Exploring Northwest Arkansas

Terry Keefe Falls - Hike

Terry Keefe Falls is a really great waterfall that is a short hike off of Falling Water Road - or as a spur trail off of the Ozark Highlands Trail.

Getting there:

To get there, take the turn on Falling Water Falls Road as described here. 

After turning on Falling Water Falls Road, take the road 5.3 miles to the bridge crossing across Falling Water Creek. Continue on this road for another 1 mile to a spot where a creek comes in from the right and flows under the road. This is about 2.8 miles from the Richland Creek Campgroudn if you're coming from that direction. Park where you can here.

The trail starts off on your right and heads up into the woods. It's a well-worn trail and pretty easy to find (there was also pink tape marking the spot). The trail goes up the hill with the creek to your right. The creek here has a lot of large rocks and water features.  Before you get to the top of the hill, you'll cross the Ozark Highlands Trail. This is at the 141 mile point of the OHT.

Continue straight at the intersection up the hill. The trail is marked with white circles painted on the trees (not to be confused with actual white blazes that mark the OHT).  The trail will go back down the hill and bend to the right, and then back up a hill. As you cross this hill you'll begin to see an amazing bluffline on your left.

The trail will then bend to the left and follow a creek bed and then proceed to cross the creek bed multiple times on the way back to the falls. The creek is mostly dry here, so it's easy crossing.

A little ways up  the dry creekbed and you'll get to a huge rock hollow and Terry Keefe Falls in the middle of this hollow.

Terry Keefe Falls is 78 feet tall and had a nice flow to it while we were there. It's definitely one of the taller falls in the area.

Distance: 1 mile round trip

Difficulty: Easy/moderate

Kids: Yes

Footwear: Trail shoes or tennis shoes would be fine.

Guidebook: Tim Ernst's Arkansas Waterfalls

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Intersection Falls -- near Falling Water Creek

Intersection Falls is a great, tropical-seeming waterfall that is just a short bushwack from Six Finger Falls. It's a short bushwack that is a bit of a challenge to get to, but it has first class scenery the entire way.

Getting There:

Park your car as if you're going to Six Finger Falls.  

Finding Intersection Falls

Once you get down to Six Finger Falls you'll want to travel upstream to  find Intersection Falls. This is probabably about .25 miles upstream.

There is no trail. In the winter, it was easy enough to bushwhack our way upstream along the creek. This was full of thorn bushes, so in warmer weather, having water shoes and go along the edge of the creek. The key here is to the find the easiest and safest way for you to get there given the conditions. It's also important to note that you won't get lost. You follow the creek the entire way, so as long as you're beside the creek, you'll find the falls and be able to find your way back along the creek.

While there is no trail to this area, it is VERY pretty along the creek. You'll find a lot of crisp, clear water, rock formations and swimming holes that just make for first class scenery.

As you get close to the falls, there is a great little cascade area that dumps into a beautiful, clean water area. Be sure to check out the cascade (and note, you can see Intersection Falls behind a tree in the background just left of the top of the cascade in the picture above).

Once past the Cascade area, you can make your way upstream, and get a good look at Intersection Falls. The Falls itself is a 31 foot high falls that tumbles over a ridge and into Falling Water Creek.  After an initial fall, the water then hits the rocks below and fans out giving it a very tropical feel. 

Once you get your fill, check out the views upstream and then you can head back to Six Finger Falls where you parked your car.

Intersection Falls Info:

Distance: .25 miles

Difficulty: Moderate (no trail)

Footwear: Hiking Boots

Guidebook: Tim Ernst's Waterfall book -- the book actually gives directions from the road to the top of the falls. It's tough to get a good view from the top of the falls, so I recommend coming in from downstream for a better view.

Kids: Older kids fine

Star rating: 4.5 of 5.

Six Finger Falls -- on Falling Water Creek

Six Finger Falls is another great waterfall along Falling Water Creek Road.  And like Falling Water Falls and another falls area along the road, it can be seen just a few hundred yards from the road.

I'm also going to note that this is an extremely difficult falls to photograph. It's very wide, and has six different falls that are a part of it (hence the name). Also, facing the falls is due South, so taking pics in the middle of the day in winter have a ton of sun in the background.

