Exploring Northwest Arkansas

QuiVaLa Elise Falls - Smith Falls Nature Preserve

This waterfall is tucked away in the Smith Creek Nature Preserve just south of Boxley.

The Preserve is a 1,226 acre preserve that contains Smith Creek (which flows into the Buffalo near Boxley), and sits atop Sherfield Cave, which contains the largest colony of Indiana bats in the state. Last week was my first ever visit to this area, and I was pleasantly surprised. The parking area and trailhead are tucked away just off of highway 21, and in previous drive-bys didn't look terribly well developed or maintained. But once you get to the parking area, there are several well-developed trails -- more than we were expecting -  so we're already planning our next trip back to the area.

QuiVaLa Elise Falls is one of the highlights of the area for photographers and nature lovers (the cave, which is not accessible, is the reason for the preserve). The falls name is literally translated from French-Indian and translates to mean "Who goes there Elise?" Elise is Elise Roenigk, who, along were husband, owned the land and made it available to the Nature Conservency in 2005.

To get to the falls, start at the trailhead at the main gate. There are generally maps in a box at the main gate to help guide you. Start directly down the road past the gate. As you get to the bottom of the first hill at about .2 miles the main road will veer right, while a smaller trail will take off directly to your left. Turn LEFT here (there was a sign here last week that pointed you to "Elise Falls").

You will follow this trail (which also follows an old, less-traveled road) the rest of the way down the hill. It will be steep at times, but was well maintained and easy to follow. We also hiked in Spring and there were a lot of purple, white, yellow and red wildflowers all along the trail.

At .7, the road will run into Smith Creek. Smith Creek is usually dry here (I believe it runs mostly underground at this point) and you will want to walk out into the creek bed. There are more trails that pick up on the other side of the creek that we'll hike some other day.

However, to get to the falls, you'll follow the creek bed to the left (downstream) for a a couple hundred yards past a small bluff. Just past the bluff, you'll see a small creek come in from your left that spills into Smith Creek. Follow this creek upstream 100 yards and you'll get to the falls.

The falls is 21 feet high and tumbles through a slot in the rocks in the bluff line. It's a pretty neat little falls. When you're done here, it's time to turn around and head back OUT of the creek area. You'll follow the same track you came in on, but you'll have 500 feet of elevation gain getting back out, which makes the hike out much tougher than the hike in.

Getting to the trailhead:

The Trailhead is just off Highway 21 just south of the Boxley Valley. Look for a two track road with a red gate on the left (east) side of the road. The gate sits about 100 feet back from the road. The entrance is exactly 3 miles form the Boxley Baptist Church This is 3.2 miles North of the Mossville Church. There is a sign there highlighting the Smith Creek Nature Preserve. Drive down this dirt road to the the parking area by the gate (there is room here for 6 cars or so). The trail begins on the other side of the gate.

Distance: 1.7 miles round trip

Footwear: Trail shoes or hiking books

Difficulty: Moderate

Kid Friendly: It's safe to travel on, so if they can make the 500 foot climb back out, then it's a good trail for them.

Trail Guide: Tim Ernst's Waterfall Book. Or, pick up a map at the trailhead.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.

 

Upper Buffalo Wilderness - Boen Gulf Access Part 1 - Magnolia Falls and Stahle Falls

The Upper Buffalo Wilderness is a generally rugged area that is much less developed than other parts of the Buffalo River. However, there is a great little hiking trail here, and plenty to see and explore.

Last week, we used some warm weather to do some hiking and exploring in the area. There are four separate waterfalls in the area, an old jeep road that provides fairly easy hiking to most of it, and a lot of other really scenic areas. Because there is a lot to do here, and the dramatic changes in the trail quality,  I’m breaking our full day of hiking into three separate sections.

For this, Part 1, we’re going to visit Magnolia Falls and Stahle Falls. Magnolia Falls is quickly becoming one of our favorite little spots because it is a great little waterfall, with an easy, scenic hike to get to, and the trailhead access is easy and convenient to get to.

The trail takes off from the Wilderness Access Point and heads down an old jeep road. You immediately pass a few primitive campsites, and then some trees that have fallen across the road that you have to navigate over/around. Quickly, you’re past the obstacles and are following the old jeep road. Because it’s an old road, the trail here is pretty easy to follow and is pretty well worn. (Update 1/1/16 -- the trail is in VERY good shape and many of the downed trees have been removed from the trail to make for some nice, obstacle free hiking)

At about .1 miles, you get to the Wilderness area check in. Take a minute to do so just in case someone has to come looking for you. Just past the wilderness check-in station, the road veers to
the left, and you’ll follow this. Soon you’ll pass an interesting stone wall and a series of large rock formations to your right. This is really some first-class hiking here.

