Arkansas Adventures

Haven't posted in a bit but wanted to give an update on some past outdoor adventures. The last two hikes we went down to Arkansas, which seems to be my destination of choice more often then not. The Buffalo River Valley is about two hours from where I live and offers some of my favorite landscapes to hike. The videos on this post are of our last two hikes. These photos are from last year to give you an idea of the area.

On March 1st 1972 the Buffalo River became the first National River to be designated by the United States .The National River Designation protects natural rivers from industrial uses, impoundments and other obstructions that may change the natural character of the river or disrupt the natural habitat for the flora and fauna that live in or near the river. For the Buffalo River this ended the recurring plans of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct one or more dams on the river. (Thank goodness for that!) The Buffalo River is filled with sink holes, caves, springs, waterfalls, over 500-foot (150 m) tall sandstone and limestone bluffs, and many rock formations. The river is 153 miles long and the lower 135 miles flows within the boundaries of an area managed by the National Park Service.

The Boxley Valley, which is within the parks managed area's, is home to the states only herd of Elk.

One other thing I love about this protected area is some of the History your able to experience. Many of the trails take you past old cemetery's, homesteads, and even some evidence of Native American's.

"The Ozark Region has a long human history. People have lived here since the Paleoindians beginning about 10,000 years ago, through early European settlement in the 1800s to farmers, loggers and miners in the 20th century. The park strives to protect the historic structures, landscapes, and artifacts that tell the varied stories of people who once called these ridges and river valleys home."

Any way that's a little run down of the area I love so much.

On to the hiking stories. The first for this spring was a great loop hike starting at Compton Trail Head.

Within the first two miles you descend around 2,000 feet of elevation down into one of the most scenic and steepest canyons off the Buffalo River.

This canyon is home to Hemmed in Hollow, which contains Hemmed in Hollow Falls.

Its the tallest waterfall between the Rockies and Appalachian Mountains, standing at 242 feet tall. It had rained the whole week before our hike so we were able to see it really flowing!

 
 

We hiked back out of the hollow and instead of going back up the trail we came down we took the fork in the trail towards the Buffalo River.
Bamboo is an invasive species and we almost always see it by the waters edge.

We pasted by Granny Henderson's Cabin (Click to read story) on our way to Sneed's Creek.

Sneed's Creek runs into the Buffalo River just up river from Hemmed in Hollow. It has a trail running a little over 4 miles all the way back up to the Compton Trail Head. The trail is amazing along the creek, especially after a rain. Once you leave the creek and start climbing elevation it gets brutal. Say goodbye to your legs.

Its a really nice full day hike with well maintained trails and options for multiple loops. I definitely recommend it.

Check out the highlight video below :)

The 2nd hike and most recent was into Boen Gulf. The two branches of Boen Gulf feed into the head waters of the Buffalo River.

We hiked down into the more southern branch visiting Magnolia Falls first.

 
 
We hiked around the canyons rim finding out the trail dead ends. We turned around and found a nice vista point on our way back.

After Magnolia Falls we hiked 600 ft lower in elevation to the bottom of the branch. We took another break where the two branches become one.

Hiking up the northern branch becomes a little more tedious due to there being no trail. The goal was to reach Paradise Falls. After almost 45 minutes of constant balancing, ducking under/climbing over fallen trees, and boulder hopping we reached Paradise Falls.

After much debate we realized it was too visually inviting........ we had to jump in.

Definitely some of the coldest water I had ever jumped into! Luckily the sun was out to help dry and warm us back up. We explored a little more past the falls. You climb up a STEEP slope with a rope next to the falls that leads to a trail heading up the branch. My guess is this trails starts to stay maintained from here back up to the top of this branch. We decided it was time to turn around though. If you had two cars you could make this a nice day hike loop.

Check out the video for this hike as well. Hope you enjoy!

Where are some of your favorite places to hike?
Or what were some of your most memorable adventures?

I'd love some more recommendations for places I should visit.

Check out my hiking buddies page as well @tinswel