Exploring Northwest Arkansas

Big Creek -- and Big Creek Cave Falls

The hike back to Big Creek Cave Falls, and along Big Creek is one of the best surprise hikes in the Ozarks. This is a spectacular area and immediately has become one of our favorite places in Northwest Arkansas. It's surprising that in 12 years of coming to the area I've never heard anyone even mention this great hike and unique waterfall other than pulling it out of Tim Ernst's Waterfall Book and thinking "that looks cool, we should check it out."

The setting is beautiful. The Creek itself has a lot of spectacular water features, and the grand finale does not disappoint.

There is no official trail here. However, 1/2 of the trail is very easy to naviagate. The other 1/2 will require some imagination and bushwacking. The best time to check out the trail is probably in early spring when the water is up, but before the growth in the woods becomes too challenging to navigate.

Getting there

To get to the trail head, from the intersection of Highway 16 and Highway 7 near Dear, go north on Highway 7 1.3 miles and turn RIGHT on NC 6840 (This is also FR 1224/CR 59 if using guidebooks or maps. But the new sign reads NC 6840). The road sort of looks like the driveway to a 1 story brick house, but take the road past the house and it eventually begins to look more like a road than a driveway. 

Take NC 6840 for 2.8 miles.  The road is actually not as bad as it seems like it would be when you start, but it is fairly narrow and very steep. If conditions are wet, you may want to have a 4WD to be sure you can navigate out.  At about 2.8 miles, l you are nearly at the bottom of the hill and you will see a parking area and a gate on your right of what used to be an old home site. Park here. 

The trail begins on the other side of the gate by following the old driveway. The homesite is on your right.

The Trail

The driveway is very easy to follow and makes for some good hiking. Eventually, the path passes an old barn that has fallen down and then crosses the Right Fork of Big Creek. You'll most likely have to wade the creek (it was about calf deep when we were there. The stones on the bottom were smooth so we were able to take off our boots and wade barefoot, but you may want to bring a pair of watershoes with you for the crossing).

Once on the other side of the creek, you'll follow the big pasture to the left and then turn right up the hill. At the top of the hill at the back of the pasture there will be a couple of trees that are taped that tell you where the trail begins in the woods.

This pasture is beautiful -- with Left Fork of Big Creek to your left, and several several big mountains all around. It would have been a peaceful place to call home.

Once you enter the woods, the trail becomes a little tricky. There are trees marked with tape throughout, and sometimes the trail is easy to follow and sometimes you'll just find your way into some sticker bushes wondering where the trail went.  Follow along as best you can in the woods along Big Creek knowing that you can't get lost if you just follow the creek.  We were there April 12 -- and there were white, yellow and purple wildflowers everywhere.

It's also worth noting that all along Big Creek, there are a ton of amazing water features, beautiful blue pools. Big Creek (like Richland Creek) that really reminds me of the big mountainous streams in many of our Rocky Mountain national parks. 

One of the features here is an 8 foot tall waterfall that I think was pretty amazing in its own right -- and completely understated in the guidebook.

At about 1.3, there is a creek that joins in from the right. Follow this creek up the hill to the bluff line. 

Here, you will see a very nice cascade coming right out of the cave in the bluff. This is a very cool place to hang out and watch the water cascading over moss-covered rocks. 

Then, cross the creek inside the cave, and follow the bluff line around to your left. After a few hundred yards you'll get to the highlight of the hike -  Big Creek Cave Falls.  This is a 29 foot tall waterfall that is pretty powerful and flows right out of a cave. It immediately became one of our favorite places in the Ozarks.

When you are done, it's time to head back the way you came.

I really do hope they make an official trail here someday. This is an amazing hike and one I highly recommend.

Edit: Be sure to check out Wolf Creek Falls while you are in the area. It is another waterfall that comes out of a cave just .25 miles away. Directions are here. 

Distance: 2.9 miles

Difficulty: Moderate-Difficult

Footwear: Hiking shoes, and maybe some water shoes for water crossings. 

