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Hiking to Glory Hole Falls in the Ozarks
Now is the time of year that the waterfall hunters seem to be out in full force. So I am continuing on with my recent waterfall theme today. We have a nice variety of waterfalls here in Arkansas. Short to tall, with or without grottos, free-falling or cascading, they are all unique. One of the most unique though, is Glory Hole Falls. It is a stream that has eroded its way through the top of a grotto to form a hole all the way through the stone. The waterfall doesn’t flow over the top of the grotto like most falls – it flows through it. If you are a waterfall hunter in Arkansas, hiking to Glory Hole Falls has to be on your to-do list. Located near the headwaters of the Upper Buffalo in the Big Piney Ranger District, it’s in the middle of the most waterfall dense area of th...
Little Missouri Falls in the Ouachitas
Original article from March 14, 2020 edited/rewritten on November 27,2024. One of my favorite things about hiking is often the drive to get the trailhead. There is often a lot of scenery and cool things to see on those dirt roads out there. Sometimes I enjoy a day of driving backroads through the wilderness with very little hiking at all. On some of those cold, wet Winter days, or days I don’t feel up for a tough hike, it’s a good way to still get out and enjoy nature. One of my favorite spots to do this is near the Albert Pike area with a stop at Little Missouri Falls in the Ouachitas. With miles and miles of backroads in this area, visiting Little Missouri Falls is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many areas to hike and things to see. But for anyone that’s neve...
Hiking the Mt Nebo Rim Trail
The weather in Arkansas has been perfect lately for hiking. There’s been just enough rain to keep most of the waterfalls flowing. But also lots of sunny days for those great vista view hikes. I love a hike that has both. A great one for that – one of my old favorites – is the Mt Nebo Rim Trail. Mt Nebo is a popular Arkansas State Park near Dardanelle in the Arkansas River Valley. They have quite a few different trails to hike or mountain bike. You’ll pass several trailheads as you drive to the top. Most of the State Park’s facilities are at the top of the mountain. This includes the visitor center, swimming pool, campground, and cabins. There are also some nice private homes and cabins up there. The whole park can be seen by car, from Sunrise Point to Sunset P...
Petit Jean State Park – Bear Cave Trail
Welcome to Part Six of the Petit Jean State Park hiking series, Bear Cave Trail. Petit Jean is Arkansas’ first state park. It’s also one of my go-to spots when I want a spur-of-the-moment, close to home day hike. It’s great because there are so many options there. Whether you want waterfalls, vista views, caves, or cool rock formations, Petit Jean has it all. And if caves and cool rock formations are your thing, then Bear Cave Trail is a spot you must check out. It’s not really much of a hike. But it’s such a cool and interesting part of the park that I just couldn’t leave out of this series. Directions Petit Jean State Park is a few miles southwest of Morrilton right off Hwy 154. Or approx 6 miles north of Adona off Hwy 10 to Hwy 324/155 if you’re...
Petit Jean State Park – Boy Scout Trail
Welcome to Part Five of the Petit Jean State Park hiking series, the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Boy Scout Trail. Petit Jean is Arkansas’ first state park. It’s also one of my go-to spots when I want a spur-of-the-moment, close to home day hike. It’s great because there are so many options there. Whether you want waterfalls, vista views, caves, or cool rock formations, Petit Jean has it all. If you missed Part Four, I covered the Cedar Creek Trail and mentioned this section of the Boy Scout Trail a couple of times. So now I’ll cover that a little deeper. I have not hiked the entire trail yet. So for this post I’ll mostly focus on the section around Turtle Rocks, Rock House Cave, and Cedar Creek. Directions Petit Jean State Park is a few miles southwest of Morrilto...
Petit Jean State Park – Cedar Creek Trail
Welcome to Part Four of the Petit Jean State Park hiking series, the Cedar Creek Trail. Petit Jean is Arkansas’ first state park. It’s also one of my go-to spots when I want a spur-of-the-moment, close to home day hike. It’s great because there are so many options there. Whether you want waterfalls, vista views, caves, or cool rock formations, Petit Jean has it all. If you missed Part One, I covered the most popular hike in the park. That would the Cedar Falls Trail, with it’s massive grotto and 90-ft Waterfall. Cedar Creek is what actually creates Cedar Falls. So the trail explores areas above the falls on both sides of the creek. This is a great hike to do if you want to avoid the crowds at the Falls. Or if you’ve done the other trails and want to see someth...
