Exploring Northwest Arkansas

The Glory Hole

Direction & Trail Notes can be found here. 

Winter Hiking: The Glory Hole

One of the interesting things about spending now a LOT of time in Northwest Arkansas is that we're getting to do some of our favorite hikes multiple times. Each of the seasons brings a different perspective on the hikes that makes them special in their own unique ways. Spring brings high water and gushing waterfalls, summer brings a host of wildflowers, autumn brings the beautiful fall foilage, and winter brings great views with the leaves not being on the trees and blocking views -- so things like bluff lines, and the river that are often not able to be seen from trails are viewable.

Winter hiking isn't something we'd done a lot of until recently, but he combination of great views, snowfall and ice have made winter one of our favorite times to hike in the Ozarks.

A couple of months ago we hiked down to check out the Glory Hole. You can find directions to the trail and on the trail here (as well as photos from our spring hike).  But today I'm just going to share some pics of the trail during the winter with a light dusting of snowfall.

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