Arkansas has earned the reputation as “The Natural State” because of the beautiful natural sites around the state. And as a part of this reputation, Arkansas has established an outstanding State Park system that is diverse in the natural beauty they provide.
One of the crown jewels of the state park system is Mount Nebo State Park. The park was established in 1935 – with many of the trails and cabins dating back to this time with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) (part of Roosevelt’s “New Deal” during the Great Depression).
First, the park is located 7 miles south of the community of Dardenelle on Highway 155. Take 7 highway south from wherever, through Russellville, through Dardenelle and then turn left on 155 (the road is well marked). Hwy 155 up Mount Nebo is VERY steep, and very curvy, so be prepared and don’t bring a long trailer.
At the top of the Mountain, there are campsites, cabins that can be rented, private residences, a pool, tennis courts, playground equipment, a basketball court and a great little visitor’s center with several snakes on hand to so you can learn about the native species. You can also often catch the sight of hang gliders from the visitor’s center as it is a frequent launch point. The park also offers 360 views of the countryside which also means fantastic views of the sunrise and sunset (at sites aptly names Sunrise Point and Sunset Point).
The park also boasts over 14 miles of hiking trails, all of which connect that can make for a wide variety of routes, distances and difficulty levels. So you can get oriented, there are two main trails here that go around the entire mountain. The Bench Trail, is four miles long and is part way down the mountain. It’s smooth, soft and easy trail and great for taking the dogs or for mountain-biking and also where the majority of the Springs on the mountain are located. Further up the mountain is the Rim Trail. It is 3 ½ miles long, and more rugged in places, but has outstanding views all the way around the mountain – many of them views of Lake Dardenelle. I had a hard time finding a good map online to show how this lays out, so I've scanned in the one we got at the park office for you.
Then, most of the other trails are then vertical trails that essentially connect the two main trails – often near areas natural springs or the park’s namesake seasonal waterfall, Nebo Falls. These trails, the Nebo Step Trail, Nebo Springs Trail, Varnall Springs Trail and Gum Springs Trail are all ½ to ¾ mile in length but VERY challenging as they go nearly straight up or down depending on which way you’re headed. The other trail in the park is the Summit Park Trail – a historical trail that has a great stone bridge, remains of an old hotel that once stood here and a man-made lake.
Because of all of this, the most popular is the Rim Trail – so this is the one we took while there.
There are a lot of access points to the Rim Trail, but for the purpose of our hike we left from the Visitor’s Center (well marked in the first picture above). So we started off in back of the visitor’s center, walked down a flight of stone stairs (right next to the hang-glider launch spot) and were off. When you get to the bottom of the steps, we turned right, to go clockwise around the mountain (this means you’ll come in from the left when you return). Going clockwise allowed us to get the most difficult portion of the trail out of the way first, while we were still fresh.
The trail starts of very tough, up and down several sets of stone stairs, many of which were probably first put in place by the CCC. This part of the trail is pretty rough, and probably not suitable for youngsters or dogs. The trail follows along several great bluff-lines to your right and great view with some great overlooks to your left. I’m going to note here that this portion of the trail was pretty rough for us. It was August, and hot, and we hiked at mid-day, and while a breeze is common on top of the mountain, we were shielded from it during this stretch and the rocks were just catching the afternoon sun and accelerating the heat – so, avoid this if you can.
During this stretch of the trail you also pass the Nebo Steps Trail and Nebo Springs Trail. Nebo Springs sounds like a great area but we ran out of time and are going to do this the next time back. Eventually, the trail passes the Swimming Pool and then the campground (with GREAT campsites) before crossing HWY 155 and darting back into the woods again. It is about here that the trail becomes less rugged and is easier hiking.
The next stretch took us along a great bluffline, and many great views, and had it not been so hot, this probably would have been my favorite stretch. You’ll pass by the Varnall Springs Trail and as you round the bend you’ll see a trail that goes up to your right, this will take you up to Sunrise Point. We walked up, checked it out, and had a quick lunch on one of the picnic tables up there. This would also be a potential starting point for the trail.
We continued back along the trail, past several private homes and a couple of the state park cabins. The trail then passes Gum Springs Trail (there is a Gazebo at the top of this trail, and is another trail head) and then on a really nice, flat, soft stretch of trail that goes along a couple more cabins.
At a point here, the trail then hits the Summit Park Trail – at that point you have to decide which part of the trail you want to follow to connect back with the Rim Trail. To the left, you go down some more stairs and get to see Fern Lake and Darling Springs, but we decided to stay on the high road.
We passed Lover’s Leap (a couple of rocks that overhang the valley with great views of the surrounding country side, and the old stone remains of an old hotel that used to be here that burned down in the 1920s. We crossed the stone bridge, expertly built by the CCC and then a series of cabins before rejoining the Rim Trail.
The remaining part of the trail is very smooth and scenic and goes out to Sunset Point (another potential trailhead) and FANTASTIC views of Lake Dardenelle. It then curls around for a short trek back to the visitor’s center, for a full hike of 3.5 miles and a full loop around the mountain top.
Distance: 3.5 miles
Difficulty Level: Moderate – although varies from very easy to pretty strenuous in places
Footwear: Trail Runners are fine, although you may prefer hiking shoes on rougher stretches.
Kids: While Most of the trail is suitable for youngsters, the stretch between the visitor’s center and Hwy 155 may not be. You may feel more comfortable just following the road for that stretch if little ones, elderly or pets are involved.
Time of year: Will be excellent year around, but probably avoid the heat of the day in the heart of summer.
Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5
