#hiking
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...
Trail Riding at Mack’s Pines
Today I’m going to break away from my usual topics and write about something a little different. Today’s story is about one of the funnest days I’ve ever had out in the woods. (is “funnest” a word?…is it “most fun”?) That would be the day I went ATV trail riding at Mack’s Pines in the Ozarks. Now, I don’t often write stories involving commercial businesses (free plugs). I should also note this is not a paid or sponsored post. But hey, it’s my blog so I’m allowed to break the rules. Call it Mack’s lucky day. I don’t have my own ATV and had never done this before. I was with a group of buddies on our annual Big Piney – Longpool Camping weekend. A few of the guys brought side-by-sides and 4-wheelers and ...
Hiking to Eden Falls at Lost Valley
December. It’s that time of year when most folks aren’t thinking about getting out for a hike. There’s Christmas shopping to do and parties to attend. And for a lot of people, it’s just too damn cold out there! Or is it? Although I’m really not a cold-weather person, some of my favorite hikes have been in the winter. I learned this years ago while hiking to Eden Falls at Lost Valley. It was 3 days before New Years. I had some time off from work and really needed some nature therapy. But…it was 28 degrees outside! If you know me, you know that I despise Winter. Hate it. I’m a warm-weather person all the way. But I reeeeally needed to get outside. So I layered up, packed water and lunch, and hit the road. The plan: Drive to Ponca and hike whatever I ...
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...
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:...
Hiking to Longpool Falls on Big Piney Creek
Today’s blog post has us hiking to Longpool Falls on Big Piney Creek in the Piney Forest District of the Ozarks. This is a massive Grotto and a really nice waterfall when the water is flowing well. It is a short drive from Russellville, and is a relatively easy hike. I have an annual camping trip with some friends at Longpool Campground. We have done this short hike several times and it’s always great. If you have not been here before, you definitely need to have this one on your list. Directions From I-40, take the Highway 7 exit to Dover. About 10 miles north of Dover turn off Highway 7 on to Highway. From there follow the signs to Long pool Campground. If you get lost, the nice Folks at Moore’s Outdoors Outfitters can help you out. Once you are inside Longpool Ca...
