Living in North Texas I crave national parks and mountains. Finding a quick getaway is not always easy, until I realized how awesome Arkansas is. We decided to explore the Buffalo National River area, which is just North of The Ozarks region.
We wanted to back country camp (which you can do pretty much anywhere in this area as long as you are 1/2 mile away from a trail), however we did 2 hikes and then started looking for a place to set up camp and well by that point it was getting dark. We ended up staying at the Steel Creek Campground, which was right by the river and a perfect back drop for dinner.
Although we did hike the best trail for last, I want you to see my favorite trail first! What a whirl wind of a hike we had! This trail is labeled as difficult in All Trails but it is a different type of difficult than I was imagining. You have to be aware of where you're stepping all the time. There is constantly water making the rocks super slick. This trail took us about 4.5 hours to complete but that is with setting up our hammock for about 30 minutes. There are boulders to climb, waterfalls to see and ropes to climb. It is truly an adventure!
This is a fun and really beautiful trail. You can complete this trail quickly if need be, or spend a lot of time just hanging out, as there is so much to see and take in. A wooded trail that leads to a clearing with a cave (seen below) and more caves at the end of a steep hike. This trail conveniently starts and ends at Kyle's Landing Campground.
This is one of the most popular trails in Arkansas and we went on probably the slowest days of the year and had the trail practically all to ourselves. Great views off the side of the cliff for half of the trail. This is what really makes it worth while. It is an easy trail and one that would be perfect for a picnic on one of the boulders overlooking the long stretches of green forest. The famous Hawksbill Crag overhang is quite a site to see. I would recommend if you are going during the week. If it is a weekend, I would avoid crowds and go to some other less busy trails.
Enjoy Arkansas! I promise it will surprise you.
xoxo
Taylor
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