Petit Jean State Park – Canyon Trail
Welcome to Part Three of the Petit Jean State Park hiking series, the Canyon Trail. Petit Jean is Arkansas’ first state park. It’s also one of my go-to spots when I want a spur-of-the-moment, close to home day hike. It’s great because there are so many options there. Whether you want waterfalls, vista views, caves, or cool rock formations, Petit Jean has it all. If you missed Part One, I covered the most popular hike in the park. That would the Cedar Falls Trail, with it’s massive grotto and 90-ft Waterfall. The Canyon Trail starts around the halfway point of the Cedar Falls trail. The first half of it is the exact same trail as the Cedar Falls hike. It is not a trail that I would drive to Petit Jean to do on its own. I mean, if you’re going to make the climb ...
Petit Jean State Park – Seven Hollows Trail
Welcome to Part Two of the Petit Jean State Park hiking series, the Seven Hollows Trail. Petit Jean is Arkansas’ first state park. It’s also one of my go-to spots when I want a spur-of-the-moment, close to home day hike. It’s great because there are so many options there. Whether you want waterfalls, vista views, caves, or cool rock formations, Petit Jean has it all. If you missed Part One, I covered the most popular hike in the park. That would the Cedar Falls Trail, with it’s massive grotto and 90-ft Waterfall. In my opinion, the Seven Hollows trail is just as impressive in it’s own way. There is actually MORE to see. It also has a grotto and waterfall. But in addition to that, you’ll see lots of impressive bluffs, a natural bridge, several caves, and ...
Petit Jean State Park – Cedar Falls Trail
You can’t have an outdoors blog in Arkansas without giving some serious attention to Petit Jean State Park. It is Arkansas’ first state park. It’s also one of my go-to spots when I want a spur-of-the-moment, close to home day hike. It’s great because there are so many options there. Whether you want waterfalls, vista views, caves, or cool rock formations, Petit Jean has it all. And that’s just the hiking part. There is also a lake, car museum, full hookup campgrounds, cabins, restaurant, and Mather Lodge. Trying to fit it all into one post will make for a really long read. So this will be another blog series. Part One – You know it has to be the flagship trail. One of the most popular trails in the state. The ever-popular… Cedar Falls Trail Petit J...
Take a Dip at Falling Water Falls
In my first blog series, Big Piney Forest Waterfall Hikes, I wrote about my first visit to Falling Water Falls. On that visit, I was not prepared for a swim there. But in that story, I vowed to go back to take a dip at Falling Water Falls and do a follow-up post. So here it is. This is actually the third and final part to a series for a group waterfall hike. In case you missed the first two parts, we started the day at Pack Rat Falls near Haw Creek. The second stop of the day took us on a hike to Pam’s Grotto. It was a relatively mild day for July. But after a couple of hikes, we were all hot and tired and ready to cool off. So we made our way back across Hwy 7 to take a dip at Falling Water Falls. As much as the group enjoyed the two hikes, I think everyone was really looking forwar...
Hike to Pam’s Grotto near Haw Creek
This hike to Pam’s Grotto is part 2 of a waterfall group hike series. In case you missed part one, I wrote in that post about how some friends saw my first pics of Falling Water Falls and wanted to do a group hike. So I researched a few spots for us to hike and see some waterfalls. We started the day off with a short hike to Pack Rat Falls at Haw Creek Recreation Area. I had read about Pam’s Grotto and finally figured out where the trail is. It’s actually very close to Haw Creek. So this was a perfect spot to take a large group and not have to drive much between stops. Once we finished up at Pack Rat, we headed back down Hwy 123 to find the trail for Pam’s Grotto. Quick Glance Distance: Approximately 1 mile round-trip Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Parking Coordinates...
Hike to Pack Rat Falls in the Big Piney Forest
In my very first blog post about Haw Creek Falls , I promised to do a follow-up story on a hike to Pack Rat Falls. Well, here it is. After some friends saw my pics of Falling Water Falls, we decided to organize a group hike. So I researched a few spots for us to hike and see some waterfalls. I knew I wanted to return to Haw Creek and find Pack Rat Falls. And I had read great things about Pam’s Grotto, which is very close to Haw Creek. I also knew I had to return to Falling Water Falls – this time prepared to swim. So this was a perfect spot for a day hiking trip with a large group. And just like my very first post, this is another three-part series where I’ll feature each stop of the day. Our first stop of the day was a quick hike to Pack Rat Falls. Quick Glance Distance:...