Getting There:

Take Highway 7 to the community of Pelsor (1/2 way between Jasper and Dover) and turn EAST onto Highway 16. Travel 10 miles on Highway 16 (past the Pedestal Rocks Special Interest Area) and about 1 mile past the community of Ben Hur, turn left onto Forest Road 1205. There is no sign for the Forest Road, but there are signs to "Falling Water Horse Camp" -- so turn on the road leading to the horse camp. 

Follow FR1205 for 5.3 miles and cross a bridge ove Falling Water Creek. At about .5 miles past the bridge, there will be a little parking area and a sign board on your LEFT. Park here. The falls is just a few yards down the hill from here.

The Falls:

As noted before, unless the water is really high there are six different falls here hat tumble over the same 6 foot high ledge that make up the "fingers". It gives the area a lot of character and is a really peaceful area to just watch the water flow, hear the roar of the water falling and just enjoy nature.

 

I also encourage you to explore a little upstream and downstream as it is really just a pretty area.

There are a couple of other waterfalls nearby. Across the creek and downstream a few hundred yards is Fuzzy Butt Falls, but it requires crossing the creek and on a cold day in December this wasn't too appealing so we'll catch it another time. But upstream a bit is Intersection Falls, which you can read about here.

Six Finger Falls Detail:

Distance: A few yards

Difficulty: Easy

Footwear: Whatever is fine, although water shoes such as Keens or hiking boots will be required for more exploring

Children: Yes

Trail Guide: Time Ernst's Waterfall Book

Star Rating 5 out of 5.

Waterfall area - near Falling Water Falls

This is a neat little area that if you're near Falling Water Falls, you should check this out too. If you are at the bottom of Falling Water Falls, you can hike downstream a few hundred yards and there is a creek that comes in from the left. The creek cascades down and forms two small waterfalls before emptying into Falling Water Creek.

This area is also accessible from the road. Once you drive past Falling Water Falls, you'll come to an area of the road that crosses over a small creek (the creek will be flowing over the road somewhat). Park in the pull-off area right before getting to the water crossing and this waterfall area is downstream from the road.

Falling Water Falls

Falling Water Falls remains one of my favorite waterfalls in Arkansas. It's a beautiful falls, and very easy to get to ( you can even view it from your car).

Getting There:

Take Highway 7 to the community of Pelsor (1/2 way between Jasper and Dover) and turn EAST onto Higway 16. Travel 10 miles on Highway 16 (past the Pedestal Rocks Special Interest Area and the community of Ben Hur) and then turn left onto Forest Road 1205. There is no sign for the road currently, but there are signs to the "Falling Water Horse Camp" -- so turn at the road to go to the horse camp.

About 2.3 miles down FR 1205 is Falling Water Falls -- which you can see from the road.

The falls is on Falling Water Creek and it's a beautiful creek with a lot of other areas to explore. Feel free to explore up or down stream for a lot of interesting rocks and water features.

There are also several other hikes and waterfalls nearby. Check out some of the other waterfalls and hikes in the Richland Creek Wilderness area here.

This last pic is just a little water feature just downstream from Falling Water Falls -- but I loved how the water had formed ice all over the tree branch.

Petit Jean State Park - Seven Hollows Trail

At 4.5 miles long, the Seven Hollows Trail in Petit Jean State Park is the second longest trail in the park. The scenery along the entire 4.5 mile stretch is first rate, and diverse – with plant life covering everything from ferns to cacti.  The trail takes its name from the seven small streams that run through the area, all of which have carved their own hollows.

The trail follows through four of the seven hollows, and along ridges between the hollows. Blufflines, tumbling water (in spring), and interesting plantlife is abundant.

The trailhead for Seven Hollows is on Highway 154 one mile west of Mather Lodge (and across the highway from the trailhead to Bear Cave Trail). There is a large parking lot here.

The trail starts out at the trail head marker. The trail is blazed light blue (there is another trail that joins it, so you will also see some white markers later on, just be sure to always follow the blue blazes).

The trail starts off into the trees and after about .2, the trail splits. Take the trail to the left (we’ll return on the one straight ahead).

The trail heads downhill for a stretch on a sandy surface.

At about .5, the trail comes along the first small stream and a bluffline comes in view across the way.

From the .5 mile marker (each ½ mile along the trail is marked), to the 1 mile marker there are several small cave-like areas on the opposite side of the stream. There are volunteer spur trails to go see most of them and it’s worth taking some time to check these out. During this stretch the trail crosses back and forth across the creek several times – but crossings are pretty easy to do without getting wet.