At about 1 mile, the trail dips down and crosses a small creek. As soon as you cross the creek, if you are headed to Magnolia Falls and Stahle Falls turn left onto a little trail here. If you are headed elsewhere, you’ll stay on the jeep road and I’ll cover that in parts 2 and 3.  Follow this little trail along the stream a couple of hundred yards and you’ll hit a much larger creek. To your left is Magnolia Falls.

This is a great little waterfall that is about 26 ft tall and with the scenic hike, is one of the better bang-for-your buck hikes in the Buffalo River area. The falls go into a deep pool and really creates a scenic little area that we first visited back in December (the snow pics look very different than these).  Just downstream from Magnolia Falls is another waterfall, Woods Boys Falls. You can see the top from here. In part 2 of this series, we’ll hike to the bottom of the falls.

After exploring this area, you can continue on to Stahle Falls. To get to this falls, hike up to the top of Magnolia Falls on the left. There is a trail here and some rocks to help you get across the creek at the top. Along the top of the bluffline there is a trail of sorts and follow it about .25 miles and you’ll get to the top of Stahle Falls. This is the tallest of the waterfalls in the area, falling 63 feet. This trail takes you to the top of the falls, and there is no safe way to get down from here but when the
leaves are off the trees you can see for miles down across the wilderness.

At this point, you can double back to the jeep road and head back to the car, or continue onto other parts of the area.

I highlight this part of the trail separately because it is the most accessible part of the wilderness in this area and a great, easy hike to a nice falls. The other parts of the trail are a little tougher but I think this one warrants more travel.

Getting there: To get to the trailhead, turn west onto Forest Road 1462/County Road 6. This road is about 2.5 miles south of the Mossville Church on Hwy 21 South of Boxley. The road isn't marked, but it's a pretty signifcant (and well maintained) gravel road and if you're following your odometer you'll know it when you see it. Once you turn west onto CR6, about .3 miles down the road is a pull-off area for parking. The parking area is on the opposite side of the road from a "Wilderness Access" sign. Park here and enter on the same side of the road where you parked.

Part 2: Woods Boys Falls and Don Hadlock Cascade

Part 3: Bushwacking through the wilderness

 

Details:

Distance: Magnolia Falls – 2.1 miles roundtrip. Add .6 to go to Stahle Falls and back.

Difficulty: Magnolia Falls – Moderate, the trail getting to Stahle Falls is more challenging.

Star Rating: Magnolia Falls – 4.5 Stars (out of 5), Stahle Falls 3.5 out of 5

Children: Magnolia Falls – Yes, except for very young children, Stahle Falls probably no.

Footwear: Trail Shoes or Hiking boots are preferred.

Liles Falls

  
We had been coming down to Arkansas for several years before we ever heard about this waterfall and only then upon reading about it in a book. It's super-easy to get to, and very picturesque, and yet, it isn't a place that people talk about a lot.

Liles Falls is just off the road on the way to the Erbie Campground. As you are driving on the road to Erbie you pass the Koen Interpretive Trail, the Ponds Loop and a little picnic area (I'll talk about all of those at a later time) and at one point, cross a little stream and there is a parking area there on the right.

If you park your car there and then walk back out across the creek there is a very well-traveled trail that dips down into the woods from the opposite side of the creek. It isn't a maintained trail, but it's flat and easy to follow -- and the falls is only about a quarter of a mile of flat trail from the road.

Once you get to the waterfall, the scramble down to the bottom is a little challenging but can be done by most active individuals -- and when they get to the bottom, they'll be greeted by a wonderful, 41' tall cascading waterfall. 

This waterfall is also easily accessible off of the Buffalo River Trail between Erbie and Ozark.

We came during the wet season, but it had been several days since it had rained and the falls was just a small little cascade. I've seen some wonderful photos of it on flickr and plan to come back after a good rain to see it in all its glory.  Even with a small stream of water, it was still a beautiful place to sit and relax for a spell before heading back to the car.

Star Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 (this may go up if I go on a really wet day)

Difficulty: Easy -- although the scramble to the bottom of the falls is a little tricky

Footwear: I recommend trail shoes -- but tennis shoes would be fine

Kids: Except for very young kids this should be easy enough. May be a bigger challenge for the elderly.

Trail Guide: Tim Ernst's Arkansas Waterfalls book

 

Indian Creek Hike/Bushwack to Tunnel Cave Falls

  
The Indian Creek area is one of my favorite areas of Buffalo River National Park area.

The trail back to Indian Creek is not an official trail -- but it is pretty well traveled, and runs right along Indian Creek, so it's fairly easy to follow and almost impossible to get lost on. Just follow the creek.

To get to the trail, head out on the Buffalo River Trail out of Kyles Landing and head toward Steele Creek.  After a stretch you'll see a sign that points you toward Indian Creek.  At that point, you are no longer on a maintained trail.

