Devil's Den: The Lake Trail

Last weekend, I was ready to be out in some fall weather. But our time was fairly limited. So we hopped in the car and drove on over to Devil's Den. We have been there several times, but I was determined to try a new trail. The Lake Trail sounded perfect. It is 1 mile round trip (not a loop), and is on the "easy" list.

Unfortunately, I failed to read the fine print on the Devil's Den State Park site. The lake has been drained for some repair. Oops!

The path itself follows Lee Creek to Lake Devil (when there is a lake).
The one part of the trail I was really looking forward to was the suspension bridge. I saw a perfect "photo" op in my future. Apparently I didn't read the fine print on that one either. I had totally forgotten about the whole flooding issue we had in the spring when we had some torrential rains. As we approached the bridge, I noticed it looked a little...out of sorts.

Then I realized it was completely taped off due to the debris still left from the floods. No photo ops here, at least not the kind I had planned on. :)

As you approach the dam, you can't help but be struck with the beautiful rocks they used to build it. The water near the dam is typically a blue/green color from what I have read. But for right now, it is a very deep brown.
Here is Lake Devil. Well, where Lake Devil normally would be...
Looking out toward Lee Creek
We saw a lot of what I would guess was flood damage. Even then, it was beautiful. I imagine when we have had more rain, water would be flowing along some of these areas.
On our return to the car, my oldest son remarked how beautiful the trees were lining the path. I agree! He insisted I take a picture.
This wasn't actually on the trail but as we drove away from the trail to visit another one, this guy (about as big as my hand) was crossing the road. I had to take a picture but I did use zoom...it gave me the heebie jeebies!

The trail itself was easy and probably is fairly scenic when there is no flood damage and no drained lake. Very kid friendly. However, it wasn't quite enough for my kids. They wanted more adventure. So we headed over to our usual Devil's Den trail (which I cannot believe I haven't posted about before; I will have to fix that this week) for some rock climbing and more hiking fun.

As I emerged from the end of the trail, I was struck again at how beautiful our state is...especially in the fall!


Happy hiking!
Reba

Kings River Falls

On Father's Day, we decided to take a little hike. The weather was actually cloudy and a bit cool when we left our house, so I was a little nervous we would drive and then get rained out. I had been wanting to combine a hike with a little waterplay, so I thought Kings River Falls would be a good place to explore. I have seen it listed in several hiking books and a swimming hole book. It was time to check it out ourselves. I wish I could tell you directions to get there. It was not easy, and I would have you ending up in another state. I will say if you head to Huntsville, then head out of town, it is that direction. It was a LOT of driving on very rocky dirt roads too. Just when you think you won't ever get there, there is the trailhead. The books all say that is only 1.2 miles long, round trip. My husband and I don't agree with that but I have no evidence to tell you otherwise. I wish I had worn my pedometer. It was more walking than I had planned on. It is also listed as an easy hike. I don't know if I totally agree with that either. It wasn't difficult or overly hilly. But it wasn't smooth sailing either. It is a very rocky trail and there were some slight inclines. I was fairly worried about twisted ankles. But then I have been on tougher; I wasn't overly out of breath at any point. I would call it a moderate easy. :) Here is the only sign that there is a trail. The trail is not very wide and is surrounded by really tall weeds. I would do a tick check after leaving there. And watch for slithery creatures...
The first part of the trail you are walking along the edge of a field (private property) on one side, a creek (which was pretty dry) on the other.
At one point, you come across a rock wall between you and the field. Apparently the wall is from a long time ago. I wonder how much time it took to build it?
There were also some pretty bluffs (not very big) in the area. Then finally you come to the waterhole and the "falls". From pictures I have seen, the water was VERY low this visit due to lack of rain in the area. But there was still a nice little area to swim. I think the waterfall is typically much wider.There were some nice little bluffs to jump from. If you jumped toward the center, the water was deep enough to not break any bones. :) Oh, the water was a bit chilly but that didn't stop my kids from jumping in repeatedly.
It wasn't the biggest swimming hole but it was quite popular. By the time we left, there were several people there swimming, jumping, laying in the sun, and exploring.

I knew with woods and water and warm weather, seeing a snake was a very real possibility. Sure enough, there was one (and supposedly another) swimming in the swimming hole too. It was just a water snake that tried to stay away from people as much as possible. I also saw a really large black snake along the trail on the way out. However, as soon as it heard us, it slithered away as quickly as possible.
One of the sights on the way back to the car. It was more beautiful than the picture shows.
Walking along the creek...
A neat little bridge to cross (which probably comes in handy when there is more water flowing).
Overall, it was a fun little hike (just longer than we expected). I would love to go back after a really good rainfall. My kids thoroughly enjoyed it and have already asked to return. We would probably frequent it more often if it were a bit closer and not such a bumpy ride. But I have a feeling we will be going back. In terms of kid safety, it was very safe. No dangerous spots during the hike. Just be careful at the swimming hole/waterfall (or any body of water). The water does get deep pretty quickly.

Happy hiking!
Reba

Crack in Rock

For Mother's Day, my request was to take a walk in the woods with my family. After church and lunch, we headed out the door and down the road to Van Buren to the Lee Creek Reservoir. I had read about a trail called Crack in Rock (sometimes called Split Rock). I think it is about a mile and a half long.

