Lost Bridge is over by Beaver Lake. If you take 62 out of Rogers like you are driving to Eureka Springs, take a right on 127 in Garfield. You will drive this very curvy road for about six miles. At one point, you will come to a fork. Take the left (the 127s) and turn in at Lost Bridge. There will be signs for the marina.
Warning: This is one of the few times we paid to hike. It cost 4 dollars for our car. That is for a day use fee. We didn't realize it would cost but thankfully had some money on us.
After you enter the park, drive down toward the marina. When you can see the marina straight ahead, look for a hiking sign on the right like the one below. Park beside it.
We saw different lengths for this trail. Most of what I read said it is a five mile trail, though the sign at the trail said 7 miles. We knew we weren't going to make the whole route with our three year old plus the heat, so we just chose to start here and head back when needed. I think we only walked about a mile and a half of the trail (which was three miles round trip...pushing it with the three year old) and still didn't make it to the "highlights" of the trail. I want to go back and see those some day. But the walk was still a lot of fun.
The part we walked was right on the edge of the lake the whole time which just added to the beauty. We had woods on one side, lake on the other.
I don't know why the rock formations continue to awe me but they do. I am just always astounded to see these huge rocks just lying there in the middle of the woods. The kids wanted to "climb" but we knew we were pushing it with time. Maybe next time.
At one point, we were very close to the lake, so we decided to stop and play there for a bit. One of the kids' favorite parts were the shells. They were everywhere. I used to go to the lake with my grandfather to go fishing and had forgotten how prevalent shells were.
This is looking toward the marina. It was such a beautiful day. I was really surprised there wasn't more boat traffic going on.
This is looking the other direction at the cove...
I would classify this hike as moderate (and possibly strenuous since I didn't do the whole thing). There were definite areas of incline. I was huffing and puffing a few times and did count it as my exercise for the day!
More rock formations
The trail was fairly well defined. It did "snake" quite a bit adding to the length of at least what we hiked.
I guess I expected more to be in bloom at this point. The trees are just starting to bud. Not a lot of green out there. But there were some pretty trees...
This was a fun little area. It was like a mini bluff, a rock shelf, etc. It was a fun place to hang out (and climb).
This was just about the point we turned around. If Joshua hadn't been so tired, we would have gone on because there were some overlooks/bluffs ahead. Of course, that would have involved climbing which I am not sure I was up for at that point. :) There is also an old homestead (or remnants of) on this trail but it was a few miles down the trail.
We had fun watching the geese hanging out on the boat docks. They were noisy. Thankfully, other than some butterflies, bees, ants, fish, and geese, we didn't see any other nature (a.k.a. snakes).
Overall it was a fun trail, though the weather was a bit warm. It was longer than what our little one can handle at this point but I definitely want to go back. Anytime we can have water, woods, and rocks, we have a fun time!It was a safe trail...at least the parts we hiked. I am guessing you would have to be careful by the bluffs but we didn't make it to that part.
Happy hiking!
Reba
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