My husband & I are going to Eureka Springs on Friday. He has a mountain bike race on Sunday. We'll be there Friday-Sunday, and would like to do a little hiking Friday afternoon and Saturday. Does anyone have suggestions for moderate day hikes in the area? Any hot spots for wildflowers? Waterfalls (if any are running)? While he's racing Sunday, I'll have a few hours to wander around and would like any tips on where to go that's close to town. Thanks!
The Blue Springs Heritage Center would be a good place to visit. My wife and I have been there several times and have enjoyed the time spent there. There are several gardens plus wildflowers. Here is the address Blue Spring check the Garden link for more info on what's in bloom right now.
I'll second Blue Springs - a great place to find all sorts of flowers. Please don't laugh, but the best display of native wildflowers I've seen in that area is at the dinosaur park near Beaver Lake dam. If they are in bloom you can find thousands of them on the open hillsides. (an entrance fee is required for this drive-thru park so you might want to ask about them before you pay - they may have already bloomed)
The best hiking trail in the area is the one around Lake Leatherwood - perhaps that might even be where the bike race is. There are two good ones at Hobbs State Park too - the shorter Shaddox Hollow Loop and the longer Pegion Roost Loop. I built all three of these trails and they are pretty easy hiking. There is also a loop trail at the Beaver Lake dam site - one of several trails in the state named the "Dogwood" Trail. All of these are in my Arkansas Hiking Trails Guidebook, although they are nothing special at this time of the year (my choice would be the trail around Lake Leatherwood - you can go jump in the lake to cool off when you get done!).
The only waterfalls in the area are in the Madison County Wildlife Management Area south of Eureka Springs and they would not be running - Tea Kettle Falls and Eagle's Nest Falls. Both are described in the Arkansas Waterfalls Guidebook. You just won't find waterfalls running in Arkansas this time of the year except right after a large amount of rain in the immediate area (they run for an hour or two during/after a big rain, not for days). Winter and spring are the best times for waterfalls. Summer is mostly a drab season in Arkansas, and best for water skiing or scuba diving...
Finally, the best nature place might be the Turpentine Creek Wildlife preserve just south of town right on Hwy. 23 - they have over a hundred big exotic cats, plus native species like cougars and bobcats and black bears. There is an entrance fee and it is not really set up for photos but you can get some if you work at it. This is a terrific place to support as they work tirelessly to protect animals that would otherwise have to be destroyed...
Discussion
2 repliesThe best hiking trail in the area is the one around Lake Leatherwood - perhaps that might even be where the bike race is. There are two good ones at Hobbs State Park too - the shorter Shaddox Hollow Loop and the longer Pegion Roost Loop. I built all three of these trails and they are pretty easy hiking. There is also a loop trail at the Beaver Lake dam site - one of several trails in the state named the "Dogwood" Trail. All of these are in my Arkansas Hiking Trails Guidebook, although they are nothing special at this time of the year (my choice would be the trail around Lake Leatherwood - you can go jump in the lake to cool off when you get done!).
The only waterfalls in the area are in the Madison County Wildlife Management Area south of Eureka Springs and they would not be running - Tea Kettle Falls and Eagle's Nest Falls. Both are described in the Arkansas Waterfalls Guidebook. You just won't find waterfalls running in Arkansas this time of the year except right after a large amount of rain in the immediate area (they run for an hour or two during/after a big rain, not for days). Winter and spring are the best times for waterfalls. Summer is mostly a drab season in Arkansas, and best for water skiing or scuba diving...
Finally, the best nature place might be the Turpentine Creek Wildlife preserve just south of town right on Hwy. 23 - they have over a hundred big exotic cats, plus native species like cougars and bobcats and black bears. There is an entrance fee and it is not really set up for photos but you can get some if you work at it. This is a terrific place to support as they work tirelessly to protect animals that would otherwise have to be destroyed...