The highlight of the trail is Tunnel Falls (I'll discuss it a bit more in a bit) -- a 31' high waterfall that pours out from a cave.

The trail follows Indian Creek out away from the Buffalo River.  When the water is high (like after a good rain) there are numberous volunteer waterfalls that appear along the creek area.  Some of the photos of these volunteer   
waterfalls and cascades appear on this page.

The trail crosses the creek 3 times on the way back to the falls.  This creek is usually passable - -but in times of high water (the best time to venture back to the falls) your feet may get wet. My one time back to this falls was after a very hard rain so my feet were very wet -- but it was well worth it.

As you get back to the back of the trail, you'll go up a steep stretch of trail that loops around high above the creek. It's a pretty scary stretch and a slip would be extremely bad.

You eventually reach Copperhead Falls. I think this is usually a pretty nice waterfall but the water was so high the day we went it ended up looking more like just a huge cascade.

At about 2.7 miles back you get to Tunnel Cave Falls. As I noted before, it's a 31' high waterfall that comes out from a   
cave on the side of the bluff and it flows into a beautiful blue pool of water. 

The second to last photo on the page is of Tunnel Cave Falls.

When the water is really flowing -- just beyond Tunnel Cave Falls (you'll be able to see it -- and hear it) is another cascade of water that comes pouring over the side of the ridge and has a series of large cascades down into the same creek as Tunnel Cave Falls. This waterfall (I don't know if it even has a name) is extremely impressive (that is me in the last photograph standing close to it in the last photograph of this post). 

Again, when we were there, there was a lot of water -- and the sound of all of the water flowing was an incredible sound -- to go along with this being, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful areas along the Buffalo River.

There is apparently more to see here -- but the "easy" way to see it used to be to climb through the Tunnel Cave to the other side but now that is closed (as are most of the caves in the area) because of disease that is killing the grey bats and it's best if humans leave well enough alone there. There is a "back way" to get there -- which involves climbing up a rope up a bluff, and scurring up more bluffs. But apparently it is extremely dangerous and I felt like it was best left to another day.

Hike Length: 5.4 miles

Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult

Best time of year: Winter and Spring when water is high

Footwear: Hiking Boots

Children: I wouldn't

Star Rating: 5 Stars out of 5

Guidebook: Indian Creek Area in Tim Ernst's Buffalo River Hiking Trails Book

The Glory Hole

The Glory Hole  is one of the most unique waterfalls in the Ozarks -- and when the water is really flowing, the hike to it adds to the spectacular appeal of this short trail.

The trail is in the Ozark National Forest -- and the trail head is off of Highway 16 about 5 .7 miles East of Fallsville. 

The trail starts off down an old road for a stretch, and then drops off to the right down a pretty good slope. Eventually, you cross the stream that leads to the falls -- if the stream is really moving here, you're in for a real treat at the falls.

The main trail stays up high from the creek, but there is a place where you can venture down and follow along the main creek to the falls itself. This is a bit rougher, but there are some simply gordeous smaller waterfalls and cascades along this stretch that would be worth the hike if they were the highlight themselves (the first 3 pictures are of these areas.

After about a mile you get to the top of the Glory Hole.  Be VERY careful here. You can get pretty close to the hole itself, but the rocks around the area are really slick and falling through the whole would be a bad idea. (The 4th picture on this page is of the top of the waterfall).

After taking a few pictures here, you can loop around and venture down to the bottom of the falls.

When the water is high there is a pretty nice little waterfall here  in its own right (picture #5 on this page -- that's my wife Michelle squatting down next to the top of that falls).

As you loop back around, you get to the base of the Glory Hole and can see the water simply pouring out of the hole -- and it really is one of the more spectacular waterfalls in the area with a fall of about 30 feet -- the last three pictures on this page are of the Glory Hole from the bottom of the falls.

Plan to spend a little time in the area -- we usually like to pack a picnic lunch and hang out here for a bit before heading back up the hill to the car. The hike out is a lot tougher (and more uphill) than the hike down, but it's not too bad and it is certainly worth the 2 mile roundtrip to see this amazing and unique waterfall area.

The day these pictures was taken was after a solid day of rain in May -- so we had very high water for these pictures. I'd strongly recommend checking out this falls area during the rainy season (winter and Spring) for the best water flow.

Distance: 2 miles

Footwear: I recommend some trail shoes, although tennis shoes would be fine

Difficulty: Easy/moderate

Rating: 5 Stars out of 5

Children: I think this is pretty child-proof, but the uphill hike on the way out, plus the scramble back up to the top of the falls may be a little tough for the really young ones.

Trail Book: Tim Ernst's Arkansas Waterfalls

Here's someone else's view of the trail