Hike #3 - War Eagle Trail

Today we headed to War Eagle Trail at Withrow Springs State Park.  Even though it is January, long sleeve t-shirts cut it today.  The first impression is that this trail was hard to find for two reasons.  The first is that the trail head is before you actually pass the "Welcome to..." state park signs.  The second is that the parking area is on the opposite side of the road from the trail and there is no discernible path from the road.  Once we realized that the trail goes under the road, we were set.

This is a nice easy trail for the first mile and then very strenuous for the last quarter mile.  It is a spur trail, so you have to hike in and then hike back out the same path to the car.  It runs along the clear, blue War Eagle Creek.  Even though I say the first mile is easy, there are a few narrow spots including a bit with a guide wire to hold onto.  About half a mile in, there is a cave that can normally be explored, but is currently closed due to White Nose Syndrome.  The trail does have a small but steep switchback here to get past the cave.

At the end of the first mile is a wonderful spot in the creek that has some neat rapids and a big swimming hole.  There are some beautiful cliffs hanging over the water that I think would make a great cliff diving spot if it wasn't January.  I would want to swim out under them first to check it out.  However, we wisely decided that if we stopped here, we would never motivate the kids to do the tough last quarter mile.  This steep rocky trail has some great views which come with some cliffs that require you to keep an extra eye on kids.  We did stop at the waterhole for quite a while on the way back out.

Travel time from home: 35 minutes
Today's miles: 2.37 miles
Remaining miles: 88.93

Hike #2 - Lost Valley

Today we headed to Lost Valley near Ponca, Arkansas.  This is one of our favorite spots!  There are some great unique features.  We also came with friends today for a total of six adults and nine kids.  The first half mile is a fine-gravel path that is smooth enough for a stroller if needed.  This easy path ends in a nice little water hole that is usually about a foot deep.  The water hole is filled by a small waterfall that flows through a cave.  You can climb up the waterfall, through the cave, and come out the other side.  This isn't even the best part of the trail!

From here the trail gets more rugged with rocks and some up and down leading to the second very beautiful waterfall.  Here you can cross the creek to a rock overhang that is great for kids to explore.  There is a rock fort that has been built over the years, which is where our kids like to eat lunch and add some rocks.

The last feature of the trail gets more treacherous, but it is definitely worth it.  The second water fall that we just left also flows out of a cave.  You can also hike into this cave and there is a third waterfall inside the cave.  The 9, 7, and 5 year olds made their way into the cave with dad and friends and really enjoyed it.  (Full disclosure: this was their second trip into the cave and the first involved a little more hysterics.)

This is a really exceptional hike.

Travel time from home: 1 hour 15 minutes
Today's miles: 5.5
Remaining miles: 91.3

Hike #1 - Devil's Den

So, I have decided that one of the most difficult parts of this is going to be deciding which pictures to use.  There are so many great shots along these trails, that it is hard to narrow it down, but on we go.

Apparently there is a thing called First Day Hikes that is promoted by the American Hiking Society (also a thing).  The goal is to get people active in the new year, and parks have been encouraged to offer special guided hikes today.

We headed to Devil's Den State Park for our "First Day Hike." Devil's Den also had some overnight "ring in the new year" backpacking hikes, which may be fun in the future.  We tried out three trails today, the Devil's Den Trail, Lake Trail, and CCC Trail.  This was the first time we had done hiking in the cold.  We bundled up and there was no complaining at all.

The Devil's Den Trail is considered a moderate 2 mile trail that we had done before.  Our kids didn't have much trouble with it, and there is really only one spot that gets a little tricky. There are some narrow spots with a fall to either side that would make your day pretty unpleasant.  The midpoint and highlight of the trail are a couple waterfalls that are very pretty although not very powerful.  The most enjoyable part for us today was getting off trail a bit.  We could hear some more falling water off to the side.  We hiked over a short hill and could see the waterfall, but between us and the falls was a downed tree over a creek bed.  The tree was very wide, and you can tell from wear that it has had many hundreds of feet go across it.  So the danger was very little, but it still felt like an adventure.

Next we did the Lake Trail.  Lee Creek runs through the park and near the visitors center a dam pools the water into a small lake with a very powerful though man made waterfall.  This trailhead is near a nice clear shallow waterhole that would be great if it wasn't January.  There are some nice picnic tables and grills on both sides.  This trail is an easy half mile along the blue water, past the spillway waterfall, and across a modern cable bridge that crosses rapids.  Much to the kids' enjoyment there is also a nice playground at the end.

Finally we did the CCC trail, which was the park's "First Day" guided hike.  This was only about a quarter mile easy trail that walked past the ruins of the old CCC crew who built this park and most of the others around the state.  We were impressed with how well the kids paid attention to a guided tour.  They asked lots of questions.

Travel time from home: 35 minutes
Today's miles: 3.2
Remaining miles: 96.8