Exploring Northwest Arkansas

Native American Falls - Piney Creeks Wildlife Management Area

Native American Falls is a fantastic waterfall in some rugged country within the Piney Creek Wildlife Management Area. The parking spot is easy to find, but the falls is rugged to get to -- but you will be rewarded with a fantastic 41 foot tall waterfall that cascades down the bluff and some beautiful scenery along the way. 

Getting there

The trail head is easy to find -- it is located .4 miles south of Pelsor on Highway 7. Pelsor is a small community 28 miles South of Jasper and 28 miles North of Dover on highway 7.  At .4, there is a sign for the Piney Creeks WMA. Park by the sign. 

Getting to the Falls

From the sign,  head directly into the woods and down the hill. There is no maintained trail here, and really, only a rough trace of a trail to follow, so you'll most likely have to make your own way. 

The route down will at first follows an area that has been dramatically cut back because of nearby power lines, but eventually ends up in the woods. Keep heading straight down. 

When you get to the bottom of the hill, you'll reach a small creek. Turn LEFT at the creek, and follow it down stream. 

A couple of helpful hints here (especially if you don't have a GPS).  First, when you get to the creek, you may want to set up a cairn (Pile of stacked rocks) to mark the spot so you know where to turn to head back up the hill on your way back. Second, the best 'trail' we found was on the opposite side of the creek a little ways off the creek.  But as you can tell from the photo, it's pretty rugged so find the best way down stream you can.

After about .4 miles downstream you will come to the top of the falls. To get to the bottom, go to the left side of the falls (when facing downstream) -  you'll cross over a neat overhand area that will give you a decent look at the falls and get to a group of large rocks. There will be a trail of sorts that heads steeply down the hill to your right. When you get to the bottom you can climb back up a few hundred yards back to the falls. You'll be rewarded with a great view and a thunderous sound of water.

There is a lot more to explore in the area including a couple of smaller waterfalls downstream.  We saved those for another day.

Once you are done exploring, head back the way you came. The total distance back and forth from the falls is only 1.5 miles, but because of the tough terrain and the steep slopes, it will feel like a lot more than that.

And one other note as a reminder. The back country, especially when exploring areas without maintained trails can have unpredictable footing, so be careful. Especially along slick stream crossings and bluff lines. While we were at Native American Falls we came across another couple that was out hiking and she had slipped on a slick rock and had apparently broken her ankle. It was a long piggy-back ride out!  

Distance: 1.5 miles

Difficulty: Moderate-Difficult

Kids-Friendly: No

Footwear: Hiking Books

Seasonality: I'd recommend this in winter or early spring wet season -- when the water is running well but probably before the forest becomes too woolly. We hiked this in late April and it was good, but I'm not sure I would have wanted to do it a few weeks later.

Star Rating: 4 of 5

Roark Bluff Falls & V Notch Falls - Steel Creek area

The Ozarks are full of waterfalls. Many are seasonal falls, meaning they dry up in the hot and dry summers. And then there are some falls that only appear during very wet weather or after (or during) a heavy rain.

Two of those falls are Roark Bluff Falls and V Notch Falls.

Both of these falls are easy to get to and can be viewed from the car. 

Simply take Highway 74 east out of Ponca and go up the hill to the entrance to the Steel Creek area of the Buffalo River. Then take the road back down the hill to the Steel Creek campground.

At the bottom of the hill, turn left, toward the campground. The first falls you'll come to is Roark Bluff Falls.

If you keep driving, V-Notch Falls appears just behind the first campsites you come to at the campground area.

Both of these falls tumble more than 100 feet over Roark Bluff and are a sight to behold. 

Again, don't expect these to be flowing other than during very high water, but when they're flowing, they are very cool.

Difficulty: Easy

Kids: Definitely

Footwear: Not required

Star rating: 4.5 out of 5

Wolf Creek Falls (via Big Creek Cave Falls Hike)

Last year, we hiked down to Big Creek Cave Falls  in what was one of our favorite hikes/bushwhacks we've ever done. The hike includes a stream that comes right out of a cave, a 29 foot tall waterfall that comes out of a cave, and another waterfall along Big Creek, which is also beautiful. 

Earlier this spring, we went back to the area because, well, it's just that good. And because I'd found out that there was yet another waterfall on this hike -- Wolf Creek Falls and wanted to check it out.

To add Wolf Creek Falls to the hike, follow the directions from the original hike here.

Once you get to Big Creek Cave Falls, continue following the creek upstream for another 1/4 of a mile. It may be a bit of rough bushwhacking, and you may also hit on old road bed. If you find the road bed, follow it upstream (to your right) to where it crosses the water. If you don't find the road, keep heading upstream until you hear the roar of the falls. 

Either way, you're going to have to cross Cove Branch (which feeds into Big Creek) here and it will most likely be a wet crossing and the rocks will be slick -- so be careful.

Once you get to the other side, there will be a large flow of water coming down the hillside among some rocks. 

Make your way up the hillside for some impressive roaring water. You'll see Wolf Creek Falls about 100 yards up the hillside.

Wolf Creek Falls (which actually flows into Cove Branch and not Wolf Creek, but don't blame the messenger) is an approximately 18 foot tall waterfall that comes roaring out of a large cave entrance. It is a fantastic falls and was really roaring on the day we were there. There is a small gate here that is locked -- but there is no fence, so it is easy to navigate around.

 The cave is off-limits tohumans. There is a white sign at the cave entrance that says the cave is off limits, and PLEASE obey the sign. Caves in Arkansas usually contain bats... and several popular species here get a disease (actually a fungus) called white nose syndrome.  The disease was only discovered in 2006, and has already led to the death of nearly 6 million bats.  There is some concern that humans spread the disease so please entering all Arkansas caves. 

As you follow the cascade back down from the falls, you'll note that the stream actually flows underground prior to joining Cove Branch in a  really interesting and scenic little area. 

This whole area is among my favorites in the Ozarks and I get the sense that there is a lot more exploring to do in the area.

Distance: .5 round trip from Big Creek Cave Falls, 3.4 total

Difficulty: Difficult

Kids: No

Footwear: Hiking boots

Trail Book: Tim Ernst's Arkansas Waterfalls book -- the newest edition -- has this falls briefly mentioned and located on the map. 

Star Rating: 5 of 5