The Smith Creek Nature Preserve is an amazing little spot I keep coming back to again and again. It is a beautiful little area, with several good trails that can be looped together. However, it often seems to get overlooked a bit as it's adjacent to the Buffalo National River and Upper Buffalo Wilderness Areas. And even when people visit, it is often to visit Elise Falls and then they leave, missing the amazing areas in the rest of the preserve.
The Smith Creek Preserve is an area managed by the Nature Conservancy and its volunteers. The Nature Conservancy is a great organization that is dedicated to protecting important habitats that feed important water sources and threatened species. The Smith Creek Preserves is an example of that purpose. The Preserve covers 1,316 acres - -with Smith Creek essentially running down the center. While what you and I see is above ground, below ground is Sherfield Cave -- which houses the largest colony of the endangered Indiana Bat in Arkansas. While the cave is below ground and not accessible by the public, the above ground is accessible for day use hiking/picnics.
Earlier this spring, Michelle and I were hiking in an area nearby and got the pleasure of seeing one of the bats who had recently woken up from hibernation out feeding along the Buffalo River and it was an incredible experience.
Getting There
The Smith Creek Preserve parking are sits right off Highway 21 south of Boxley (which is about 5 miles west of Ponca). The parking area is 3 miles south on Highway 21 from the Boxley Baptist Church, or 1.2 miles up the hill from the Boxley Trailhead to the Buffalo River Trail. The parking area in on the east side of the road and is well marked.
All of the trails are accessible beyond the gate at the back end of the parking area. There is a sign here that contains a map of the trail (I always take a picture of it) and often paper trail maps as well. Today we're going to talk about the Main Trail through the area, and later I'll talk about my favorite way to loop the hikes in the Preserve.
The Main Trail
The Main Trail is really an old road that runs through the middle of the preserve. It is closed off to cars now but makes for a very nice, wide trail for hiking. The trail starts off steeply downhill. Then. at about .2, there is a trail that splits off to the left. That is the trail to Elise Falls (or sometimes called QuiVaLa Elise Falls) -- and is well marked. Stay straight as the main trail veers a bit to the right. The trail levels out a bit, then goes down more, and does this a few times until at 1 mile (and about 250 feet of decline) you reach a small footbridge over a small drainage that comes in from the right. Just past the bridge is a seldom use picnic table.
Smith Creek is the creek on your left -- will have water here during most of the wet season. This is when the trail starts getting really good.
The trail stays on the level and follows along Smith Creek. It passes a couple of larger sinkholes. During the wet season, the creek is really beautiful and peaceful here and there are amazing wildflowers here in Spring.
The trail crosses over another small stream coming in from the right. There is no bridge here but generally you can cross without getting your feet wet (although the rocks are SLICK here, so be careful).
Past the crossing the trail starts going up the hill a bit and this is where things will get a bit weird (and REALLY beautiful).
The Main Trail continues on the old road bed and gradually makes its way up the hill to a large spring at 2.5 -- where you can turn around and head back. However, there are many marked off-shoot trails that make for easy passage down to to Smith Creek and the wonders down there.
Smith Creek itself is a little paradise: small waterfalls, cascades, huge rock jumbles with emerald pools, just new beauty with every step.
My best advice here is to take one of the marked trails down to the creek. Follow the trails along the creek until huge boulders/rock jumbles block your path. Then, make your way back to the Main Trail (it never gets more than a 100 yards or so away) until you have a clear path down to the creek and then repeat this process as you make your way back up the hill.
Take your time. Explore. Enjoy the beautiful emerald pools. Take a nap on a large boulder in a boulder jumble. I've visited this place probably half dozen times over the past 2 years and always see something new or differently depending on the seasons and where the exploring takes us.
When you get to the big spring (or really, whenever you feel like stopping), you can turn around and head back the way you came.
Note, the spring and the gate sit at approximately the same elevation -- with the footbridge below being about 250 feet below them. So there will be a bit of climbing on the way back to your car -- especially that last .2 miles from the intersection to Elise Falls.
This is an amazing area with a ton of natural beauty -- that not only preserves the area above the ground for you and I to explore, but also serves an important purpose of protecting the native bat species. Please enjoy and protect it.
Trail Notes
Distance: Approximately 4.5 miles round trip (depends on the amount of exploring you do)
Footwear: Trail shoes or hiking boots - you'll want sturdy footwear with good traction on the rocks by the creek.
Difficulty: Moderate - mostly due to the climb out
Kid Friendly: Yes
Trail Guide: Tim Ernst's Buffalo River Hiking Trails Volume 5 (it's not in earlier versions)
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Most of the pictures from this hike were taken in April of 2021 unless otherwise noted.
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