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 Morrilton right off Hwy 154. Or approx 6 miles north of Adona off Hwy 10 to Hwy 324/155 if you’re coming from the south. Google knows all about this one, so not much direction is needed here. Type the park in your phone map and it will get you there. Once there, stop by the visitor center and pick up a park and trail map.
There are lots of places to access the Boy Scout Trail. But for the section I’m focusing on here, there are two that I would recommend. One would be to start on the Cedar Creek Trail and follow the signs for the Boy Scout Trail. Another way is to drive south from the visitor center, and turn right on Red Bluff Rd. Follow your map to the parking area for Rock House Cave and start there.What to Expect
The Boy Scout Trail is a twelve mile loop that meanders all throughout the park and parts of the outer perimeter. It intersects with every other trail in the park at different points. If you were to do the whole thing, it would take a full day. But you would see some great views of the canyon from the top and the bottom. You would also see Cedar Falls, the Blue Hole, and other parts of the park.
The section I’m covering here can be done in 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on how much you want to explore. I like to start at the Cedar Creek Trail and make a longer hike out of it. But if you just want to see the Turtle Rocks and Rock House Cave, you can park at the Rock House parking area and have an easy 1/8 mile walk to see those.
Turtle Rocks
If you start at the Rock House Cave parking area, this is the first thing you’ll come to. The Turtle Rocks are rock formations that actually look like giant turtle shells. If you haven’t seen them, I highly recommend you check them out. To me, it’s one of the coolest things in Petit Jean State Park. The trail goes right through the middle of them. But the park asks that you not climb on them.
Rock House Cave
At the bottom of the Turtle Rocks area, the trail continues downhill to the Rock House Cave. This is a huge grotto cave that is believed to have been a shelter for Native Americans hundreds of years ago. Ancient pictographs can be found on the ceiling near the back of the cave. This is an archeological site that is protected by state law. It IS a monitored area, so make sure to read the signs about prohibited activities there.
Boy Scout Trail to Cedar Creek
From the Rock House Cave, there is a trail that leads out of it towards the canyon. This is the Boy Scout Trail. It follows along the bluffs overlooking Cedar Falls and Cedar Creek Canyon. This is a really awesome section of the trail with a lot to explore. Several short side trails and split-offs that go in and around giant boulders and rock formations. There are also rock ledges and vantage points to see the canyon and Cedar Falls. BE VERY CAREFUL around these!!! There are no guard rails and it is a long drop straight to the bottom. No photo is worth that fall. So don’t be stupid.
Here is a video of Cedar Falls from this area:
Continuing down the hill on this trail it eventually runs into the Cedar Creek loop. If you cross the bridge, the trail splits off again and heads up the hill to the Cedar Falls Overlook. From there the Boy Scout Trail continues on to Mather Lodge, Bear Cave, Seven Hollows, and Blue Hole. It eventually heads back up the canyon, passing some overlooks on it’s way back to Rock House Cave. That would be the full trail hike. So it’s really up to you to decide where you want to turn around and go back, or do the full loop. As for this section, I would consider it to be easy to moderate. Other parts of the trail may be considered strenuous or difficult.
Plan Your Trip
If you want to hike the entire Boy Scout Trail, plan on it taking a full day and start EARLY. Packing some food would be a good idea, but definitely take plenty of water. Because it is a longer trail, you should check in at the visitor center before you begin. If a 12-mile hike is too much, just know there are plenty of other options for enjoying this trail. Since it connects to every trail in the park, there are lots of different start and finish points you can do. Grab a map and figure out which sections or combinations work for you. There are some large rocks to traverse and a few short but steep climbs. So I recommend good hiking or trail shoes. At a minimum, tennis shoes, or hiking sandals. Cell phone service is spotty throughout the park, but you’re never too far away from a cell signal.
If you bring food for lunch, there are some good picnic spots for that. If you don’t, there is snack food and drinks at the visitor center. There is also a full-service restaurant at Mather Lodge.There are enough things to do in the park to fill a weekend, and plenty of options for spending the night. Definitely call ahead to check availability on the lodge or cabins. Camp sites are almost always available. But during busy times it’s probably a good idea to call ahead to check on those as well
Here are some pics from the Cedar Creek Trail. I hope you like them. If you get a chance to visit, please remember this park gets a lot of visitors. Help take care of it by taking nothing but pictures, and leaving nothing but footprints. Thanks!