Kids: Older will probably be fine

Trail Guide: Tim Ernst's Arkansas Waterfalls

Star Rating: 5 of 5

Fern Falls -- Hike

Fern Falls is a quick hike just off of Highway 7 South of Jasper. There is not an official trail here, but the trail generally follows some old road traces to it tends to be fairly easy to follow.  The hike is a little bit of a mess after a lot of trees and branches fell during the 2009 ice storm, but we found our way without problem and got to view a nice waterfall as our reward. (Updated): In our more recent visit in 2020 there has been a lot of work done to the trail and it is actually in very nice condition.

Fern Falls - 2014

 

Getting there

The trail head begins 11.4 miles south of the Jasper square on Highway 7. At 11.4 miles, there will be "Historic Highway 7" sign on the west side of the highway. There is no official parking area, but if you can pull off the side of the highway here and make a pace to park, that's the spot. The trail begins just behind the sign.

Scenic Highway 7 -- park near here

The Trail

The trail starts off along an old road and heads down the hill a bit. It's a fairly well-defined road, so easy enough to follow. 

At approximately .25 miles, the trail leaves this road trace to follow another -- turning sharply to your right (there is pink tape tied to trees and a rock cairn here to note the spot). Turn onto this old road trace (definitely less defined than the one that continues straight, and continue down the hill. 

Eventually you hit the old road trace again and continue down the hill. When you get to the bottom of the hill (roughly .5), you'll see a small stream in front of you, turn right here and follow the road trace along the side of the creek. After about another .25 of level and nice hiking along the creek, you'll get to the top of the waterfall. 

To make your way to the bottom of the falls, cross the creek upstream from the falls and follow the ridge around until there is a gap in the rock line and head down to the falls. To get the best photos, follow the ridge around behind the falls to the other size for a great view of the falls, and the water hole down below. 

Fern Falls - 2014

Fern Falls (named for the Ferns that grow up around it in late April and May) is a 42 foot waterfall with two streams that fall and hit a rock bed below to spread into a nice secondary falls. 

Fern Falls - May, 2020

When you are done exploring, you can head back the way you came -- this time back UP the hill you came down.

Updated 2020:

There is another waterfall near Fern Falls that was relatively recently documented. To get to Scaresdale Falls, go to the top of Fern Falls and take a small volunteer trail to the RIGHT (when facing downstream). This trail follows along the top of the bluff line for a bit and then curves to the right (away from the creek). After a few hundred yards a new drainage comes into view. Scarsdale Falls is a short waterfall and cascade in this secondary drainage. 

Scarsdale Falls - taken May of 2020

 

Trail Details

Total Distance: 1.5 miles

Difficulty: Moderate 

Footwear: Hiking Boots preferred

Children: Older children would be ok

Trail Guide: Tim Ernst's Arkansas Waterfalls. Danny Lee Hale's TakaHike (East & Central) has Scarsdale Falls

Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Nearby: Lonesome Hollow Falls, Hudson Shelter Falls, Round Top Mountain Trail 

JW Farmer Homestead -- Hike via Goat Trail

I've mentioned it several times before, but one of my favorite things about the area around Erbie is the sense of history you get when you visit the area. While the "town" is now uninhabited, there still is an old church, several in-tact homesteads, old cemeteries, and the remains of old roads, old houses and a life that used to be. And because the area is unpopulated, you get a good sense for how it must have felt to be alive back at the turn of the century out in the wilderness, relatively isolated from your neighbors except for a long walk or ride by horseback down a road or at church on Sunday morning.

Another such place is the JW Farmer Homestead. 

As best I can tell (and the history of this area is not terribly well docemented online), this old homestead dates back to 1911, and has many original buildings that are mostly fairly well preserved.

To get to the spot, we generally take the Old Erbie Loop Trail. (directions at the link).  The trail starts at Erbie Church heading along the road South toward the River. You turn right at the old homestead, past a barn, and then up the hill to Goat Bluff (details at the link).

