Buffalo River Trail: Boxley to Ponca

Big Spring Trail is located in Smith Creek Preserve just south of Boxley, Arkansas.  There is a small parking area at the entrance. Detailed maps of the area provided by The Nature Conservancy can be found just past gate. Walk through the gate and begin your hike with a steady decline down the service road.  You’ll soon reach a fork in the road leading to Elise Falls. Keep straight at the for...

Proceed to Sweden Creek Falls Natural Area near Kingston, Arkansas. Find somewhere to park near the gate along the dirt road. The trailhead is located beside the gate. Follow the old jeep path and continue past the old abandoned house on the right. Once the path ends, look for the blue trail marker on the trees and follow it through a split in the bluff line. Once you crawl down this area, i...

This is a beautiful trail that is easily accessible and only a short 3 mile hike. Start at the trailhead on the north end of the parking area. There is a map and some details about the main features of the trail. The first main feature that you come to on the trail is a beautiful bluff with a cascading waterfall that has carved through it. If you don't mind getting your shoes wet, then you ...

After arriving at the Whitaker Point/Hawksbill Crag trailhead, start going down the path for about 1/8th of a mile. You’ll cross a small stream, and here is where you’ll turn off the trail. Using Whitaker Creek as your guide, follow it like a handrail as it descends down into the confluence with the Buffalo River.After you have gone about a ½ of a mile, you’ll reach a large drop off where the L...

Hawksbill Crag aka Whitaker Point is one of the most popular hiking spots in all of Arkansas and only ~60 miles from Fayetteville. However, doing the hike early in the morning provides one of the best places of all time to watch a sunrise. You begin at the trail marker which is straight across from the parking area and marked by a larger bolder with carvings in it. The trail is a slight downh...

The parking area for Neil Compton’s Double Falls is approximately 1.1 miles past the trailhead for Hawksbill Crag on Cave Mountain Road. Cave Mountain Road is steep and can get pretty muddy after a good rain. A vehicle with 4WD is recommended although plenty of people make it up in small cars. You will see a sign on the left side of the road that states “Upper Buffalo Wilderness - Ozark Natio...