old road.  The old road follows along the creek, and Slot Rock is only about a quarter mile further after you turn off the OHT.  

Slot Rock (8')

Slot Rock is a different kind of waterfall.  This is where Lick Creek narrows down and goes through a large groove it has cut in the the face of a large boulder, falling about eight feet into an emerald pool below.  The pool is big enough for swimming and I was actually a little surprised not to find anyone here on a warm Saturday afternoon.  If you stay on CR-5550 instead of turning onto CR-5671 to get to our parking location, it goes out to Lick Creek.  That's where county maintenance on the road ends, but a road of sorts continues on upstream alongside the creek.  This is the old road we hiked on to get to slot rock.  It is way too rough for most vehicles, but ATV's and serious 4WD vehicles can make it up to slot rock on the road.  

Lick Creek

The large rocks on both sides of the pool at slot rock were very slick.  Even if you don't intend to go swimming, you need to be very careful here or you will be in the pool.  After slipping a couple of times and being saved by tree branches I grabbed, I ended up hiking up around the rocks.  I still managed to slip on the rocks in the creek downstream of the pool, coming down pretty hard on the rocks there.  I banged up my knee and shin, and went into the water up to my knees.  Uggh.  Worst of all, I had Bethany's Nikon D90 slung on my shoulder and it hit the rocks pretty hard.  The lens cap got swept downstream and I never did find it.  The camera seemed to work OK, but the threaded ring on the lens that filters and such screw onto got scrunched.  Oops. 

After my exercise in clumsiness at Slot Rock, Boomer and I debated the merits of continuing on upstream.  On the one hand, I already had an air splint on my left arm, and now I had a banged up knee and shin.  Also, the water flow in the side creeks where the waterfalls were had just not been all that much, so Sunset Falls and Discovery Falls would probably not be much to write home about.  On the other hand, I'm stubborn and somewhat dense.  Not even Boomer could argue with that, so we hiked on upstream.

To get to Sunset Falls and Discovery Falls, you continue on the old road we had been on.  Where it crosses Lick Creek, you can start bushwhacking up the right side of the creek.  I prefer to stay on the road if Lick Creek can be crossed, and the water level was certainly low enough for that.  So we crossed the creek there, hiked upstream, and where you cross the creek again is where you also start your bushwhack up the side creek that comes in at that point.  Or creek bed, as it was today.  

There was not a drop of water in the creek, but further upstream some surface water reappeared.  Not enough water to convince me to finish the difficult bushwhack up to those falls, however.  It's a steep, rugged, climb and my knee was still bothering me.  Not to mention it was oppressively muggy and hot and we had to hike through wet foliage.  I know - whine, whine, whine.  But it was a three mile uphill hike back to the Explorer and I was already soaked in sweat, so I let Boomer talk me into turning back.  

We stopped at Slot Rock and took a break, then continued on.  That's when I discovered I had not packed an extra water bottle.  Fortunately, there's a lot of water in the Ozarks.  We stopped at Bear Skull Falls again and refilled my water bottle, then headed back to the parking spot.  Good thing we turned back when we did;  not 30 seconds after getting back in the Explorer, it started raining. 

The day didn't go exactly as planned.  I did get banged up, and I did bang up my wife's nice camera.  But even at that, you can't beat a day in the wilderness chasing waterfalls.  I'm putting this one on my list to come back to in winter time after a good rain, when Sunset Falls and Discovery Falls should be running good.  Can't wait to get out and do it again.