At the top of Goat Bluff, at 1.2 miles, you hit a 4 way intersection. To get to the JW Farmer Homestead, take the route that continues straight ahead along the bluff (the road to the harsh right takes you to the horse camp, the soft right continues on to the Old Erbie Trail).  

If you take the left-most trail (straight), you'll begin to decend down the fairly steep trail. This section of trail is very nice, as it has a lot of nice flat rocks that form natural stairs and there are usually quite an array of wildflowers.

As you head down you'll be veering to your right and a small creek will be below to your left. The trail then crosses over the creek (not a wet crossing) and then turns back left. At about .4 from the intersection (1.6 from the start of the Old Erbie Trail), the trail will connect with the Old River Trail. To the left heads down to the river, to the right is to the homestead. Shortly after taking the right you arrive at the homestead.

While the Homestead appears to be out in the middle of nowhere, it really is sitting right along the Old River Trail which was the old road through the area that connected all of the homesteads along the river bottom. If you think about the Old River Trail as the old road, it makes perfect sense. 

Take some time to explore the area. Most of the buildings are open to walk into. Just be smart and safe and respectful to this piece of history. 

After taking the time to explore, it's back out on the Old River Trail. Immediately across from the homestead is a trail that enters the woods. This is where the Cecil Cove Loop would joins the rest of the trails in the area. Going straight on the Old River Trail continues on the trail toward Kyles Landing.  

We followed the Old River Trail another about .3 miles to the next Buffalo River Crossing before heading back. 

Hike to JW Farmer Homestead

Distance: 4 miles round trip (if you come in from the Old Erbie Trail -- it's at the 6.2 mile mark of the Cecil Cove Loop)

Difficulty: Moderate

Kids: Yes

Footwear: Trail shoes or hiking boots are best

Star rating: 3.5 of 5

Paige Falls, and Broadwater Hollow Falls - From the Cecil Cove Trail

These two waterfalls quickly became two of my favorite waterfalls in the Buffalo Rivera area and are definitely worth checking out.

There is a short way to get there from near the community of Compton that at some point I'll take. However, today, we're heading back to them from the Cecil Cove Loop Trail. To get on the Cecil Cove Loop, check out this post. At 2.2 miles into the hike, there is an intersection (and a sign). While the Cecil Cove Loop heads straight at this interestion, there is a trail to your right and the sign points that direction and says "waterfall".  This trail is mostly unmarked, but this is the way to these two great waterfalls.

Note, this is not an official trail. Someday maybe it will be, but for now it takes a little willingness to bushwack and find your way. Just remember where the creek is, and it will lead you back to the staring point.

At the interestion, follow the trail to the RIGHT. The trail bends around a bluff, and then heads out with Cecil Creek to your right. 

The trail quickly goes down the hill and soon you arrive at a great, and popularly used campsite. At this campsite, the creek also forms a nice swimming hole for the folks spending the night there (not appropriate for my December hike though).

Once past the campsite, the trail will turn slightly away from the creek, and then, cross over the creek (this is pretty easy to cross at this point). 

Once across the creek you have a couple of options.

Option one involves staying on an old road trace and following it as it turns left and goes UP the hill. This is a steep climb, but somewhat easy to follow. You will lose the trace for awhile, then find it again. But always head UP, and always know that the creek is deep in the valley below to your left. When you get toward the top of the hill you'll start seeing "no tresspassing signs". You've hit private property and are at the National Park Boundary. 

No fears though, because this is where you want to be. At the "no tresspassing signs, turn left and following along the boundry and head toward the creek you will start to hear water. Follow the sound of water down the hill and you'll be greeted by the roaring water of the two falls.

The second option, and probably the preferred one, is that as soon as you cross the creek turn LEFT and follow the creek upstream. There is a volunteer trail here. It starts in the valley next to the creek, then goes up the hill in a small ravine and runs along above the creek. But generally, this route always keeps the creek in view.

