Lost Corner is an area I first visited in early 2021 with a hike to Schoolhouse Falls. When researching that one I learned there are a TON of waterfalls in the wilderness around Lost Corner. It’s another one of those places where most of the hikes will show you multiple waterfalls on a single hike. This January, after a good rain, I made my third visit to Lost Corner for a full day of waterfall hikes. The first one of the day was a creekside hike to Brushy Grotto Falls.
For this hike, I teamed up with Gez Rogers, the creator of the Waterfalls in Arkansas map. This is an awesome map that has recently surpassed over 125K views! It’s super helpful, so if you your’e not using it, you should be! Anyway, we had discussed teaming up on a hike for nearly a year. Lost Corner hikes can be a little harder to navigate than other areas, and I’ve had trouble with a couple of them. But Gez is very familiar with this area, so the hikes he had planned here were perfect. The best part is, I got to do something I haven’t done it a while – just walk through the woods. No research, planning, navigating, or thinking. Just hike. And I finally got to meet Gez’s hiking pal, Super Leeds, the waterfall-hunting chocolate Lab.
Quick Glance
Distance: Approximately 3 to 3.5 mile loop
Difficulty: Moderate Bushwhack. Some trail. Some difficult parts
Parking location: 35.560875, -92.774022
Backyard Falls: 35.55779, -92.77555
Beau Bear Falls: 35.55728 -92.77718
Crack in Rock Falls: 35.55698 -92.77939
Brushy Grotto Falls: 35.554420, -92.785580
(Copy/Paste Coordinates into Google Maps search bar)
Link to Gez Rogers’ gpx track file (Gaia GPS): https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/track/bd7ac46502704f259416883362e04856/?layer=GaiaTopoRasterFeet
Directions
From Hector, head north on Hwy 27 to Dare Creek. Immediately after crossing Dare Creek, turn right on White Oak Mountain Rd (Nfm 1301/Co Rd 1). Continue for about 15 miles and take a slight right onto Hatley Mountain Rd. From there, go 5.5 miles, turning right at any fork you see. You’ll see an ATV trail on the right. Park there. The exact coordinates of the parking area are listed above. From Central AR, make your way to Jerusalem and head north on Forestry Rd 32/Jerusalem Rd. Follow for 11 miles and turn right onto White Oak Mountain Rd (Nfm 1301/Co Rd 1). Continue for 2.1 miles and take a slight right onto Hatley Mountain Rd. Then follow the same directions as above. If coming from the North or East, use the map below to find the best route.
What to Expect
The Lost Corner area does not get as many hikers as other hiking areas in the Ozarks. So the trails are not as clean and easy to follow. Most of them start off as an ATV trail that turns into a faint volunteer trail. For some of the waterfalls here, there’s no trail at all. If you’ve ever seen the term “bushwhack” in my articles or elsewhere, all that means is that there’s no trail. The word itself elicits visions of hacking away at jungle vegetation with a machete. But that’s not what it means in hiking terms. It simply means there’s not a clear trail to follow. So don’t let the word “bushwhack” scare you. Some bushwhacks are worse than others. This one is not bad in Winter
The Hike
From our parking area, there are two ways to reach Brushy Grotto. There is an ATV trail that goes down the hill, and wrapping around to the bottom of this drainage. You can take that ATV trail and have a clean, easy hike most of the way. But you’ll only see Brushy Grotto Falls. If you want to see all the waterfalls above Brushy Grotto, you’ll have to bushwhack down into the drainage and along the creek. We wanted to see all the waterfalls. So we immediately bushwhacked straight down the hill into the drainage to begin our creekside hike to Brushy Grotto Falls. After Brushy Grotto, we bushwhacked up the hill to the ATV trail back to the parking area. Going this way, it’s approximately a 3 mile loop.
I would rate the creekside hike to Brushy Grotto Falls as moderate-to-difficult. It is a bushwhack most of the way, but moderate as far as bushwhacks go. There are some briars here and there to get through, but overall, the undergrowth is not bad. Once you make it down the hill to the creek, the hiking gets easier. That said, this is absolutely a hike to do in winter, after a good rain. In the Summer this place will be overgrown and most of the falls will be dry. There is one spot that might be difficult for some at the top of Brushy Grotto Falls. But I show you this in the video below. After Brushy Grotto, it’s about a 300-yard bushwhack up the hill to the ATV trail. That trail continues uphill for at least a half-mile before leveling out.