It was a warm day but this was a good trail for that. The creek runs next to the trail, so the kids had some waterplay. I am very thankful that we saw no snakes. We saw raccoon and deer tracks, several birds, crawfish, and ticks (ick). But nothing slithering in the water...

Anyway, the reservoir recreation has three trails I think. Two of them start at the same place...to the right of the restrooms.

The trails are clearly marked though which helped.

After all of the train, there was a pretty nice creek flowing and everything was green, green, green. And there were LOTS of ticks. We did a thorough check later. One of my kids found one the next day (crawling around). Other than that, I loved this trail.
My kids spent a LONG time wading in the creek. It was obvious there had been some flooding but thankfully most of it had gone down. And it wasn't flowing too terribly fast. The water was very clear which helped.

Here is a picture partway down the trail where the water was a little deeper.

One of the things I enjoyed was the variety of plant life. For instance, there were patches of cactus plants everywhere...
This is the top of the waterfall. I am sure there is a way to the base to get a better look but we stuck to the trail this time.
Lots of beautiful green
There were short bluffs along the creek...never ceases to amaze me at how beautiful they are!
We kept saying, "Did we miss the Crack in Rock?" Then we went around a curve and saw this...Bingo!

The scenery was beautiful the whole trail. The trail does loop, so you end up back at the creek when you finish.
A marker (some were on trees)
Beautiful
I would rate this trail pretty easy. There was one real incline in it that had me huffing and puffing, but overall it was fairly flat, lots of views/scenery, and just the right length for my little people...

Now I am ready to go back and explore some more!

Reba

Withrow Springs Park- War Eagle Trail

After our experience with the Dogwood Trail (last post), we knew we needed to do something "outdoorsy" to feel satisfied on this outing. So we decided to go on the War Eagle Trail. We had actually been on this trail a LONG time ago, though I don't remember hiking the whole thing.

I don't remember if I mentioned how to get to Withrow Springs from Springdale. Take 412 toward Harrison. Once you near Huntsville, take the exit for Highway 23. You will want to go to the left of 412, though you have to take a right to loop to the left. Just head on down 23 until you see the signs on the left for Withrow Springs.

Actually this trail is before you actually get to the Withrow Springs sign. You will pass a farm on the right, then see a creek. Take a left into the parking lot and park. When you get out, you will be looking at War Eagle Creek. You will want to take a left by the creek and head under the road.

Then you will see the actual trail sign...
You do climb a bit at first but it isn't overly strenuous. I don't remember being winded or more so than usual. :) There are several beautiful bluff/rock formations to the left, the creek below to the right.
Here is a small "cave". All caves are closed in state parks right now due to some bat disease (for them, not for people). So we just peeked in without going in.
A little further down is the big cave. Last time we went we could go in. Not this time.
You then have another area to climb, but it was moderate. The creek is still to the right.
There were a couple narrow areas, though thankfully for much of it, there were safety cables to the right so we didn't tumble into the water below. If you have kids, make sure that you hold onto their hands.
We decided to go off trail (which we rarely do) to check out the creek. Hunter was itching to fish. We took this elaborate off trail route only to find there was a very direct path to visit the creek if we had waited a couple more minutes. Oh well. The view was beautiful. You can't really tell but the water is very green. It was very calm, just gently flowing. And the "bluffs" were amazing. It was a very serene spot; we spent quite a bit of time here skipping rocks and exploring.
We even saw some canoers/kayakers. I think I would like to try that!
We had a close encounter while sitting by the creek. We had been there for a while without seeing any wildlife when suddenly this little face popped up. It totally surprised us. Yes, it is a snake. Maybe a moccasin. I didn't get close enough to find out. We couldn't see its body, just its head, so that made the whole thing stranger. It stared at us, opened its mouth once to show off its little teeth, then disappeared back in the rocks. The same rocks the kids had been running around on, splashing in the water. Ugh!
When you continue on the trail, you continue to climb, offering some amazing lookouts of the creek and the farmland in the area. I never felt like it was overly dangerous. We just didn't let the kids venture out too much on the cliffs.
Yes, third snake (second on this trail) for the day. A little brown one that looked like a big worm.
Here is a note from an experienced hiker (for this trail). When you see this sign (next to a wooden bench), turn around and go back the way you came. Then I think it is an easy 1 mile hike. We didn't know this. We went to the left because it looked like the trail went that way. We ended up coming out on Highway 23, still a distance from our car. Walking by the side of a curvy road with children was NOT fun. The trail going back (and downhill) would have been MUCH more scenic.
This was a wonderful hike and totally redeemed the park after the Dogwood Trail. (There is still one more trail I think we haven't tried) It SHOULD be a one mile hike. I would consider it moderate due to the inclines. And while I wouldn't consider it dangerous, there are definitely some points you need to hold on to your children. The view though was worth it. And if you have some time, I would encourage you to take some time to hang out by the creek. Just watch for creatures that might be lurking there. There are no bathrooms on this trail but there are some in the park.

Happy hiking!
Reba