After going by a series of fallen rocks, you get into Broadwater Hollow and to the inital waterfall -- this is Broadwater Hollow Falls.

Broadwater Hollow Falls is a 21 foot tall waterfall that also offers a small series of cascades. I don't think this picture does it justice - and the water is very powerful coming over the edge.

After spending some time at Broadwater Hollow Falls, follow the trail around to the right of the falls to the top. Just beyond this water fall, literally just 100 yards upstream, is another great waterfall, Paige Falls. 

Paige Falls is 8 feet tall, but what it lacks in height it makes up for in beauty as the water tumbles from a V-slot above into a prestine pool of water below. I just love this place.

Again, you can follow a volunteer trail around to the top of the falls, through a cool crack-in-the-rock walkway, and see the sloted water routes above, including another interesting cascade.

When you are done checking out these two waterfalls, you can find your way back to the main trail. Round trip distance is about 2 miles (but it will feel like more).

Distance: 2 miles (roundtrip) from the split at Cecil Cove Loop. The falls are a solid 3.2 miles from the Cecil Cove Loop trailhead (1 way).

Footwear: Hiking boots

Kids: probably no unless everyone is experienced in the backcountry together

Guidebook: Tim Ernst's Buffalo River Hiking Trails

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Cecil Cove Loop -- Erbie Area

The former community of Erbie offers a variety of hiking trails that can often be combined together for larger or shorter loops depending on what you plan for the day. Because it was a community, many of the trails feature a lot of historical sites that tell a story of the early settlers to the area.

The Cecil Cove Loop is the longest of these hikes. And as such, provides a wonderful assortment of spring-fed ponds, creeks, historic stone walls, an historic cemetary, former home sites, and a spur trail that leads to a couple of awesome waterfalls. This is a full day of nature, and historic sites that is well worth the trip. The trail is also shared by horses.

Getting there

The trailhead is in the community of Erbie -- just North of Erbie Church. The simplest way to get to the Erbie trailhead is by taking the Erbie Campground Road from Highway 7 (just South of Pruitt). This road takes you past the Koen Interpretive Trail, the Ponds Loop, The Erbie Campground (currently closed), the Parker Hickman Homestead and eventually crosses the Buffalo River before heading North to the Erbie Church. However, as a general rule, if the river is floatable from Ponca, the river is going to be too high to cross unless you have a 4-wheel drive -- and even then, it's dependent on the vehicle and the driver. 

The other two ways to get here are via the road from Compton that runs past the Compton Trailhead. This is a 4-wheel-drive only road after it gets past the trailheads up there and is VERY rough. 

The most consistent route is coming in from Marble Falls off Highway 7, just North of the former Dogpatch location. This route is long, and mostly gravel. But is generally passable with any vehicle.

Park at the trailhead just North of the Church. The Cecil Cove Loop starts just north of this parking area by the pit toilet there.

Cecil Cove Loop

The loop starts off on what appears to be an old road trace and heads into the woods and gradually down a hill. At about . 2 the trail gets pretty steep and at .3 you run into a small pond. This area is is formed by Van Dyke Spring (which comes out of the small bluff on your left just upstream a little) and some help from the local beaver population who have damned up this stream.  It's a beautiful area -- and also creates the first of two pretty challenging water crossings. 

There is not really a good way to cross here (unless you're on horseback), but if you go to the right (downstream) you can often find a combination of rocks and logs to find your way across and keep your feet dry. 

Once you cross, and this is IMPORTANT. Don't cross the second stream. You'll need to turn left and cross a few more rocks where the water from the pond area is flowing into the other stream (this should be a fairly easy crossing) and end up in a middle island area between the pond and the creek. You can pick up the trail here.

The trail will stay on the level and run along the edge of the pond you just crossed. The pond and the bluff opposite create a beautiful area to hike along.

At about 1.0 miles, the trail crosses the creek that has been running to your right. When the water is high, this is a tough little crossing (much easier on a horse it appears!). 