Unnamed Falls
There are four main waterfalls along this drainage and many small waterfalls and cascades in between. Many of them are probably dry for most of the year. Except for Brushy Grotto, all these waterfalls were previously unnamed. That’s why you won’t find them in a search. If you follow Rick Henry’s blog or others, you might see these listed as Falls #2, Falls #3, Falls #4, etc. But these falls are no longer nameless. Gez gave them names for his Waterfalls in Arkansas map. You’ll see the following three waterfalls in this order along the drainage.
Backyard Falls
That’s right, AR Own Backyard now has a waterfall named after it! Thanks Gez! This is the first big one you’ll see after coming down the hill from the parking area. (We actually passed a smaller one right before it). It’s about a 12-foot waterslide fall that empties into a big pool. It’s not the most spectacular, but if it were, it would already be named. But it’s still pretty cool, so I’ll take it!
Beau Bear Falls
Beau Bear Falls is the second major waterfall you’ll see on this creekside hike to Brushy Grotto Falls. It is about a 10-ft waterfall that stairsteps its way into a small grotto. It was previously unnamed. But Gez saw three bears here last Spring, so that’s where the name came from.
Crack in Rock Falls
The next waterfall along the creek is Crack in Rock Ralls. Strange name, right? Well, you won’t get it when you see it from the top. But when you reach the bottom it will make sense. This is not a tall waterfall, but it’s very unique. It’s a cascade waterfall that empties into a pool. But at the end, there is a rock shelf, almost like a small natural bridge. The waterfall goes both over it AND under it. I haven’t seen another one quite like this.
Brushy Grotto Falls
As we hiked further down the creek it began to carve its way through layers of rock, turning into a slot creek. And as the grade got steeper, it started to cascade down into an incredible slot canyon. This is where the top of Brushy Grotto Falls begins. The slot canyon and slot creek that formed it was possibly the coolest part of the hike. And that’s saying a lot because the bottom of Brushy Grotto Falls is pretty incredible too. It’s a really impressive grotto and waterfall. But the slot canyon at the top is totally worth the creekside bushwack. It’s hard to capture in pictures, so be sure to check out the video below.
Getting from the top down to the bottom is the part that may be difficult for some. Facing downstream, we went up the ridge on the left side. I show you this in the video. Then we hiked along the top of the ridge a good way past the falls to a spot where we could walk down. It’s about a 200-yard bushwack from there down to the creek, where we turned right. We headed back upstream maybe 400 yards through the beautiful canyon to reach Brushy Grotto. Once Super Leeds had swam for about 20 minutes, we finally dragged that boy out of there. We headed back up the hill to the ATV trail to finish it out.
Plan Your Trip
Whew! What a hike! The creekside hike to Brushy Grotto Falls took us around 2.5 to 3 hours. That does not include the long dirt road drive. But the dirt roads are nice and 4WD is not needed. As I mentioned, you’ll want to do this hike in Winter or early Spring before it greens up, and while there’s lots of water. If you do the creekside hike we did, you’ll want to download a map or use GPS. I recommend using Gez’s gpx track that I have linked in the Quick Glance section. That will take you by all the falls I’ve described.
This hike is dog-friendly but not cell signal friendly. We crossed the creek several times, but never had water above the ankles. You’ll want waterproof boots for this hike, and extra socks just in case. I also recommend a hiking pole because you’ll walk over lots of rocks, up and down hills, and over slick spots. They’re great for moving briars aside too. Even though we did this hike in less than 3 hours, I could easily spend most of a day here. So maybe take a hammock and some lunch. Just be prepared to pack out any trash you have and leave no trace. Both routes to Brushy Grotto are good. But this is one case where the easy way is not the best way. Whichever way you go, I hope you enjoy the hike.
Stay tuned for Part Two, where we explore Green Grotto Falls, Hotshot Falls and more. Coming Soon!
