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

Lost Bridge by Beaver Lake

It was a warm day yesterday, but after not getting out for a hike last week due to circumstances, we decided to head out anyway. I was in the mood to try something new, so we drove over to Lost Bridge after reading a little about it.

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

Lincoln Lake- Eagle Loop

A couple weeks ago we discovered Lincoln Lake which is ironically located just outside of Lincoln. :) I have directions in my earlier post...just scroll down a bit. Anyway, when we realized what a beautiful day it was going to be, we had no doubt we needed to get outside. Even though we were just there, we were eager to hike that area again. So we headed down the road to Lincoln Lake.

Last time we went, we hiked the Piney Loop, though we regret we didn't hike it all. This time around, we decided to try the Eagle Loop.

The first several feet I was questioning our decision. There was a switchback or two which means INCLINE. Then once we had gotten up to where the trail was, the first part of the trail was an old service road. It just doesn't feel as much like hiking when it is a service road...

However, we were treated to a sign of spring!


The views of the lake were just beautiful. It was a very warm day and there wasn't much of a wind, so the lake was very calm.

We did walk along some of the bluffline. Don't worry, we keep the kids close. Mark is kind of a drill sergeant about bluffs.
We visited some of the overlooks. They were just beautiful. We had amazing views of the lake. We saw several boats out and heard a lot of geese in the area.
I really wish I knew more about flowers. We saw several of these along the path. They looked like a lily (which is my favorite flower ever) but all were "bowed" down to the ground. They were really pretty though.

You would think I would be used to it, but I cannot get over the beautiful bluffs and rock areas in our state. They are like a ready made playground for the kids and just some of the most interesting formations I have ever seen!
I actually climbed up this rock. It was like a large flat rock lying on its side. It was at just the right incline to climb up carefully but not feel scared (obviously if I did it too...I just don't have picture proof for me).
This is another view of the lake from the rock.
I should add that there were two parts of Eagle Loop. This was the lower part, and actually the above pictures are taken a bit off the path (we were encouraged by a park employee to do that...it is a big rock climbing area for real rock climbers). If you ever go, just ask me, I think I can tell you where it is.
We really thought this picture (below) looked like an elephant's head...it was a tree against one of the bluffs.
Again, I know nothing about plants, but this looked like some sort of cactus.
More of the rock formations along the trail
Since it was a loop, we ended up right back where we had started. It was a neat hike. Had we not had one really tired little boy with us, we might have had more time to explore. But it is something I wouldn't mind doing again. I know there are more parts to this trail and the other trail we have yet to see.

I would consider this one a moderate just because there were a few hills/inclines. The path is not totally clear...Joshua with his little legs tripped a lot. The overlooks were my favorite part as well as the rock climbing area. Safety wise, it was moderate too. I would be careful at some of the overlooks with kids, but that was really the only time we got nervous. The only wildlife we saw this time around was a spider and some vultures. I still give it two thumbs up...three out of four kids loved it. One was too tired to truly know. :)

Reba

Lake Wilson

Since I don't get to go hiking today (in the 30's, blah), I might as well write about it.

This trail is actually called the Joe Clark Trail at Lake Wilson, but we just say, "Let's go to Lake Wilson". Well two times we have said that anyway.

We found out about this trail through our Tim Ernst book about Dayhikes for Families. I have to say, getting to it the first time was a bit daunting. The book didn't have the updated road information in it, so we had to do a little guesswork. This place is out in the middle of nowhere. I am pretty sure I heard Deliverance music playing in the background as we drove out there. Even now, I cannot tell you exactly how to get there. My suggestion: Google. :) I do know it is near the Fayetteville airport (as in Drake Field).

We went in the fall both times, about a year apart. The biggest difference about the second trip was that we hadn't had rain in a long time so the creeks were basically dry. Not nearly as much fun for the kiddos but we still enjoyed the trail. Most of these pictures are from our first trip out there in November of 2009 (You will notice J-man is still in the backpack at that point...we also had Hunter's friend/neighbor L with us), with a couple of pictures from our second trip (October 2010) mixed in.


Not the most helpful map/information area. There is a pavilion but I don't think there are any restrooms (that I remember).

The trailhead starts to the right of the pavilion.

The first part of the hike (which is around 1 1/2 miles depending on which paths you choose) is right by the lake. We try to keep our crew quiet because there is a good chance someone will be fishing there.
This was on our first visit. It had rained all but 7 days I think in the month of October, so there was a little water left. Second visit it was dry as a bone.
Another little creek area to cross
I will consider this hike moderate only because if you do the upper trail (which we did both times), it is a little bit of incline. It isn't that difficult though.
The kids favorite part was the rock area. There were several "bluffs" up above the lake but most were not too tall. So the kids had a fun time scrambling on them. The first time we went, we didn't get as much "rock" time because of the time/Daylight Savings, so the second time we went, that was our kids' mission. To explore, climb, and play.


At one point, you are quite "high" on the trail and can look down at the lake below. It is beautiful. Especially at sunset.
This trail is a loop, so you come out where you started.

We never saw any snakes though I am sure there are times of year they are out and about. The only "wildlife" we have really seen on this trail include a tiny frog and a blue heron on the lake.

It doesn't have any major "Wow" factors (like a cave or a waterfall), but it really is a nice little trail for a family. It is very safe and easy to walk (other than the hill you climb at the beginning). I have a feeling we will be back yet again!
Reba