Last week, temperatures dipped a little to give a break to the month's heat, so we thought it would be a great opportunity to get out for a short hike. July isn't exactly the best time of year for hiking in Northwest Arkansas due to the heat, ticks, and the reality that many of the trails get pretty grown over.
However, after some thought, we decided to check out Buzzard Roost Scenic Area.
The trail to Buzzard Roost Scenic area follows an old four wheeler road, so it is pretty wide and allowed us some pretty good hiking without the overgrowth that often makes hikes in the summer not enjoyable. There were still plenty of cobwebs though, so bring a walking stick.
The views from Buzzard Bluff are amazing -- and much prettier with the wilderness being green. Our previous trip was in November, so there wasn't nearly this much color and it was nice.
We stopped for a quick snack and soaked in the views.
Once done enjoying the view, we headed down to the caves below. We were REALLY lucky this day. We made a last minute decision to bring our dog Grommit and he alerted us to a hornets nest that was on tree that was downed over the trail. We're really grateful that his awareness didn't cause us to get lit up. The caves below were very fun, as usual.
We also took in both natural bridges in the area. First the smaller one:
And then the larger one:
This really is a fantastic area with a lot to see and explore. And at four miles round-trip hiking along an old road, it's pretty easy hiking. In spite of that, this area remains not a terribly popular destination which means you'll get to enjoy this area without the crowds even on a holiday weekend.
You can get full directions to the trail head and trail notes from my previous blog posting here.
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