But, as with the other crossing, if you go downstream a bit, there are a bunch of rocks that make for some possible boulder hopping to get a cross. 

Just be careful. The rocks are often smooth from being worn by water over the centuries and sometimes wet and moss covered. If you feel like you need to bring a second pair of shoes or socks (I highly recommend extra socks) in cold weather just in case it may be a good idea. 

Once you cross the creek here, things get a little easier for awhile. The trail follows on that side of Cecil Creek for awhile. It is level here and runs through the woods and generally along the creek.

At 1.4 miles, the trail crosses the creek again -- at this point the creek  runs underground so this is a dry crossing. Once you cross the creek, the trail turns right and follows along the creekbed for a bit. At 1.8, it crosses the creek again (another dry crossing) and follows on the level again. 

At 2.0 the trail passes an old stone wall. This is the first of many historic things you'll see along this trail. It's a well-constructed stone wall and is, in its own right, very scenic.

Just past the wall, the trail crosses the creek one last time and begins to climb the hill on the other side.  At 2.2 (just a short walk up the hill), you will get to an intersection. To complete the loop, you will continue straight. However, there is a spur trail to the right that heads back to a great camp site and two amazing waterfalls. You can read about this spur trail here.

To continue on the Cecil Cove Loop continue on the trail that veers to the left and head UP the hill.  This part of the trail follows an old road trace and is a pretty steep climb with about 400 feet of elevation gain. 

At 2.7 miles, you'll reach Jones Cemetery. 

Jones Cemetery is one of many old, abandoned cemeteries that you'll come across on trails along the Buffalo. And like the others, reading the tombstones you get  feel for just how difficult life was in this area in at the turn of the last century. 

Many of the tombstones are of young women, and infants, that died during child birth. It was a tough time...and really, not all that long ago. 

After exploring the cemetery for awhile, continue on the trail and at 2.9 you'll see an old homestead. There isn't much left of it now except for a foundation and an old fireplace and chimney, but this is the former homesite of William Jones -- his tombstone is in the cemetery you just passed. 

From here, the trail turns sharply left and continues out on the level. Soon you'll pass a stone wall on your right -- this is the Faddis-Keaton Homesite.

The trail here continues and is following an old road that would have joined the several home sites that you  have passed, or will soon pass along the route, to the cemetery, and to the church that once existed at the bottom of the hill. The road follows a bench along the bluffline and is great hiking. 

During leaf-off you'll see a lot of scenic views to your left and a lot of areas with large boulders. During wet season, a lot of these rocky areas become really interesting with small waterfalls and water displays. 

The trail will pass another homesite -- this one includes a spring that is protected by rocks. This would have been a great source of water for the early settlers. 

The trail continues along the bench -- with a steep bluff to your right, and steep-downhill to your left.  Enjoy the views, and the trail.

At about 5 miles, a bluffline will begin to form on your right. At the top of that bluff is McFarrin Point.  To your left is more views.

At 5.2, the trail connects with the 4WD road that runs from Compton to Erbie.  Turn left on this road.  If you are continuing the hike, you'll go about 800 feet and turn RIGHT back into the woods and will go down to the JW Farmer Homestead, and then connect with the end of the Goat Bluff Trail and then back to Erbie.  

Because both times I've hiked this trail it has been winter with very short days, I've been chasing daylight (and a little tired from the uphill climb) and we've opted instead to follow the the road down the hill directly to the trailhead in Erbie. To do that, it is 1.2 miles back to the trailhead and the road is not often used and is actually a very nice hike. If you complete the route by taking the road, the entire loop is about 6.4 miles. 

Cecil Cove Loop Hike Details

Total Distance (if you take the road back to trailhead): 6.4 miles

Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult due to distance, water crossings and elevation change

Footwear: Hiking Boots

Kids: Older would be ok

Guidebook: Tim Ernst's Buffalo River Hiking Trails

Rating: 4 stars out of 5