This part of the trail, along with several of the parts, is actually going through a bit of a pine forest – so the smell of pine is in the air.

A little ways after the 1 mile marker, the trail goes uphill a bit – a little further from the creek.  At about 1.3, the trail passes by a natural bridge. It’s quite a spectacular sight to see. This seemed to be the place of choice long the trail for people to stop, take a break, chat, eat their snacks, or read their book -- and for good reason. This is one of many highlights to the trail.

At about  1.5, the trail heads back down the hill again, crosses the creek for the last time and runs now along the bluff on the opposite side of the creek that you’ve no doubt been admiring for the past mile. The bluff is smaller here though.

Then, at 1.7, the bluff ends and the trail turns sharply right, and heads back up the bluff you were just walking beside. You’re now leaving the first hollow. The trail here heads up the hill through a Glade area. The glade has a completely different type of plant-life and wildflowers. It also has a lot of spectacular rock formations and views of the hollow you just left. There are several of these glade areas where instead of walking on a “trail” you’re just walking across the tops of the rocks. They really are neat areas. 

If you look closely, there are also a lot of collared lizards in the area. They’re cute, and fast. So you’ll have to pay close attention if you want to get a look.

There are also great views from atop the bluff.

At about 2 miles, the trail bends to the left, down the hill, back up the hill, and down the hill again.

At 2.1, the trail passes a small stream with a short steep incline in front of you. The main trail heads up this incline, but there is a small spur trail to your right that runs along the bottom of the bluffline.

We’ll continue on the main trail in a minute, but for now, we take the small spur trail. The trail heads along the base of the bluff line and there will be a couple of boulders you have to scramble across. But After about .1 miles, you enter a large Grotto. The Grotto is a HUGE bluff overhang on the right side, a bluffline on the left, and when the water is high, a significant waterfall that falls off into a pool of water below. As I hiked this trail the first day of July, there was no waterfall here, and simply a stagnant pool of water but it was easy to imagine how beautiful this would be with high water. Even without the waterfall it was peaceful and a cool respite along the trail.

Back on the main trail, you’ll head up the steep rock and then the trail turns to the right and back up another glade on the top of the bluffline that was to your left as you hiked back to the grotto. This is another great glade area with cacti and more wildflowers.

The trail bends then to the left and back into the woods, and then turns to the right and back down the hill into another hollow and then up another glade area. It crosses another stream, climbs back up another glade, and then back down into another hollow.

At 2.9 the trail runs over a 50 foot long rock slab, goes up the hill, and then back down into the next hollow.

At the 3 mile marker, you’re back down into another hollow and the next mile of trail is probably my favorite of them all. The trail is pretty level for awhile, following the stream, and now runs through this hollow with huge bluffs (the tallest we’ve seen so far on this trail) on both sides. 

As with the first hollow we walked through, there are a lot of interesting rock formations and small cave areas along this route, so if you feel inclined, take some time to explore.  The trail then crosses the creek a couple of times and then continues along a bluff overhang.

At 3.8, another trail comes in from the left through a hollow and joins the trail. This is the Boy Scout trail that runs through the entire park. It’s blazed white, so stay straight on the blue-blazed trail. Shortly after passing the Boy Scout trail entrance, the trail continues up again, past another interesting rock formation and more spectacular views.

At the 4 mile marker you’re still headed a bit uphill through a wooded area and at 4.2 you hit another intersection. This is the first intersection you came to. Stay straight, and you’ll be a short distance from the parking lot.

This is a great hike with a LOT to observe and really, every part of the hike is scenic. And while less popular than other hikes in the park, it is still well-travelled (and for good reason!)

While we did this trail in the heart of summer, and loved it, I suspect that the trail is even prettier in the spring when the water is flowing and the fall when the leaves are off the tress and not covering the views of all the bluffs – although, there is probably no wrong time to hike this excellent little trail.

Distance: 4.5 miles (Loop)

Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult

Footwear: Hiking boots – I wore trail shoes but would recommend hiking boots. The trail is pretty rocky, and while there are no major elevation changes, there are a lot of ups and downs and you’ll be thankful for the extra support

Children: Older Kids will be ok. It will be pretty rough on youngsters.

Trail Guide: Tim Ernst’s Arkansas Hiking Trails Book, Vol 3. There are also trail maps available at the Park Visitor’s center, but it’s not nearly as detailed and helpful.

Star rating: 4 stars out of 5